Nehemiah Persoff

	Nehemiah Persoff
	;
	Centenarian

Nehemiah Persoff (born 2 August 1919) is an American retired actor and painter. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films, and plays in a career spanning over 50 years, beginning after World War II. He is one of the last living actors of Golden Age of Hollywood.

Biography

Early life

Persoff was born in Jerusalem, British mandate Palestine on 2 August 1919. Persoff immigrated with his family to the United States in 1929 and graduated from the Hebrew Technical Institute in 1937. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, he worked as a subway electrician, maintaining signals while he began to pursue his acting career in the New York theater. In 1947, he was accepted into the Actors Studio, and was one of the 26 members of the beginners' class taught by Elia Kazan, along with James Whitmore and Julie Harris. He began his acting career in 1948.

Acting career

One of his early roles was as the gangster boss Little Bonaparte, a parody of Little Caesar in Billy Wilder's film classic Some Like It Hot (1959). He also appeared in supporting roles in films such as The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and The Comancheros (1961). In the film Yentl (1983), Persoff portrayed the father of Barbra Streisand's character. He appeared in the comedy film Twins (1988) and in the American Tail animated-film series as Papa Mousekewitz. His last movie was 4 Faces (1999), the last film to be directed by Ted Post.

Personal life

He married Norma Newton on 5 December 1945, but later divorced. The couple not had children. He married Thia Persov on 22 August 1951. The couple had four children.

Persoff had a small stroke in 1989 after which he retired from acting and pursued painting, specializing in watercolors. His wife Thia died due to cancer in 2021, after 69 years of marriage.

Persoff currently lives in Cambria, California, USA, at the age of 104 years, 260 days.