RIP NEHEMIAH PERSOFF

1919-2022

Nehemiah Persoff was born in Jerusalem, Palestine, in 1919. When he was 10, his family immigrated to America and settled in New York City. During World War II he was drafted and served in a worldwide entertainment unit.  After the war, he trained as an actor and began his career in 1947. Between 1947 and 1959 he did more than a dozen Broadway shows. 

His first screen role was as an uncredited extra in 1948′s The Naked City. He made his television debut in 1949. He began working for Desilu on the very first episode of “The Untouchables” “The Empty Chair” in October 1959. 

He did 6 more episodes of the series. 

He played the title role in the episode titled “The Waxy Gordon Story” (1960). 

He played the role of Jake ‘Greasy Thumb’ Grazik in two episodes.

The year “The Untouchables” ended, he did an episode of Desilu’s celebrity profile show “Here’s Hollywood”.  He appeared with Glenn Ford. 

He did three episodes of Desilu’s “Mission: Impossible” and one episode of “Mannix” (1972). Persoff retired from acting in 1999 and pursued painting, specializing in watercolors. His memoir, The Many Faces of Nehemiah, was published in July 2021. He died on April 5, 2022, at the age of 102 of heart failure.