RIP Nehemiah Persoff

[Vandal]

Nehemiah Persoff, Actor in ‘Yentl,’ ‘Some Like It Hot,’ Dies at 102

Nehemiah Persoff, who appeared as Barbra Streisand’s rabbi father in “Yentl” and had roles in hundreds of films and TV series including “Some Like It Hot” and “Twins,” died Tuesday in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He was 102.

His death was confirmed by his daughter, Dahlia Reano. Beyond prolific, Persoff racked up almost 200 credits in film and TV in a career that began in the very earliest days of television.

Persoff broke through in the 1959 movie “Some Like It Hot,” in which he played mobster boss Little Bonaparte. (The actor had been the last surviving member of the cast.) Early in his career, he was known for playing villainous tough guys, such as in Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Wrong Man,” starring Henry Fonda, and “Al Capone,” starring Rod Steiger, in which he had a substantial role as Johnny Torrio, the mobster who mentored Capone only to be replaced by him. Similarly, on TV, he had a recurring role as gangster Jake “Greasy Thumb” Guzik on “The Untouchables.”

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/nehe ... 235226599/

[SportsFan68]

Wow, what a resume! There goes another one of the characters we couldn't make movies and television without.

[silverscreenselect]

Persoff was one of those character actors like Anthony Quinn, who could play just about any ethnic role. We have Encore on our new DirectTV Stream package and Mrs. SSS likes watching the movies they have in the afternoons. One of the films that's in heavy rotation on their Western channel is The Comancheros with John Wayne. Persoff is very good as the villain in that film.