SAD LOSS
Nehemiah Persoff dead at 102: Yentl actor passes at CA rehab center years after he retired following stroke
THE Twilight Zone actor Nehemiah Persoff has died at the age of 102.
He passed away at a rehab facility in San Luis Obispo, California on Tuesday, according to .
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In the years leading up to his death, Nehemiah had a number of health issues, including suffering a stroke.
He had decided to retire from acting as he focused on his well-being.
The late actor was best known for his role in Yentl as Reb Mendel, who was Barbra Streisand’s character’s father.
Nehemiah was born in Jerusalem, Palestine in 1919 before moving with his family to the United States in the late 1920s.
He began his acting career in the late 1940s after serving in the US Army in World War II.
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At first, he worked in the New York theater world, before eventually moving to onscreen work.
His first role arrived in 1948 with an uncredited spot in the movie, The Naked City.
Throughout the 50s, he worked on films like On the Waterfront, The Harder They Fall, Street of Sinners, and Some Like It Hot, with Marilyn Monroe, and more.
On the TV front, that decade was filled with roles on The United States Steel Hour, Kraft Theatre, and Goodyear Playhouse.
From there, he continued to grow in the industry and worked steadily in both film and television.
Over the next few decades, he worked on TV projects like The Untouchables, Naked City, The Wild Wild West, and Mission: Impossible.
He also had roles on Gunsmoke, The Six Million Dollar Man, Hawaii Five-O, and Law & Order, and more.
With movies, he was in The Hook, The Greatest Story Ever Told, Red Sky at Morning, St. Helens, Twins, and more throughout the decades.
After retiring from acting in 1999, Nehemiah focused on his health and also pursuing his love of painting.
He took a break in his retirement for his final gig, which was an uncredited role as a Rabbi in the TV mini series, Angels in America, in 2003.
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The late actor is survived by his kids Daniel, Jeff, Perry and Dahlia.
His wife, Thia, passed away from cancer last year.
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