in On the Waterfront (1954), Leo the accountant in The Harder They Fall (1956) with Humphrey Bogart and Rod Steiger, and the gangster boss Little Bonaparte (a parody of Rico/Little Caesar) in Billy Wilder's film Some Like It Hot (1959), and he appeared again with Steiger in Al Capone (also 1959). He also appeared in supporting roles in films such as The Comancheros (1961) and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965). Persoff appeared in the 1976 Columbo episode - Now You See Him, playing the bribing murder victim of Jack Cassidy’s ex SS Sergeant & now posing as magician - The Great Santini. Persoff alongside Dean Stockwell and Andrew Bloch appeared as Darius the Great's wicked Babylonian administrators in the 1978 Greatest Heroes of the Bible episode Daniel in the Lions' Den. 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. His acting career included many appearances in television series, including six episodes of The Untouchables, three episodes of which he appeared as Jake "Greasy Thumb" Guzik (regarded by many as his signature role), and Gilligan's Island as the title character in the episode "The Little Dictator" (the favorite episode of the show's creator Sherwood Schwartz). Persoff appeared on the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Most Toys" and was the oldest living male actor to appear in a Star Trek production at the time of his death. Retirement and memoir Persoff retired from acting in 2003 and pursued painting, specializing in watercolors. His memoir, The Many Faces of Nehemiah, was published by The Autumn Road Company in July 2021. Personal life and death In 1951, Persoff married Thia Persov, who had served as a nurse with the Palmach, the elite fighting force of the Haganah during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. She died of cancer in 2021. The couple had four children, Jeffrey, Dan, Perry, and Dahlia. Before his death, he lived in Cambria, California. Persoff died on April 5, 2022, at the age of 102 of heart failure at a rehabilitation facility in San Luis Obispo, California. Selected filmography Film and television References External links Nehemiah Persoff Paintings 1919 births 2022 deaths American people of Palestinian-Jewish descent American male film