At 102, SLO County actor and painter Nehemiah Persoff adds a new title — author
Noted character actor and painter Nehemiah “Nicky” Persoff of Cambria can add “author” to his list of titles. He just released his autobiography, “The Many Faces of Nehemiah.”
The book is filled with snippets about his life and 50-year acting career.
His tales, presented semi-chronologically, are sometimes humorous, occasionally philosophical, poignant or sad. They offer backstage glimpses of how the theatrical, film and TV worlds really work.
Persoff turned 102 on Sept. 2.
He wrote the book in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic at the urging of friends, family and fellow thespians.
It was a labor of love for all of them, especially his wife of 69 years, Thia, who died of cancer earlier this year. They had four children.
Actor’s roles include ‘On the Waterfront,’ ‘Yentl’
Persoff was born in 1919 in Jerusalem and was 10 years old when he and his family emigrated to the United States.
He started in New York as a subway electrician and model for painters who worked in studios based in Manhattan’s Union Square.
The young man had a yen to act, but as Persoff wrote in the book, “Let’s be honest. What chance did a boy born in Jerusalem have to break into this very exclusive club of actors, reserved mainly for handsome Anglos who spoke the King’s English from birth?”
“The Many Faces of Nehemiah” is packed with recognizable names, dozens of photographs and a list of credits that spans from “The Emperor’s New Clothes” in 1940 to “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “Twins” in 1988.
Persoff’s roles were diverse, often requiring precise dialects.
He was the cab driver in the famous “I coulda been a contender” scene with Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger in the classic “On the Waterfront” in 1954.
Persoff’s roles spanned a circus owner on a trapeze in “The Big Show,” a mob boss in “Al Capone,” Papa Mousekewitz in “An American Tail” and Barbara Streisand’s father in “Yentl.” He also played the gangster Little Bonaparte in “Some Like It Hot.”
His television credits include the titles of 73 shows over four decades between 1955 and 1995 — most of them highly recognizable hits, including “Gilligan’s Island,” “Hawaii Five-O,” “Law and Order,” “Little House on the Prairie” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
Life changes prompt decisions to paint, write
At the age of 70, Persoff had a small stroke, and his doctor advised him to retire from acting.
As he wrote in his book, “Leaving LA was easy. Totally giving up acting was not.”
After moving to Cambria, Persoff rediscovered art, and became especially noted for his watercolors.
“I painted night and day for about 25 years,” he wrote. “I turned out more than 250 paintings,” some of which command respectable, four-digit prices these days.
When Persoff was diagnosed with arthritis, he “turned to writing,” he said, first authoring a stage play “In the Shade of the Eucalyptus” — which he and Cambria filmmaker Kyle Plummer are converting into a screenplay — and then “The Many Faces of Nehemiah.”
Book offer anecdotes from Cambria resident’s life
Reading “The Many Faces of Nehemiah” is almost like having a conversation with Persoff.
His memoir is more a series of anecdotes and remembrances than a typical autobiography. It often flows from one chapter to the next.
While reading the book, a reader familiar with his work can almost hear his distinctive voice and dry wit.
On one page, for instance, he relates a priceless anecdote about a mooing cow in the audience.
In another section of the book, Persoff recalls how a noted German actress cooked for him using her only source of heat — the tubes of a topless radio.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony was playing in the background, she said, because “it tells me when the dish is ready.” That symphony was the right length for fried eggs, she add.
“I’m glad she didn’t do it to Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony,” Persoff commented.
Beyond the personal memories, “Many Faces” will delight many a cinephile or fan of stage and screen.
“The Many Faces of Nehemiah” by Nehemiah Persoff is available for purchase on Amazon.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 11:51 AM with the headline "At 102, SLO County actor and painter Nehemiah Persoff adds a new title — author."
