Sam Jaffe (actor)
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- For the producer Sam Jaffe (1901-2000), see Sam Jaffe (producer)
| Sam Jaffe | |
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| Born | Shalom Jaffe March 10, 1891 New York, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 1984 (aged 93) (cancer) Beverly Hills, California, U.S. |
| Other name(s) | Sam C. Jaffe |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1934 - 1984 |
| Spouse(s) | Lillian Taiz (1926-1941) (her death) Bettye Ackerman (1956-1984) (his death) |
Sam Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and appeared in other classic films such as Ben-Hur (1959) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He may be best remembered for the playing the title role in Gunga Din (1939), and the High Lama in the 1937 version of Lost Horizon.
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[edit] Biography
Born to a Jewish family in New York City, New York, as a child he appeared in Yiddish theater productions with his mother Ada Jaffe, who was a prominent actress and vaudeville star. He studied engineering at Columbia University and then worked for several years as a math teacher before turning to acting as a career. He began to work in film in 1934 and continued for the rest of his life.
For a time during the 1950s, Jaffe was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses, supposedly for being a Communist sympathizer. Despite this, he was hired by director William Wyler for his role in the 1959 Academy Award winning version of Ben-Hur.
Jaffe co-starred in the American TV series Ben Casey as Dr. David Zorba from 1961 to 1965 and had many guest starring roles on other series, including the western Alias Smith and Jones starring Pete Duel and Ben Murphy.
Jaffe married American operatic soprano and musical comedy star Lillian Taiz in 1926 and they were married until her death from cancer in 1941. In 1956 he married actress Bettye Ackerman, who later also starred with him in Ben Casey. She died on November 20, 2006. He had no children from either marriage.
Sam Jaffe died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California and was interred in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
[edit] Select filmography
- The Scarlet Empress (1934)
- We Live Again (1934)
- Lost Horizon (1937)
- Gunga Din (1939)
- 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
- Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
- The Accused (1949)
- Rope of Sand (1949)
- The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
- Under the Gun (1951)
- I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1951)
- The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
This six-year gap in his work was due to being blacklisted.
- The Spies (1957)
- The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958)
- Ben-Hur (1959)
- A Guide for the Married Man (1967)
- Tarzan's Jungle Rebellion (1967)
- Guns for San Sebastian (1968)
- The Great Bank Robbery (1969)
- The Dunwich Horror (1969)
- Quarantined (TV, 1970)
- The Old Man Who Cried Wolf (TV, 1970)
- Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
- The Tell-Tale Heart (1971)
- Enemies (TV, 1971)
- Ghost Story (TV, 1972)
- Saba of Sonora (TV, 1973)
- Columbo: Forgotten Lady (TV, 1975)
- Gideon's Trumpet (TV, 1980)
- Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)
- Rio Abajo (1984)
- Nothing Lasts Forever (1984)
[edit] Television
- Ben Casey (series, 1961-1965)
- QB VII (miniseries, 1974)
- Alias Smith and Jones (1971-1972)
