Lou Jacobi
| Lou Jacobi | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Louis Harold Jacobovitch December 28, 1913 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Died |
October 23, 2009 (aged 95) New York City, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Ruth Ludwin (1957-2004) |
Louis Harold "Lou" Jacobi (December 28, 1913 – October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor.
Life and career
Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Ontario, to Joseph and Fay Jacobivitch.[1] His family was Jewish.
Jacobi began acting as a boy, making his stage debut in 1924 at a Toronto theater, playing a violin prodigy in The Rabbi and the Priest. After working as the drama director of the Toronto Y.M.H.A., the social director at a summer resort, a stand-up comic in Canada’s equivalent of the Borscht Belt, and the entertainment at various weddings and bachelor parties, Jacobi moved to London to work on the stage, appearing in Guys and Dolls and Pal Joey. Jacobi made his Broadway debut in 1955 in The Diary of Anne Frank as Hans van Daan, a role he reprised in the 1959 film version. Other Broadway performances included Paddy Chayefsky’s The Tenth Man (1959); Woody Allen’s Don’t Drink the Water (1966); and Neil Simon’s debut play Come Blow Your Horn (1961).
Jacobi made his film debut in the 1953 British comedy Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary?, alongside Diana Dors. Other notable film roles include Uncle Morty in My Favorite Year; the plant store owner in Arthur (1981), Moustache in Irma La Douce; Ducky in Penelope; a transvestite husband in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask); Barry Levinson's Avalon; and Amazon Women on the Moon. His final film role was in 1994's I.Q., playing philosopher/mathematician Kurt Gödel.
Jacobi was a guest star in a variety of television shows, including Playhouse 90, Tales from the Darkside, That Girl and The Man From U.N.C.L.E., and was a regular on The Dean Martin Show. In 1976, he starred in the short lived television series Ivan the Terrible, a sitcom about a family living in the Soviet Union.
He made a spoof record album for Capitol Records called Al Tijuana and his Jewish Brass in he which he acted as a master of ceremonies/bandleader of dance band that plays songs such as "Downtown." He also was part of a group that made the comic shtick records You Don't Have to Be Jewish and When You're in Love, the Whole World Is Jewish.
In 1999, Jacobi was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.[2]
Jacobi was married to Ruth Ludwin from 1957 until her death in 2004. Jacobi died on October 23, 2009, aged 95.
References
- ↑ Gates, Anita (2009-10-25), "Lou Jacobi, Critically Acclaimed Actor of Film and Stage, Dies at 95", New York Times, retrieved 2009-10-26
- ↑ Toronto-born actor-comedian Lou Jacobi dead at 95, retrieved 2009-10-26
Further reading
- Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN 1-59393-320-7.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lou Jacobi. |
- Lou Jacobi at the Internet Movie Database
- Lou Jacobi at the Internet Broadway Database
- Gates, Anita. "Lou Jacobi, Critically Acclaimed Actor of Film and Stage, Dies at 95," The New York Times, Sunday, October 25, 2009.
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