Abraham Sofaer
Abraham Sofaer | |
---|---|
Sofaer in Mission: Impossible | |
Born |
Rangoon, Burma (now known as Myanmar) | 1 October 1896
Died |
21 January 1988 91) Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1921–1974 |
Abraham Isaac Sofaer (1 October 1896 – 21 January 1988) was a stage actor who became a familiar supporting player in film and on television in his later years. Although often incorrectly listed as Burmese, Sofaer was proudly descended from Baghdad Jews. He was born in Rangoon, then a part of the British Empire. The son of very successful merchants (see the Sofaer Building, Rangoon), he was educated as a British gentleman and initially worked as a school teacher in Burma and later in London.[1] Sofaer's strong features and resonant voice complemented his many exotic character roles.
Sofaer began his acting career on the London stage in 1921, but soon he was alternating between theatre productions in London and New York. In 1935 he gained widespread attention on Broadway portraying Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli in Victoria Regina.[1][2] During the 1930s he also began appearing in both British and American films. Among his more prominent performances were his dual role as the Judge and Surgeon in Powell and Pressburger's A Matter of Life and Death (1946) and as Saint Paul in Quo Vadis (1951).
He also appeared on television from its earliest days in the late 1930s and on radio. Although his film appearances diminished after the 1950s, he continued to have guest roles on dozens of major U.S. television series throughout the 1960s. He made three appearances on Perry Mason including as Sylvester Robey in the 1960 episode "The Case of the Crying Cherub" and his voice was featured in two episodes of Star Trek. Other guest appearances were in Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Daniel Boone, The Time Tunnel, Lost in Space, and The Outer Limits. He may be best remembered for his recurring role as Haji, the master of all genies, on I Dream of Jeannie and as The Swami who advises Peter Tork in the "Sauna" scene in The Monkees' 1968 film Head.
Personal life
Sofaer married Angela Psyche Christian, with whom he had two sons and four daughters. He retired from acting in the mid-1970s.
The noted jurist Abraham David Sofaer is the actor's first cousin, once removed.
Death
Sofaer died at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, as the result of congestive heart failure in 1988.[1]
Complete filmography
- Dreyfus (1931) - Dubois
- The House Opposite (1932) - Fahmy
- Stamboul (1932) - Mahmed Pasha
- The Flying Squad (1932) - Li Yoseph
- Insult (1932) - Ali Ben Achmed
- The Flag Lieutenant (1933) - Meheti Salos
- Long Live the King (1933 short) - Alexis
- Karma (1933) - Holy Man
- The Wandering Jew (1933) - Zapportas
- Trouble (1933) - Ali
- Little Miss Nobody (1933) - Mr. Beal
- High Finance (1933) - Myers
- Ask Beccles (1933) - Baki
- Oh No Doctor! (1934) - Skelton
- Nell Gwynn (1934) (uncredited)
- The Admiral's Secret (1934) - Don Pablo y Gonzales
- The Private Life of Don Juan (1934) - Street Bookseller (uncredited)
- Things to Come (1936) - The Jew (uncredited)
- The House of the Spaniard (1936) - Vidal
- Rembrandt (1936) - Dr. Menasseh
- The Switchback (1939 TV movie)
- Caesar's Friend (1939 TV movie) - Annas
- The Deacon and the Jewess (1939 TV movie) - Benedict the Pointer, Jew of Oxford
- The Great Adventure (1939 TV movie) - Ebag
- Freedom Radio (1941) - Heini
- The Prime Minister (1941) - Turkish ambassador (uncredited)
- Crook's Tour (1941) - Ali
- The Queen of Spades (1946 TV movie) - Tchekalinsky
- The Man with the Cloak Full of Holes (1946 TV movie) - Luis Santangel
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946) - The Judge
- Caesar's Friend (1947 TV movie) - Joseph Caiaphas
- The Merchant of Venice (1947 TV movie, aired on two days) - Shylock
- Dual Alibi (1947) - French Judge
- Trilby (1947 TV movie) - Svengali
- The Ghosts of Berkeley Square (1947) - Benjamin Disraeli
- Dim'at Ha'Nehamah Ha'Gedolah (1947) - Corporal / Commentator: Jordan's Tale
- Calling Paul Temple (1948) - Dr. Kohima
- Tilly of Bloomsbury (1948 TV movie) - Mehta Ram
- Counsellor at Law (1949 TV movie) - George Simon
- A Man's House (1949 TV movie) - Salathiel
- The Gentle People (1949 TV movie) - Jonah Goodman
- Christopher Columbus (1949) - Luis de Santangel
- The Squeaker (1949 TV movie) - Lew Friedman
- Dick Whittington (1949 TV movie) - Sultan
- Cairo Road (1950) - Commandant
- Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) - Judge
- Quo Vadis (1951) - Paul
- Judgment Deferred (1952) - Chancellor
- Music at Night (1952 TV movie) - Nicholas Lengel
- His Majesty O'Keefe (1954) - Fatumak, Medicine Man
- The Naked Jungle (1954) - Incacha
- Elephant Walk (1954) - Appuhamy
- Out of the Clouds (1955) - The Indian
- Bhowani Junction (1956) - Surabhai
- The First Texan (1956) - Don Carlos
- Omar Khayyam (1957) - Tutush
- The Story of Mankind (1957) - Indian Chief
- The Sad Sack (1957) - Hassim
- Song Without End (1960) - Emissary in Rome (uncredited)
- Hitler (1962) - Morris Kaplan
- Taras Bulba (1962) - Abbot
- Captain Sindbad (1963) - Galgo
- Twice-Told Tales (1963) - Prof. Pietro Baglioni
- 4 for Texas (1963) - Pulaski
- The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) - Joseph of Arimathaea
- Journey to the Center of Time (1967) - Dr. 'Doc' Gordon
- Head (1968) - Swami
- Che! (1969) - Pablo Rojas
- Justine (1969) - Proprietor
- Chisum (1970) - Chief White Buffalo
Selected television appearances
- Zane Grey Theater - "Mission" (1959) - Comanche Chief Alou
- The Real McCoys - "The Rainmaker" (1959) - Arapaho Chief
- Gunsmoke - "Kitty's Killing" (1960-62) - Jeremiah Leech / Harvey Easter
- The Twilight Zone - "The Mighty Casey" (1960) - Dr. Stillman
- Peter Gunn - "A Penny Saved" (1961) - Boris Petrov
- Thriller "The Weird Tailor" (1961) - Nicolai
- Star Trek, Episode #1.02 "Charlie X" (1966) - The Thasian
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E. "The Brain-Killer Affair" (1965) - Mr. Gabhail Samoy, head of U.N.C.L.E. operations in Calcutta
- The Time Tunnel "Revenge of the Gods" (1966) - Epeios
- I Dream of Jeannie "The Birds and the Bees Bit" (1967) - Haji
- Lost in Space - "The Flaming Planet" (1968) - Sobram
- Kolchak: The Night Stalker "Horror in the Heights" (1974) - Rakshasa Hunter (final appearance)
References
- 1 2 3 "A. Sofaer, 91; Veteran Film, Stage Actor", obituary, Los Angeles Times, January 22, 1988. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
- ↑ "Abraham Sofaer", Internet Broadway Database (IBDB), The Broadway League, New York, N.Y. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
External links
- Abraham Sofaer at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)