Job Actor, teacher, engineer
Years active 1934-1984
Known for Obscure foreign characterizations
Top Roles Gunga Din, High Lama, Professor Jacob Barnhardt, Gregory Simonson, Sam Cooper
Top GenresDrama, Romance, Adventure, Action, Film Noir, Comedy
Top TopicsBook-Based, Romance (Drama), New York
Top Collaborators , , (Director), (Director)
Shares birthday with Barry Fitzgerald, Gregory La Cava, Richard Haydn  see more..

Sam Jaffe Overview:

Character actor, Sam Jaffe, was born Shalom Jaffe on Mar 10, 1891 in New York City, NY. Jaffe died at the age of 93 on Mar 24, 1984 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles and was laid to rest in Eden Memorial Park Cemetery in Mission Hills, CA.

MINI BIO:

Sam Jaffe looked wizened even in early middle age, and specialized in obscure foreign characterizations -- Tibetan, Indian, Russian, Israeli and Mexican were only a few. His film appearances were limited by his prolific stage work, but his roles have often been memorable, notably his native water-carrier in Gunga Din and his High Lama in Lost Horizon. He was married to actress Bettye Acherman (2nd of two wives) from 1955 until his death in 1984; she appeared with him during his years as Dr. Zorba in TV's Ben Casey. He was nominated for an Oscar in The Asphalt Jungle. He died from cancer.

(Source: available at Amazon Quinlan's Illustrated Dictionary of Film Character Actors).

HONORS and AWARDS:

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Although Jaffe was nominated for one Oscar, he never won a competitive Academy Award.

Academy Awards

YearAwardFilm nameRoleResult
1950Best Supporting ActorThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)Dr. Erwin RiedenschneiderNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

Supporting Players:

By Amanda Garrett on Feb 25, 2015 From Old Hollywood Films

was one of old Hollywood's most sought after character actors appearing in films like Gunga Din (1939), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Ben Hur (1959), but he was also a talented composer and mathematician. Shalom Jaffe was born on March 10, 1891, in the Lower East Side of New ... Read full article


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Sam Jaffe Quotes:

Professor Fred Lieberman: Millions of people nowadays are religious only in the vaguest sense. I've often wondered why the Jews among them still go on calling themselves Jews. Do you know, Mr. Green?
Phil Green: No, but I'd like to.
Professor Fred Lieberman: Because the world still makes it an advantage not to be one. Thus it becomes a matter of pride to go on calling ourselves Jews.


High Lama: I wanted to meet the Conway who in one of his books said: "There are moments in every mans life, when he glimpses the eternal". That Conway seemed to belong here.


Mayor Galimard: There will be reprisals!


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Best Supporting Actor Oscar 1950






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Sam Jaffe Facts
He was a victim of the Hollywood blacklist during the HUAC hearings. Although he had already been signed, 20th Century-Fox wanted to remove him from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). Producer Julian Blaustein felt that Jaffe was so crucial for the role of the Albert Einstein-like Prof. Barnhardt that he appealed to studio chief Darryl F. Zanuck. Zanuck approved Jaffe for the role, but it was his last Hollywood film until the late 1950s.

His cousin Alma's grandson is NYC amateur comedian Jeremy Jacobs.

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