Sam Jaffe

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American actor, teacher, musician and engineer (1891-1984)

title: "Sam Jaffe" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1891-births", "1984-deaths", "20th-century-american-jews", "20th-century-american-male-actors", "american-male-film-actors", "american-male-stage-actors", "american-male-television-actors", "american-people-of-ukrainian-jewish-descent", "california-democrats", "city-college-of-new-york-alumni", "columbia-university-alumni", "deaths-from-cancer-in-california", "hollywood-blacklist", "jewish-american-male-actors", "jews-from-new-york-(state)", "male-actors-from-manhattan", "new-york-(state)-democrats", "townsend-harris-high-school-alumni", "volpi-cup-for-best-actor-winners"] description: "American actor, teacher, musician and engineer (1891-1984)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Jaffe" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actor, teacher, musician and engineer (1891-1984) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameSam Jaffe
imageSam Jaffe David Zorba Ben Casey.jpg
captionJaffe as David Zorba in Ben Casey, 1961
birth_nameShalom Jaffe
birth_date
birth_placeNew York City, U.S.
death_date
death_placeBeverly Hills, California, U.S.
resting_placeWilliston Cemetery in Williston, South Carolina
othernameSam C. Jaffe
occupation{{flatlist
educationCity College of New York
(B.Sc. Engineering, 1912)
yearsactive1918–1984
spouse{{plainlist
* {{marriageLillian Taiz
::

| name = Sam Jaffe | image = Sam Jaffe David Zorba Ben Casey.jpg | caption = Jaffe as David Zorba in Ben Casey, 1961 | birth_name = Shalom Jaffe | birth_date = | birth_place = New York City, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = Beverly Hills, California, U.S. | resting_place = Williston Cemetery in Williston, South Carolina | othername = Sam C. Jaffe | occupation = {{flatlist|

  • Actor
  • teacher
  • engineer}} | education = City College of New York (B.Sc. Engineering, 1912) | yearsactive = 1918–1984 | spouse = {{plainlist|

Shalom "Sam" Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher, musician, and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle (1950). He also appeared in The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) and Ben-Hur (1959), and is additionally known for his roles as the titular character in Gunga Din (1939) and as the "High Lama" in Lost Horizon (1937).

Early life

Shalom Jaffe () was born to Ukrainian Jewish parents Heida (Ada; Yiddish: ; ) and Barnett Jaffe (; ) at 97 Orchard Street (current location of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum) in New York City, New York. His mother was a Yiddish actress in Odesa, Ukraine, prior to moving to the United States; his father was a jeweller. He was the youngest of four children; his siblings were Abraham, Sophie, and Annie. As a child, he appeared in Yiddish theatre productions with his mother who, after moving to the United States, became a prominent actress and vaudeville star. He graduated from Townsend Harris High School and studied engineering at City College of New York, graduating in 1912. He later attended Columbia University for graduate studies. He also worked for several years as a teacher, and then dean, of mathematics at the Bronx Cultural Institute, a college preparatory school, before returning to acting in 1915.

Career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Sam_Jaffe_&_Ruth_Foster_1965.jpg" caption="Jaffe and [[Ruth Foster]] on the set of ''[[Ben Casey]]''"] ::

As a young man, he lived in Greenwich Village in the same apartment building as a young John Huston. The two men became good friends and remained so for life. Jaffe was later to star in two of Huston's films: The Asphalt Jungle and The Barbarian and the Geisha. Jaffe's closest friends included Zero Mostel, Edward G. Robinson, Ray Bradbury, and Igor Stravinsky. In 1923 he appeared in the Broadway premiere of God of Vengeance (Got fun Nekome) by Sholem Asch, as Reb Ali. The production became notorious after the cast, producer, and theatre owner were indicted and found guilty on charges of indecency in May 1923. Jaffe began to work in film in 1934, rising to prominence with his first role as the mad Tsar Peter III in The Scarlet Empress. In 1938, Jaffe was forty-seven years old when he played the title role of bhisti (waterbearer) Gunga Din.

Jaffe was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the 1950s, supposedly for being a communist sympathizer. Despite being blacklisted, he was hired first by Robert Wise for The Day the Earth Stood Still and then by director William Wyler for his role in the 1959 Academy Award-winning version of Ben-Hur.

Jaffe co-starred in the ABC television series, Ben Casey, as Dr. David Zorba from 1961 to 1965, alongside Vince Edwards. He also had many guest-starring roles on other series, including Batman (as Mr. Zoltan Zorba) and in the western Alias Smith and Jones. In 1975, he co-starred as a retired doctor who is murdered by Janet Leigh in the Columbo episode "Forgotten Lady". He also appeared with an all-star cast in the TV pilot film of Rod Serling's Night Gallery and as Emperor Norton in one episode of Bonanza.

Personal life and death

Jaffe was married to American operatic soprano and musical comedy star Lillian Taiz from 1926 until her death from cancer in 1941. In 1956, he married actress Bettye Ackerman, 33 years his junior, with whom he later co-starred in Ben Casey. She died on November 1, 2006. He had no children from either marriage.

A Democrat, Jaffe supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson II during the 1952 presidential election.

Jaffe died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California, in 1984, two weeks after his 93rd birthday. He was cremated at the Pasadena Crematory in Altadena, California, and his ashes were given to his surviving wife, Bettye and, upon her death in 2006, buried with her at Williston Cemetery in Williston, South Carolina.

Filmography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/1976_Sad_Lonely_Sundays_Oath_Jack_Albertson_Sam_Jaffe.jpg" caption="Jaffe (left) and [[Jack Albertson]] in the 1976 TV special ''The Sad and Lonely Sundays''"] ::

::data[format=table]

YearFilmRoleDirectorNotes
1916A Cheap Vacation
1934The Scarlet EmpressGrand Duke PeterJosef von Sternberg
1934We Live AgainGregory SimonsonRouben Mamoulian
1937Lost HorizonHigh LamaFrank Capra
1938The Adventures of Robin Hood(uncredited) man who tells men to meet Robin at Gallows Oaks
1939Gunga DinGunga DinGeorge Stevens
1943Stage Door CanteenSam JaffeFrank Borzage
194613 Rue MadeleineMayor GalimardHenry Hathaway
1947Gentleman's AgreementProfessor Fred LiebermanElia Kazan
1949The AccusedDr. RomleyWilliam Dieterle
1949Rope of SandDr. Francis HunterWilliam Dieterle
1950The Asphalt Junglecriminal mastermind Doc Erwin RiedenschneiderJohn Huston
1951I Can Get It for You WholesaleSam CooperMichael Gordon
1951The Day the Earth Stood StillProfessor Jacob BarnhardtRobert Wise
1953Main Street to BroadwayFirst Nighter (uncredited)Tay Garnett
1957Les Espionshead of the American spy network Sam CooperHenri-Georges Clouzot
1958The Barbarian and the Geishatranslator-secretary Henry HeuskenJohn Huston
1959Ben-Hurmerchant and loyal slave SimonidesWilliam Wyler
1967A Guide for the Married ManTechnical Adviser (Shrink)Gene Kelly
1967Tarzan's Jungle RebellionDr. Singleton (archive footage)
1968La Bataille de San SebastianFather JosephHenri Verneuil
1969The Great Bank RobberyBrother Lilac Bailey (Art Forger)Hy Averback
1970The Dunwich HorrorOld WhateleyDaniel Haller
1970QuarantinedMr. BerrymanLeo Penn
1970The Old Man Who Cried WolfAbe StillmanWalter Grauman
1971Who Killed the Mysterious Mr. Foster?Toby
1971Bedknobs and BroomsticksBookmanRobert Stevenson
1971EnemiesGittelman
1971The Tell-Tale HeartThe Old Man
1973Saga of SonoraOld Sam
1976The Sad and Lonely SundaysDr. Sweeny
1980Gideon's Trumpet1st Supreme Court Justice
1980Battle Beyond the StarsDr. HephaestusJimmy T. Murakami
1984Nothing Lasts ForeverFather KnickerbockerTom Schiller
1984On the LineEl Gabacho (final film role)
::

Television credits

References

References

  1. (February 5, 2021). "Top 10 Secrets of the Tenement Museum".
  2. (2016-08-30). "Gettin' Schooled: A History Lesson".
  3. (19 June 2012). ""The God of Vengeance": Is the Play Immoral?".
  4. Flint, Peter B.. (25 March 1984). "Sam Jaffe, A Character Actor On Stage and Film, Dies at 93". [[The New York Times]].
  5. ''Motion Picture and Television Magazine''. November 1952. page 33.
  6. Pearson, Richard. (March 26, 1984). "Character Actor Sam Jaffe, 93, Dies of Cancer". [[The Washington Post]].
  7. Wilson, Scott. (19 August 2016). "Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons". McFarland.
  8. (2009). "Epic Television Miniseries: A Critical History". [[McFarland & Company.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

1891-births1984-deaths20th-century-american-jews20th-century-american-male-actorsamerican-male-film-actorsamerican-male-stage-actorsamerican-male-television-actorsamerican-people-of-ukrainian-jewish-descentcalifornia-democratscity-college-of-new-york-alumnicolumbia-university-alumnideaths-from-cancer-in-californiahollywood-blacklistjewish-american-male-actorsjews-from-new-york-(state)male-actors-from-manhattannew-york-(state)-democratstownsend-harris-high-school-alumnivolpi-cup-for-best-actor-winners