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Lou Jacobi

 
American Theater Guide: Lou Jacobi
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Jacobi, Lou (b. 1913), character actor. The strongly ethnic comic was often cast as the grumpy Jewish father but sometimes got to break away from typecasting and surprise audiences with a serious portrayal. He was born in Toronto where he first started acting as a youth. After appearing on the London stage in the early 1950s, Jacobi made an impressive Broadway debut in 1955 as the Jew‐in‐hiding Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank (1955). His noteworthy performances include the synagogue worshiper Schlissel in The Tenth Man (1959); the manufacturer of plastic fruit, Mr. Baker, in Come Blow Your Horn (1961); the Samuel Goldwynish movie producer Lionel Z. Governor in Fade Out—Fade In (1964); the American‐Jewish caterer Walter Hollander caught behind the Iron Curtain in Don't Drink the Water (1966); and two different Jews in Unlikely Heroes (1971).

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Actor: Lou Jacobi
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Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: Dec 28, 1913 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '50s-'80s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Drama
  • Career Highlights: Avalon, Irma La Douce, The Diary of Anne Frank
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Biography

Bald-pated, mustachioed Canadian character actor Lou Jacobi has been entertaining theatre audiences since childhood. Though many of his characterizations have been urban-American ethnic types, Jacobi was well into his career before ever setting foot on an American stage. Among his more memorable screen roles were the explosive Mr. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and the philosophical Parisian bartender Moustache in Irma La Douce (1963). After his cameo as a middle-aged transvestite in Woody Allen's Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), the hapless Mr. Jacobi found himself called upon to don women's garb on a nearly-weekly basis for the various TV variety series of the early 1970s. Lou Jacobi's other television work has included supporting parts on The Dean Martin Show, Somerset and Melba, and the lead in the 1976 sitcom Ivan the Terrible. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Lou Jacobi
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Lou Jacobi
Born Louis Harold Jacobovitch
December 28, 1913(1913-12-28)
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.

Contents

Biography

Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Ontario to Joseph and Fay Jacobivitch.[1] He 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; Moustache in Irma La Douce; Penelope (1966), which starred Natalie Wood; 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, 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.

Further reading

  • Oderman, Stuart, Talking to the Piano Player 2. BearManor Media, 2009. ISBN #1-59393-320-7.

References

  1. ^ Gates, Anita (10-25-2009), "Lou Jacobi, Critically Acclaimed Actor of Film and Stage, Dies at 95", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/nyregion/25jacobi.html?_r=1, retrieved 10-26-2009 
  2. ^ Toronto-born actor-comedian Lou Jacobi dead at 95, http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091025/jacobi_obit_091025/20091025?hub=EntertainmentV2, retrieved 2009-10-26 

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American Theater Guide. The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Copyright © 2004 by Oxford University Press, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Actor. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lou Jacobi".  Read more