Shalom "Sam" Jaffe was an American actor, teacher, musician, and engineer.
16 Facts About Sam Jaffe
2.
Sam Jaffe appeared in The Day the Earth Stood Still and Ben-Hur, and is additionally known for his roles as the titular character in Gunga Din and as the "High Lama" in Lost Horizon.
3.
Sam Jaffe's mother was a Yiddish actress in Odesa, Ukraine, prior to moving to the United States; his father was a jeweller.
4.
Sam Jaffe was the youngest of four children; his siblings were Abraham, Sophie, and Annie.
5.
Sam Jaffe graduated from Townsend Harris High School and studied engineering at City College of New York, graduating in 1912.
6.
Sam Jaffe 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.
7.
Sam Jaffe was later to star in two of Huston's films: The Asphalt Jungle and The Barbarian and the Geisha.
8.
Sam Jaffe began to work in film in 1934, rising to prominence with his very first role as the mad Tsar Peter III in The Scarlet Empress.
9.
In 1938, Sam Jaffe was forty-seven years old when he played the title role of bhisti Gunga Din.
10.
Sam Jaffe was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the 1950s, supposedly for being a communist sympathizer.
11.
Sam Jaffe co-starred in the ABC television series, Ben Casey as Dr David Zorba from 1961 to 1965 alongside Vince Edwards.
12.
Sam Jaffe made many guest-starring roles on other series, including Batman as Mr Zoltan Zorba, and the Western Alias Smith and Jones.
13.
Sam Jaffe 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.
14.
Sam Jaffe was married to American operatic soprano and musical comedy star Lillian Taiz from 1926 until her death from cancer in 1941.
15.
Sam Jaffe died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California two weeks after his 93rd birthday.
16.
Sam Jaffe 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.