Sam Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and appeared in other classic films such as Ben-Hur (1959) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He may be best remembered for playing the title role in Gunga Din (1939), and the High Lama in Lost Horizon (1937).
He was born to Heida ...
more
Sam Jaffe (March 10, 1891 – March 24, 1984) was an American actor, teacher and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and appeared in other classic films such as Ben-Hur (1959) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). He may be best remembered for playing the title role in Gunga Din (1939), and the High Lama in Lost Horizon (1937).
He was born to Heida (Ada) and Barnet Jaffe, a Russian Jewish family in New York City, New York. His mother, Ada Jaffe, was a Yiddish actress in Odessa, Russia prior to moving to the United States. He was the youngest of four children, and his siblings were Abraham, Sophie and Annie. As a child, he appeared in Yiddish theater productions with his mother, who was a prominent actress and vaudeville star. He studied engineering at Columbia University and then worked for several years as a math teacher before turning to acting as a career. As a young man he lived in...
less
