Herschel Bernardi

Herschel Bernardi

1923-10-30 – 1986-05-09 (age 62) New York City, New York, USA
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Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Herschel Bernardi (30 October 1923, New York City – 9 May 1986, Los Angeles, California) was an American film, Broadway, and television actor.

He is best known for his starring roles on Broadway including Fiddler on the Roof (as Tevye), Zorba, and Bajour, but he also acted in many television shows, including Harbor Command and The Eleventh Hour (both with Wendell Corey), as well as State Trooper, Peter Gunn. He was the lead in the CBS sitcom Arnie.

Bernardi wrote at least one script for Peter Gunn. In Arnie, he starred for two years as someone plucked from the loading dock of a flange company to become an executive. Originally, the character was to receive a $25,000 annual salary, which was very good in those days. But, national economic woes caused producers to substitute the figure of $20,000 per year before airing.

Born into the Yiddish theatre, Bernardi was appearing on the stages of 2nd Avenue with his acting family before he could talk.

In the 1930s, Bernardi appeared in the Yiddish films of Edgar G. Ulmer and was later among those actors who made the transition from Yiddish-speaking roles in film to American films.

Bernardi was also in several notable films, including Irma La Douce, Love with the Proper Stranger and the 1976 film The Front, a film about blacklisting in the entertainment industry. Bernardi was the victim of blacklisting during the 1950s, as were several other performers and the screenwriter and director on that film.

Bernardi was a noted voiceover artist and narrator with hundreds of films, commercials and cartoons to his credit and was the original voice of StarKist Tuna animated character, "Charlie the Tuna".

Herschel Bernardi also had two minor record hits, 1967's "If I Were A Rich Man", reflecting his success as Tevye, and 1971's "Pencil Marks On The Wall".

Description above from the Wikipedia article Herschel Bernardi, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Photos

Known For

Sandcastles
Sandcastles

1972

as Alexis

Irma la Douce
Irma la Douce

1963

as Inspector Lefevre

Send Me No Flowers
Send Me No Flowers

1964

as TV Announcer (voice) (uncredited)

Actor
Actor

1978

as Nahum Favel Weissenfreund

Hangman
Hangman

1964

as Narrator

The Honey Pot
The Honey Pot

1967

as Oscar Ludwig (uncredited) (scenes deleted)

The Front
The Front

1976

as Philip Sussman

Love with the Proper Stranger
Love with the Proper Stranger

1963

as Dominick Rossini

Murder by Contract
Murder by Contract

1958

as George

🎦
David and Goliath

1986

as Goliath (voice)

The George Raft Story
No Deposit, No Return
No Deposit, No Return

1976

as Sgt. Max Turner

The Million Dollar Face
The Million Dollar Face

1981

as Nick Ravenna

Journey Back to Oz
Journey Back to Oz

1972

as Woodenhead Pinto Stallion III (voice)

No Place to Run
No Place to Run

1972

as Hyam Malsh

The Story of Jacob and Joseph
Sean O'Casey: The Spirit of Ireland
Sean O'Casey: The Spirit of Ireland

1965

as Narrator (voice)

1001 Arabian Nights
1001 Arabian Nights

1959

as The Jinni of the Lamp (voice)

A Cold Wind in August
A Cold Wind in August

1961

as Juley Franz