David Opatoshu: Movies & Box Office

David Opatoshu (born David Opatovsky on January 30, 1918 in New York City) was a versatile American actor whose career spanned six decades, from his early days in the Yiddish theater to memorable roles in Hollywood classics and iconic television series. He began performing in Yiddish troupes before landing the role of “Mr. Carp” on the 1938 national tour of Golden Boy, and made his Broadway debut in 1940 with Night Music, establishing himself as a reliable stage presence. After serving in the Army Air Forces in the South Pacific during World II, Opatoshu returned to New York, where he expanded into radio, television, and film, and even published a Yiddish short‑story collection titled Between Sea and Sand in 1946. His film debut came with the Yiddish‑language picture The Light Ahead (1939), and he later appeared in Jules Dassin’s noir classic The Naked City (1948) and Thieves’ Highway. Perhaps his most recognized cinematic performance was as Akiva Ben Canaan’s uncle in Otto Preminger’s epic Exodus (1960), a role that highlighted his ability to convey complex historical figures. Opatoshu continued to work steadily, portraying a super‑villain in Tarzan and the Valley of Gold (1965), a German sympathizer in Alfred Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain (1966), and Menachem Begin in the television movie Raid on Entebbe (1977). On television he became a familiar guest star, appearing in episodes of The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Star Trek (“A Taste of Armageddon”), and earning an Emmy Award in 1991 for his performance in Gabriel’s Fire. Off screen he married psychiatric social worker Lillian Weinberg in 1941, with whom he had a son, Danny, and he also wrote the screenplay for Romance of a Horsethief (1971), adapting his father Joseph Opatoshu’s novel. David Opatoshu died in Los Angeles on April 30 1996, leaving behind a rich legacy of diverse roles that reflect the evolution of American entertainment from the golden age of Yiddish theater to modern television.