About Lou Jacobi
Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; 28 December 1913 – 23 October 2009) was a Canadian actor and comedian, known for his many character roles. He came to prominence for his role as Mr. Van Daan in the 1955 Broadway production of The Diary of Anne Frank which he reprised in the 1959 film version. He also acted in the films Irma la Douce (1963), Little Murders (1971), Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) (1972), Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976), The Lucky Star (1980), Arthur (1981), My Favorite Year (1982), and Avalon (1990). == Early life == Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto to Jewish parents Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch. He began acting as a boy, making his stage debut in 1924 at a Toronto theatre, playing a violin prodigy in the Yiddish theatre play 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 Muskoka Lakes (Canada's equivalent of the Borscht Belt), and the entertainment at various weddings and bachelor parties, Jacobi moved to Great Britain to work on the London stage, appearing in Guys and Dolls and Pal Joey. == Career == Jacobi's film debut was in the 1953 British comedy, Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? with the country's blond sex symbol of the day, Diana Dors. Jacobi made his Broadway debut in 1955 in The Diary of Anne Frank playing Hans van Daan, the less-than-noble occupant of the Amsterdam attic where the Franks were hiding, and reprised the role in the 1959 film version.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.