Introduction
Tutte Lemkow (28 August 1918 – 10 November 1991) was a Norwegian actor and dancer, who played mostly villainous roles in British television and films. His chief claims to mainstream familiarity were his roles as "the fiddler" in the film version of Fiddler on the Roof and the old man ("Imam") who translates the Staff of Ra for Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Career
Lemkow appeared as a dancer in John Huston's 1952 film Moulin Rouge and in Blake Edwards' A Shot in the Dark as the Cossack who drinks the poison intended for Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, Sellers' films The Wrong Arm of the Law, The Wrong Box and Ghost in the Noonday Sun, Woody Allen's Love and Death and the Morecambe and Wise comedy film The Intelligence Men (1965).
He played three roles in Doctor Who with William Hartnell's Doctor: Kuiju in Marco Polo (1964), Ibrahim in The Crusade (1965) and Cyclops in The Myth Makers (1965), as well as providing choreography for The Celestial Toymaker (1966).
ln 1968 he played the role of 'Old Gorgy' in the episode "Legacy of Death" of The Avengers.
He adapted Ibsen's play for the 1983 film The Wild Duck.
Personal life
Lemkow was born in Oslo, Norway of Jewish heritage. He was married to Swedish actress Mai Zetterling from 1944 to 1953. Lemkow and Zetterling have a daughter, Etienne and a son, Louis, who is professor of environmental sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
He married dancer Sara Luzita in 1954 and they have two daughters, Rachel and Rebecca.
Tutte Lemkow died in London, aged 73. A biography called "Tutte Lemkow; På tå og hev" written by Margaret Ljunggren was published in Oslo in 1989. (Gyldendal Norsk Forlag A/S)
Filmography
- Galgmannen (1945) - Russian dancer (uncredited)
- The Lost People (1949) - Jaroslav
- Moulin Rouge (1952) - Aicha's Partner
- The Captain's Paradise (1953) - Prinicpal dancer
- I Am a Camera (1955) - Electro-Therapist
- The Iron Petticoat (1956) - Sutisiyawa
- Zarak (1956) - Sword Dancer (uncredited)
- Anastasia (1956) - Kasbek Dancer (uncredited)
- Bonjour Tristesse (1958) - Pierre Schube (uncredited)
- Sea Fury (1958) - Dancer (uncredited)
- Too Many Crooks (1959) - Swarth Man
- Ben-Hur (1959) - Leper (uncredited)
- The Stranglers of Bombay (1959) - Ram Das
- Tommy the Toreador (1959) - Bootblack
- The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960) - Mateo
- Sands of the Desert (1960) - Bus Driver
- The Siege of Sidney Street (1960) - Dmitrieff
- The Hellfire Club (1961) - Higgins
- A Weekend with Lulu (1961) - Postman Léon
- The Green Helmet (1961) - Carlo Zaraga
- The Guns of Navarone (1961) - Nicolai
- The Treasure of Monte Cristo (1961) - Gino
- Ramona (1961)
- Guns of Darkness (1962) - Gino
- We Joined the Navy (1962) - Corporal
- On the Beat (1962) - Billposter in Underground (uncredited)
- The Road to Hong Kong (1962) - Hotel Servant (uncredited)
- The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963) - Siggy Schmoltz
- The Cracksman (1963) - Choreographer
- The Victors (1963) - Sikh Soldier
- Becket (1964) - French Courtier (uncredited)
- Carry on Spying (1964) - Man in Marketplace (uncredited)
- A Shot in the Dark (1964) - Kazak Dancer
- The Moon-Spinners (1964) - Orestes
- The Intelligence Men (1965) - Seedy SCHLECHT Agent
- Masquerade (1965) - Paviot
- The Wrong Box (1966) - Strangler
- Fathom (1967) - Mehmed
- Inspector Clouseau (1968) - Frenchi LeBec
- Duffy (1968) - Spaniard
- The Picasso Summer (1969) - Drunk
- Justine (1969) - Jens
- Revolution My A (1970)
- Fiddler on the Roof (1971) - Fiddler
- Raising the Roof (1972) - Alf
- Super Bitch (1973)
- Theater of Blood (1973) - Meths Drinker
- Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1973) - Pontius Kak
- Love and Death (1975) - Pierre
- Sphinx (1981) - Tewfik
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - Imam
- Mata Hari (1985) - Ybarra
- Red Sonja (1985) - Wizard (final film role)