Salem Ludwig

Salem Ludwig (July 31, 1915 – April 1, 2007) was an American character actor and acting instructor born in Brooklyn, New York. He maintained a stage career spanning from 1947 to 1991, and remained professionally active past his 90th birthday until his death at age 91. He was represented by theatrical agent Archer King.

Ludwig's Broadway work included productions such as A Month of Sundays, Rhinoceros, All You Need Is One Good Break, Broadway Boy, and An Enemy of the People. His stage career was interrupted when he was blacklisted in 1957, a period during which he was able to find only minimal work in theater.

His film appearances spanned several decades and included Never Love a Stranger (1958, as Moishe Moscowitz), America, America (1963, as Odysseus Topouzoglou), Three Sisters (1966, as Ferapont), I Love You, Alice B. Toklas (1968, as Mr. Fine), What's So Bad About Feeling Good? (1968), The Arab Conspiracy (1976, as Ghassan Kaddara), Endless Love (1981, as Mr. Switzer), Heartburn (1986, as Judge), Family Business (1989, as Nat), For Love or Money (1993, as Customer), I'm Not Rappaport (1996, as Walter), The Object of My Affection (1998, as Mr. Shapiro), Fast Food, Fast Women (2000, as Leo), The Business of Strangers (2001, as Man at Pool), Unfaithful (2002, as Man with Suitcase), and Life on the Ledge (2005, as Grandfather).

Television credits included the role of attorney Solomon Rabinowitz in an early episode of All in the Family, in which the character advised Archie Bunker against pursuing a whiplash case with the line, "In a court of law, you can't beat a station wagon full of nuns." Ludwig also appeared twice on the NBC daytime soap opera The Doctors, playing Dr. Roth in 1967 and George Watson in 1975. In 1985, he portrayed Jules Rosenfeld, a dry cleaner, in the CBS comedy series Kate & Allie.

A biographical film titled An Actor's Life was made about Ludwig by director and actress Carol Schaye, whose intent was to present actors as skilled working professionals rather than reducing them to the characters they portray. Ludwig's work as an acting instructor was also a significant part of his career, and recordings of his involvement with the Actors Studio are held in the University of Wisconsin's Actors Studio audio collection.