Biography

Popeck (born Judka Herpstu; 18 May 1936) is a French actor and stand-up comedian. The son of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Romania, Judka Herpstu was born in Paris. He was among the children saved from the Holocaust by the OSE, but his mother was murdered in Auschwitz. He studied acting at the Cours Simon and started his career on stage under the name Jean Herbert. In 1968, Herpstu created the character of Popeck, a grumpy Eastern-European immigrant dressed in a 3-piece suit, wearing a bowler hat and speaking French with a strong Yiddish accent.