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Esther Ofarim‌

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1941-06-13

Popularity

star0.9

Esther Ofarim

Safed, Israel

Esther Ofarim

Safed, Israel

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1941-06-13

Popularity

star0.9

Biography

Esther Zaied, better known by her married name Esther Ofarim (Hebrew: אסתר עופרים; born June 13, 1941), is an Israeli singer. She came second in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "T'en va pas", representing Switzerland. After marrying Abi Ofarim in 1958, she was half of the husband-and-wife folk duo Esther & Abi Ofarim in the 1960s. After the couple divorced, she undertook a successful solo career. Esther Zaied was born in Safed to a Syrian Jewish family. She began performing as a child, singing Hebrew and international folk songs. In 1958, Esther met Abi Ofarim, a guitarist and dancer, who she later married. She was a student in his dance studio in Haifa. Esther served four months in the Israeli Army before she was discharged owing to her marriage to Abi. American director Otto Preminger cast Esther for a small role in the film Exodus (1960). In 1960, Esther landed the role of Katzia in the play The Legend of Three and Four at the Habima Theatre. In 1961, she won first at Israel's first pop song festival in Tel Aviv, where she sang "Saëni Imchá Bemachol" (Take Me with You When You Dance) and "Naamah", written by Pnina and Tsvi Avni, accompanied by Kol Yisrael orchestra under Gary Bertini. In 1962, Esther released her self-titled debut solo album and was invited to join Frank Sinatra in his performances in Israel. Kol Yisrael radio then sent her to the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland. She came in second place for singing "Stav", written by Moshe Wilensky and Shimshon Halfi. Esther and Abi settled in Geneva, Switzerland, where she took part in the 1963 Eurovision Song Contest representing Switzerland with the song "T'en va pas". In a very close and controversial competition with the Danish duo Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann, her song placed second. Initially it appeared Switzerland had won the contest with 42 points to Denmark's 40, but after an apparent change to the Norwegian scores, Ofarim ended up with 40 points, as opposed to 42 points for "Dansevise", a reversal of the initial result. "T'en va pas" was released as single on Philips Records in 1963, reaching No. 39 in Germany. In 1963, Esther had a starring role in the German film Es war mir ein Vergnügen. In 1963 and 1964, Esther and Abi had success on the charts in Europe. In the fall of 1964, Esther embarked on a tour of the United States with the Smothers Brothers. Speaking about a performance at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. Jim Albright, campus correspondent, stated: Everyone expected the Smother Brothers to be great, but Ester [sic] turned out to be fabulous...people were amazed with her singing and her looks." By 1965, Esther was well known throughout Europe. She headlined in the major concert halls and theaters. She starred in German films and had her own television specials on BBC and Eurovision. ... Source: Article "Esther Ofarim" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movie Credits

Es war mir ein Vergnügen

Es war mir ein Vergnügen‌
star0.0
calendar 1963

Exodus

Exodus‌
star6.6
calendar 1960

Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire

Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire‌
star4.5
calendar 2010

Tv Credits

Bei Bio

Bei Bio‌
star0.0
calendar 1983

Treffpunkt Telebar

Treffpunkt Telebar‌
star0.0
calendar 1961

Leute

Leute‌
star0.0
calendar 1983

The Merv Griffin Show

The Merv Griffin Show‌
star5.6
calendar 1962

Tonight in Person

Tonight in Person‌
star7.0
calendar 1963

Continental Showcase

Continental Showcase‌
star0.0
calendar 1966

11 Uhr 20

11 Uhr 20‌
star4.2
calendar 1970

Stars in der Manege

Stars in der Manege‌
star5.3
calendar 1959

Bio’s Bahnhof

Bio’s Bahnhof‌
star0.0
calendar 1978

Einer wird gewinnen

Einer wird gewinnen‌
star7.0
calendar 1964

Musik aus Studio B

Musik aus Studio B‌
star0.0
calendar 1961

Drei mal neun

Drei mal neun‌
star7.0
calendar 1970

Der goldene Schuß

Der goldene Schuß‌
star6.0
calendar 1964

Hotel Victoria

Hotel Victoria‌
star0.0
calendar 1961

Meine Melodie

Meine Melodie‌
star0.0
calendar 1965

Discorama

Discorama‌
star0.0
calendar 1959

Was bin ich?

Was bin ich?‌
star6.5
calendar 1955

Heut' abend

Heut' abend‌
star0.0
calendar 1980