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Shaike Ophir‌

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1928-11-04

Popularity

star2.2

Shaike Ophir

Jerusalem, Israel

Shaike Ophir

Jerusalem, Israel

Gender

Male

Birthday

calendar1928-11-04

Popularity

star2.2

Biography

Shaike Ophir (Hebrew: שייקה אופיר; November 4, 1928 – August 17, 1987) was an Israeli film and theater actor, comedian, playwright, screenwriter, director, and the country's first mime. Yeshayahu (Shaike) Goldstein-Ophir was born in Jerusalem. His family was Masortiim, and his Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry in the city goes back to the mid-19th century. He studied acting as an adolescent but left school in the 1940s to enlist in the Palmach. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War he escorted convoys to the besieged city of Jerusalem and took part in naval battles. Thanks to his comic skills he was accepted to the Chezbatron, an army entertainment troupe. In the 1950s, he made a name for himself as a multi-talented performer. He even recorded a few hit songs during this period. During the late 1950s and early 1960s Ophir occasionally guest-starred in American TV shows such as Shirley Temple's Storybook and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (in the episode "The Waxwork," where he was billed as Shai K. Ophir). Ophir acted in 28 films, wrote, directed, and starred in several variety shows, and was an accomplished mime, appearing alongside Marcel Marceau. He reached the peak of his international fame in the title role of Ha-Shoter Azoulay (literally, Policeman Azoulay, translated as The Policeman), a film vehicle by Ephraim Kishon which won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Language Film (1972) and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Academy Award the same year. He also starred in other Ephraim Kishon films, including Ervinka, Blaumilch Canal and The Fox in the Chicken Coop, and the 1973 Moshé Mizrahi film Daughters, Daughters. In 1977 he starred opposite Melanie Griffith in The Garden. In 1985, Ophir starred in a stage adaptation of Janusz Korczak's children's novel King Matt the First, where he played seven different roles. The children's play was very successful and ran for three years. Over this period Ophir was diagnosed with lung cancer, to which he succumbed in 1987. Ophir was a theatrical director for HaGashash HaHiver. He also directed the Israeli movie Hamesh Ma'ot Elef Shahor, and wrote the screenplay for 4 Israeli movies. He wrote and performed many sketches and comedy routines, many of which are still popular in Israel today. He also did a series of Arabic-instruction TV programs that ran through the 1980s. He also appeared in the Chuck Norris film, The Delta Force. Ophir was married twice and had four children, two from each spouse. His daughter, Karin Ophir, is also an actress. Shaike Ophir, a heavy smoker, died from lung cancer in 1987.

Movie Credits

America 3000

America 3000‌
star3.9
calendar 1986

The Magician of Lublin

The Magician of Lublin‌
star4.5
calendar 1979

El Dorado

El Dorado‌
star4.5
calendar 1963

The Delta Force

The Delta Force‌
star5.9
calendar 1986

Daughters, Daughters

Daughters, Daughters‌
star5.8
calendar 1974

The Big Dig

The Big Dig‌
star6.8
calendar 1969

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel‌
star0.0
calendar 1958

500000 Black

500000 Black‌
star0.0
calendar 1977

The Policeman

The Policeman‌
star6.8
calendar 1971

The Fox in the Chicken Coop

The Fox in the Chicken Coop‌
star7.0
calendar 1978

Theft from a Thief

Theft from a Thief‌
star7.0
calendar 1977

Moishe Air-Condition

Moishe Air-Condition‌
star8.5
calendar 1966

The Fifth Column

The Fifth Column‌
star9.5
calendar 1960

The Great Telephone Robbery

The Great Telephone Robbery‌
star6.0
calendar 1972

The Garden

The Garden‌
star4.8
calendar 1977

Wrong Number

Wrong Number‌
star6.0
calendar 1979

Half a Million Black

Half a Million Black‌
star7.0
calendar 1977

Fish, Football and Girls

Fish, Football and Girls‌
star6.0
calendar 1968

King Solomon's Mines

King Solomon's Mines‌
star5.4
calendar 1985

Hole in the Moon

Hole in the Moon‌
star5.7
calendar 1964

A Taxi Tale

A Taxi Tale‌
star7.0
calendar 1956

The House on Chelouche Street

The House on Chelouche Street‌
star6.6
calendar 1973

Carlos

Carlos‌
star0.0
calendar 1971

Diamonds

Diamonds‌
star5.5
calendar 1975

Operation Thunderbolt

Operation Thunderbolt‌
star6.2
calendar 1977

Dalia and the Sailors

Dalia and the Sailors‌
star0.0
calendar 1964

The Father

The Father‌
star7.0
calendar 1975

Tv Credits

Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Alfred Hitchcock Presents‌
star7.7
calendar 1955

Climax!

Climax!‌
star2.7
calendar 1954

Einer wird gewinnen

Einer wird gewinnen‌
star7.0
calendar 1964