Yehoram Gaon

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Yehoram Gaon, informally spelled Yoram Gaon (1939-) is an Israeli singer and actor.

He was born December 28, 1939 in Jerusalem to a Sephardic Jewish family.

[edit] Singing career

His career as a singer started when he joined the Nahal Brigade band in the IDF. He later joined the band "Yarkon Bridge Trio" (Hebrew: שלישיית גשר הירקון), where he performed along with Arik Einstein and Beni Amdorsky. All three became stars in the Israeli popular culture.

Gaon's recognition also caused many Israeli composers and song writers to personally ask him to perform their songs. He is the most known singer of Naomi Shemer's Od Lo Ahavti Dai (lit. I have not Loved Enough Yet). Additionally, Gaon performed at the Nobel Prize ceremony of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat.

[edit] Acting career

As an actor, Gaon started his career by starring in the musical film Kazablan. There he performed the songs Kol HaKavod (lit. Congratulations!), and Yesh Makom (lit. There is a Free Spot), which are associated with him to this day.

Because of the film's success, Gaon became a sensation and was invited to act in other films. His most notable starring role was in the Israeli film Mivtza Yonatan (English: Operation Thunderbolt) (1977), where he played Jonathan Netanyahu. He also starred in his own autobiography feature, called Ani Yerusalmi (lit. I'm a Jerusalemite) (1971). Yehoram Gaon also starred in several TV series, such as Krovim Krovim (1983), which was the first Israeli sitcom.

He hosted the Israel Broadcasting Authority documentary series for the Jubilee Year, entitled, T’kuma. In 1998 he resigned from the show, claiming it glorified Arab terrorists.

Yehoram Gaon had his own TV show called Shishi BeGaon ("Friday with Gaon") on Israeli Channel One. The show ran for many years and was very successful in Israel. Currently Gaon hosts a weekend talk show on commercial Channel 2.

[edit] Public life

In addition to his work in performing arts, Gaon has recently entered the political arena. In 1993 he was elected to the Jerusalem City Council and has worked extensively for the city, primarily in the area of cultural and municipal arts. He has indicated that he may well be interested in pursuing a political career, but retains his interest in promoting Israel, together with its popular and folk music.

He was the recipient of the Israel Prize in 2004.