Shaike Ophir

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Shaike Ophir and actress Ziva Rodan, 1951

Shaike Ophir (November 4, 1929 - August 17, 1987) (Hebrew: שייקה אופיר) was an Israeli film actor, mime and comedian, considered one of the most important entertainers in Israel from the fifties up to the eighties.

Born Yishayahu Goldstein into a family that traced its roots in Jerusalem to the mid 19th Century, he studied acting as an adolescent, but left school in the 1940s to join the Palmach. During Israel’s War of Independence he escorted convoys to the besieged city of Jerusalem, and took part in naval battles.

His comic skills greatly impressed the entertainment community, and Ophir was accepted to the Cheezbatron, the Palmach's equivalent of the USO.

In the 1950s, he made a name for himself as an all-around performer who was just as talented at acting as he was at being a mime or a comedian. He had 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. 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.

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 became ill with lung cancer and eventually died from it in 1987.

The Israeli Film Academy award is named the "Ophir prize" in his honor. Ophir was married twice and had two children, one from each spouse. His daughter, Karin Ophir, is also an actress.

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.