| Nissim Aloni | |
|---|---|
| Native name | נסים אלוני |
| Born | 24 August 1926 Florentin, south Tel Aviv, Mandate Palestine |
| Died | 13 June 1998 (aged 71) Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Citizenship | Israeli |
| Alma mater | The Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Occupation | Playwright and translator |
| Awards |
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Nissim Aloni (Hebrew: נסים אלוני, born 24 August 1926 – died 13 June 1998) was an Israeli playwright and translator.
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Aloni was born in Mandate Palestine to a poor family in Florentin, a neighborhood in south Tel Aviv which later became an inspiration for his work.[1]
After graduating from high school, Aloni enlisted in the Notarot, a Jewish militia operating as an auxiliary police alongside the British. He wrote for the weekly BaMahane, and fought in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Following his military service, he was appointed to the editorial board of the periodical B'Ayin and served as literary editor of Ashmoret. He studied history and French at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.[1]
In his later years, a stroke left him severely handicapped. [1] He died on 13 June 1998 at a hospital in Tel Aviv.[1][2]
In 1953, his first play, Most Cruel the King, was produced at the national Habima Theater, creating a stir amongst theatre goers. The play focuses on the figure of Jeroboam. In 1961, Habima produced his play "The King's Clothes", which established him as one of the country's leading playwrights. In 1963, Aloni teamed up with Yossi Banai and Avner Hezkyahu to create the "Seasons Theater", for which Aloni wrote and produced the play The American Princess. From that point onward, Aloni produced all his plays. He also began writing skits for the comedy troupe Hagashash Hachiver, and produced some of their programs, such as Cinema Gashash and Cantata for Shawarma.
Many of his plays involve royalty, such as The King's Clothes, The American Princess, The Bride and the Hunter of Butterflies (adapted for television by Ram Loevy), Edi King. His other plays include The Gypsies of Jaffa, The Revolution and the Chicken, Lukas the Coward, The Raucous Dying, Napoleon Dead or Alive.
Aloni highly esteemed the actress Hanna Rovina, and wrote a play, Aunt Liza, specifically for her to act the lead part.
He has also published a collection of prose, Notes of a Stray Cat
In 2005, he was voted the 191st-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet to determine whom the general public considered the 200 Greatest Israelis.[5]
In November 2009, a street was named for him in Tel Aviv.[6]