Dani Litani ( he, דני ליטני; born June 30, 1943) is an Israeli musician, singer, actor and voice actor.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

, Litani learned to play the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

at age six and at age nine, he and his family moved to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. He also spent some of his childhood in

Ein HaShofet Ein HaShofet ( he, עֵין הַשּׁוֹפֵט, ''lit.'' Spring of the Judge) is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Menashe Heights region around 25 km southeast of the city of Haifa, close to Yokneam, it falls under the jurisdic ...

and

Sha'ar HaAmakim Sha'ar HaAmakim ( he, שַׁעַר הַעֲמָקִים, ''lit.'' Gate of the Valleys) is a kibbutz in northern Israel associated with the Hashomer Hatzair movement founded in 1935. Located near Kiryat Tiv'on, it falls under the jurisdiction o ...

where he improved on playing the guitar and the accordion. At age 17, Litani returned to Haifa and took an interest in blues and soul music, then he later founded a band with several friends. After completing his military service, Litani founded another band which rose to fame since The Six-Day War. The band remained active throughout the 1960s.

Music career

In 1970, Litani ventured out into a solo career. Since then, he moved to

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

and abandoned his birth name. While in Tel Aviv, he met fellow musician Drora Havkin and made several collaborations with her. While performing, Litani often accompanies himself on the guitar and the harmonica and is heavily influenced by the work of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. He has performed cover versions of most of Dylan's music and has also performed covers of the works of

Leah Goldberg Leah Goldberg or Lea Goldberg ( he, לאה גולדברג; May 29, 1911, Königsberg – January 15, 1970, Jerusalem) was a prolific Hebrew-language poet, author, playwright, literary translator, and comparative literary researcher. Her writ ...

. During the mid 1970s, Litani sang in two satirical performances by

Yehonatan Geffen Yehonatan Geffen ( he, יהונתן גפן; 22 February 1947 – 19 April 2023), also known as Yonatan Gefen, was a prominent Israeli author, poet, songwriter, journalist, satirist and playwright. Early life and education Geffen was born in ...

. He has also made collaborations with other musicians which include Ronnie Peterson,

Danny Robas Danny Robas ( he, דני רובס; born December 24, 1957) is an Israeli pop-rock singer and songwriter. Daniel (Danny) Robas was born in 1957 in Kibbutz Shoval, and grew up in Rehovot. He completed his military service in the artillery corps ...

, Udi Harpaz,

Rachel Shapira Rachel Shapira ( he, רחל שפירא, born July 25 1945) is an Israeli songwriter and poet. She rose to prominence after the Six-Day War with her anti-war song "''Mah Avarekh''" ("With What Shall I Bless?"), set to music by Yair Rosenblum, and w ...

and

Shalom Hanoch Shalom Hanoch ( he, שלום חנוך) (born September 1, 1946) is an Israeli rock singer, lyricist and composer. He is considered to be the father of Israeli rock and modern Israeli music in general, both of which have been profoundly influe ...

Acting career

When Litani reached the peak of his fame, he also found fame acting. He has made appearances at the

Haifa Theatre The Haifa Theatre ( he, תיאטרון חיפה; ''Teat'ron Kheifa'') is the first municipal theater company of Haifa, Israel. Background Haifa Theater, Israel's first municipal theater, was established by Haifa mayor Abba Hushi. Together with the ...

and performed in shows like ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

''. Litani appeared in the 1993 films ''

Life According to Agfa ''Life According to Agfa'' ( he, החיים על פי אגפא) is a 1993 Israeli psychological-social drama film written and directed by Assi Dayan and produced by Rafi Bukai and Yoram Kislev. Starring Gila Almagor, Shmil Ben Ari, Irit Frank, S ...

'' and ''Dummy in a Circle''. He has also appeared in numerous musicals on stage and television and performed for the soundtrack for the 1979 film ''

Dizengoff 99 ''Dizengoff 99'' ( he, דיזנגוף 99) is a 1979 Israeli film starring Gali Atari, Gidi Gov, Meir Suissa, and Anat Atzmon. The film, considered a cult classic,

''. As a voice actor, Litani provided voices of numerous

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

characters in Hebrew, starting with

Baloo Baloo (from hi, भालू ur, بھالو ''bhālū'' "bear") is a main fictional character featured in Rudyard Kipling's ''The Jungle Book'' from 1894 and ''The Second Jungle Book'' from 1895. Baloo, a sloth bear, is the strict teacher of ...

in ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' (1894) is a collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, ...

''. He later voiced

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...

in ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

'',

Governor Ratcliffe John Ratcliffe (born John Sicklemore; 1549 – December 1609) was an early Jamestown colonist, mariner and captain of , the smallest of three ships (the other two being ''Susan Constant'' and '' Godspeed'') that sailed from the Kingdom of ...

in ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

'', Chef Louis in ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

'',

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, non-profit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an 8-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national s ...

in ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'' and a Crow in ''

Dumbo ''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...

''.

Personal life

Litani is married and has four children. Since the early 2010s, Litani has suffered from a hearing impairment but this has not affected his career.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Litani, Dani 1943 births Living people Israeli deaf people Israeli male composers Israeli male film actors Israeli male singer-songwriters Israeli singer-songwriters Israeli male stage actors Israeli male voice actors Male actors from Haifa Musicians from Haifa 20th-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male actors 20th-century Israeli male singers 21st-century Israeli male singers Israeli blues singers Israeli rock singers Israeli folk singers Israeli jazz singers