Gita Luka ( he, ג'טה לוקה; September 5, 1921 – August 22, 2001) was an Israeli actress, comedian and singer.

Biography

Born in Romania, Luka had an impoverished childhood in a

Jewish ghetto In the Jewish diaspora, a Jewish quarter (also known as jewry, ''juiverie'', ''Judengasse'', Jewynstreet, Jewtown, or proto-ghetto) is the area of a city traditionally inhabited by Jews. Jewish quarters, like the Jewish ghettos in Europe, were ...

. She began attending and participating in

Yiddish theatre Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by Jews in Yiddish, the language of the Central European Ashkenazi Jewish community. The range of Yiddish theatre is broad: operetta, musical comedy, and satiric or nostalgic revues ...

groups when she reached her early 20s. In 1948, Luka and her family emigrated to Israel after surviving the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

and made her career debut as a singer at the beginning of the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

. Aside from performing songs in Hebrew, Luka also performed in Yiddish and Romanian. Luka performed frequently as a singer in satire sketches at the Li-La-Lo Theatre and she starred in numerous musical adaptations of plays such as ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Used ...

'' in 1969. She also made appearances at the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the ce ...

as well as at Hasimta Theatre and 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 ...

. On screen, Luka participated in films such as ''

Kazablan ''Kazablan'' (''Casablan'' or ''Kasablan'' in its first production; Hebrew: קזבלן) is an early Israeli Hebrew language play, staged first as a 1954 drama followed by a 1964 screen adaptation, later as a 1966 musical comedy, and still later pr ...

'', '' One Pound Only'' and ''

The Flying Matchmaker ''The Flying Matchmaker'' (also: ''Two Kuni Lemel'', ''Shnei Kuni Leml'' or שני קוני למל) is a 1966 Israeli film musical directed by Israel Becker. The story is based on the 1880 Yiddish play ''Di tsvey Kuni-Lemels'' by Abraham Goldfaden. ...

''. In 1988, Luka suffered a minor stroke and another one in 1995, which slowed down her ability to perform and eventually forced her to retire. She also underwent financial problems during the 1983 Israel bank stock crisis. Family friends of Luka organised a fundraiser to support her nursing home expenses. She was also financially supported by the Israeli Artists Association.

Personal life

Luka married two times. From her first husband, she had one daughter, Rachel. She also had four grandchildren.

Death

Luka died following a stroke in Netanya on August 22, 2001, nearly two weeks before her 80th birthday. She was interred at

Yarkon Cemetery Yarkon Cemetery ( he, בית העלמין ירקון) is the main cemetery for the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area of Israel. It is located within the Petah Tikva city limits, between the Yarkon River in the West, Highway 5 in the North, and the 491 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luka, Gita 1921 births 2001 deaths Romanian emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Romanian-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli actresses Jewish Israeli musicians Jewish Israeli comedians Romanian Jews in Israel Nazi-era ghetto inmates Israeli stage actresses Israeli television actresses Israeli film actresses Israeli musical theatre actresses 20th-century Israeli women singers Israeli female comedians Yiddish theatre performers 20th-century Israeli actresses 20th-century Israeli comedians Burials at Yarkon Cemetery