Yehuda Barkan ( he, יהודה בארקן; 29 March 1945 – 23 October 2020) was an

Israeli Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

film producer A film producer is a person who oversees film production. Either employed by a production company or working independently, producers plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, di ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He was noted for his appearance in Israeli comedy cult classics of the 1970s, and for producing and directing candid camera "prank films" in the 1980s.

Biography

Yehuda Ezekiel Berkowitz (later Barkan) was born in

Netanya Netanya (also known as Natanya, he, נְתַנְיָה) is a city in the Northern Central District of Israel, and is the capital of the surrounding Sharon plain. It is north of Tel Aviv, and south of Haifa, between Poleg stream and Wingate I ...

. His father was born in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

while his mother was born in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. His parents spoke

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

. He studied at the Bialik and ORT schools in Netanya. During his military service in the

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces * Irish Defence Forces * Israel Defense Forces *Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 * Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations * Israeli Diving Federation * Interac ...

, Barkan served in a

Combat Engineering Corps The Israeli Combat Engineering Corps ( he, חיל ההנדסה הקרבית, ''Heil HaHandasa HaKravit'') is the combat engineering forces of the Israel Defense Forces. The Combat Engineering Corps beret's color is silver and its symbol featur ...

unit and the Northern Command

Military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

. From his first marriage, Barkan had four children. At the beginning of the 2000s, Barkan became a

baal teshuva In Judaism, a ''ba'al teshuvah'' ( he, בעל תשובה; for a woman, , or ; plural, , , 'master of return God]') is a Jew who adopts some form of traditional religious observance after having previously followed a Jewish secularism, secular lif ...

and moved to the religious

moshav A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 an ...

Beit Gamliel with his family. In November 2008 Barkan was questioned by the Israeli Tax Authority on suspicion of

tax evasion Tax evasion is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to reduce the taxp ...

. Barkan died on October 23, 2020, after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Israel The COVID-19 pandemic in Israel also known as the coronavirus pandemic in Israel ( he, מגפת הקורונה בישראל) is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavi ...

Music career

After his military service, Barkan joined the Dizengoff Command Band (להקת פיקוד דיזנגוף), a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

composed of veteran members of military bands who performed songs and skits.

Media and film career

In the early 1970s, Barkan participated in a sketch on the Israeli radio show ''Hamim VeTaim'' (חמים וטעים) in which Barkan and his colleagues, Moshe Timor, Shlomo Bar-Aba and others, made live

prank call A prank call (also known as a crank call) is a telephone call intended by the caller as a practical joke played on the person answering. It is often a type of nuisance call. It can be illegal under certain circumstances. Recordings of prank ph ...

s. This became the inspiration for his later

practical joke A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...

films. During the 1970s and 1980s Barkan participated in many Israeli "

Bourekas film Bourekas films ( he, סרטי בורקס) were a genre of Israeli-made comic melodrama films popular in Israel in the 1960s and 1970s. History '' Haaretz'' film critic Uri Klein describes Bourekas films as a "peculiarly Israeli genre of comic melod ...

s", among them '' Lupo!'', '' Lupo in New York'', '' Katz V'Carasso'', ''

Charlie Ve'hetzi ''Charlie Ve'hetzi'' (a.k.a. - ''Charlie and a Half''; Hebrew צ'ארלי וחצי) is a 1974 Israeli comedy. The movie was directed by Boaz Davidson and stars Israeli comedians Yehuda Barkan and Ze'ev Revach. Plot Charlie gets by through flee ...

'', ''

Hagiga B'Snuker ''Hagiga B'Snuker'' ( he, חגיגה בסנוקר, ''lit.'' ''Party at the Snooker''; originally simply ''Snooker'') is a 1975 Israeli cult film, one of the classic Bourekas films. The movie was directed by Boaz Davidson and stars Israeli comedians ...

'', '' Bo Nefotzetz Million'' and more. Other films he appeared in during that time include '' Malkat Hakvish'' (1971) appearing alongside

Gila Almagor Gila Almagor Agmon ( he, גילה אלמגור אגמון; born Gila Alexandrowitz; July 22, 1939) is an Israeli actress, film star, and author. In Israel, she is known as "queen of the Israeli cinema and theatre". Biography Gila Alexandrowitz (A ...

Menachem Golan Menahem Golan ( he, מנחם גולן; May 31, 1929 – August 8, 2014, originally Menachem Globus) was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group with his cousin Yoram Globus. Cannon sp ...

's film '' Attack at Dawn'' (1970), and the film adaptation of the novel ''He Walked Through the Fields'' (1967) alongside

Assi Dayan Assaf "Assi" Dayan ( he, אסף "אסי" דיין; 23 November 1945 – 1 May 2014) was an Israeli film director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. Life Dayan was the youngest son of Israeli general and defense minister Moshe Dayan and peace a ...

. During the 1980s Barkan began to direct and produce films, including the

hidden camera A hidden camera or spy camera is a camera used to photograph or record subjects, often people, without their knowledge. The camera may be considered "hidden" because it is not visible to the subject being filmed, or is disguised as another obje ...

film '' Hayeh Ahaltah Otah'' (which he directed together with Yigal Shilon), ''Nipagesh Bachof'', ''Nipagesh Basivuv'', ''Matzlema Bli Busha'' and ''Geveret Tiftehi, Ze Ani''). Also during the 1980s, Barkan produced and directed comic drama films, most notably the '' Abba Ganuv'' film series and the film '' Neshika Bametzach'' released in 1990 alongside Michal Yanai. In 1994, shortly after the start of Israeli commercial television Channel 2 began its broadcasting, Barkan started hosting his own practical jokes show called ''Lo Dofkim Cheshbon''. The show was cancelled shortly after. In 1999 Barkan participated in two last films: ''Look into my eyes'' and '' Volcano Junction'', in which he played small supporting roles. In 2003 Barkan took part in the documentary film ''Zehirut Matzlema'' along with Nurit Geffen and

Josie Katz Josie Katz (Hebrew: ג'וזי כץ; born August 14, 1940) is an Israeli singer, actress, dancer and painter who received the Bonei Zion Prize in 2021 for her contributions to arts and culture. Biography Katz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylva ...

. In 2004 Barkan appeared in the drama series ''Ahava BaShalechet'' along with Lea Koenig. Barkan enjoyed a career resurgence in the 2010s. He played the part of a grandfather of a young child with autism in the Israeli television series ''

Yellow Peppers ''Yellow Peppers'' (Hebrew: פלפלים צהובים; Pilpelim Tzehubim) is an Israeli drama television program about a family that raises an autistic child in a rural village lacking any therapeutic resources. The programme was well received by ...

'', and beginning in 2017 played a rabbi in the television series '' Kipat Barzel''.

Selected filmography

Films

* 1967: He Walked Through the Fields * 1970: '' Lupo!'' – Lupo * 1971: '' Katz and Karasso'' * 1971: ''The Highway Queen'' (''Malkat Hakvish'') – Arik * 1972: '' Escape to the Sun'' – Yasha Bazarov * 1974: ''

'' (''Charlie and a Half'') – Charlie * 1975: ''

'' * 1985: ''Smell and Smile'' (''Kompot Na'alyim'') *1987: Cool Dad (Abba Ganuv) * 1987: ''Nipagesh Basivuv'' *1989: Cool Dad 2 (Abba Ganuv 2) * 1990: ''Neshika Bametzach'' (''The Day We Met'') – Arik Schwartzman *1991: Cool Dad 3 (Abba Ganuv 3) * 1992: Ma'am, Open, It's Me * 1993: Looking for a husband on four legs * 1999: Look me in the eyes * 1999: Vulcan Junction * 2000: Mosh * 2003: Every Jew is Gold * 2013: Matat * 2015: Tobiansky * 2015: Tales of Tales of Rabbi Nachman * 2019: Love in Shlikes - Beno

Television

* 2011: ''

'' * 2017: ''Kipat Barzel''

References

External links

* * * * , starring Yehuda Barkan as the king {{DEFAULTSORT:Barkan, Yehuda 1945 births 2020 deaths Israeli Orthodox Jews Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors People from Netanya Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine Baalei teshuva Israeli film directors Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel Israeli people of Czech-Jewish descent Israeli people of Polish-Jewish descent