Yehoram Gaon ( he, יהורם גאון, born December 28, 1939) is an Israeli singer, actor, director, comedian, producer, TV and radio host, and public figure. He has also written and edited books on Israeli culture.
The son of
Sephardic Jewish
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
parents—a
Bosnian father and
Turkish mother, both immigrants to Israel— he became an early inspiration of "solidarity and pride" for the Sephardic community.
[Jewish-theater.com.](_blank)
/ref>
Early life
Gaon was born in the Beit Hakerem neighborhood of Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
in 1939. His father, Moshe-David Gaon, a historian, was born in Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...
, to a family of Sephardic Jewish
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefar ...
descent in 1889, and immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
to then British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to:
* Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan.
* Mandatory P ...
(now Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
),[SephardicStudies.org.](_blank)
/ref> where members of his family had lived for five generations.
/ref> He was a school master and Hebrew teacher in Jerusalem, in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Argentina, and in İzmir
İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
, Turkey. Gaon's father was also a poet and a scholar of Ladino
Ladino, derived from Latin, may refer to:
* The register of Judaeo-Spanish used in the translation of religious texts, such as the Ferrara Bible
*Ladino people, a socio-ethnic category of Mestizo or Hispanicized people in Central America especi ...
. In Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, his father met and married his mother Sara Hakim, returning with her to Jerusalem.
Gaon enlisted 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 ...
in 1957. In the military, he joined the Nahal
Nahal ( he, נח"ל) (acronym of ''Noar Halutzi Lohem'', lit. Fighting Pioneer Youth) is a program that combines military service with mostly social welfare and informal education projects such as youth movement activities, as well as training ...
entertainment troupe, beginning a career in the performing arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perform ...
.
Gaon has two children from his marriage to Orna Goldfarb: Moshe-David (named after his father) and Hila. His three brothers are Yigal, Kalila Armon, and businessman and industrialist Benny Gaon, who died of cancer in 2008.
Music and acting career
After performing in the Nahal Brigade entertainment troupe during his army time, Gaon joined the "Yarkon Bridge Trio" ().[Julian, Hana Levi, "Yehoram Gaon marks 50 years in show biz with new kids TV show," Arutz Sheva, December 29, 2009.](_blank)
/ref>
He was in the original singing group "''HaTarnegolim''" ("The Roosters"), founded in 1960 by Naomi Polani
Naomi (also "Neomi") Polani ( he, נעמי פולני; born August 4, 1927) is an Israeli musical director, theater director, singer, producer, actress, and dancer. She is the Israel Prize laureate for Theater and Dance in 2019.
Music career
Pol ...
.
He became well known for his rendition of Naomi Shemer
Naomi Shemer ( he, נעמי שמר; July 13, 1930 – June 26, 2004) was a leading Israeli musician and songwriter, hailed as the "first lady of Israeli song and poetry." Her song " Yerushalayim Shel Zahav" ("Jerusalem of Gold"), written in 1967 ...
's ''Od Lo Ahavti Dai'' (''lit.'' I have not Loved Enough Yet). He performed at the Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
ceremony of Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
, Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres (; he, שמעון פרס ; born Szymon Perski; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician who served as the eighth prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the ninth president of ...
and Yasser Arafat
Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...
in Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
, in 1994. In 2009, Gaon recorded the song "Shir Ha’avoda Vehamlacha" for the organization Pioneers For A Cure, with the proceeds benefiting The Israel Cancer Association (ICA).
Gaon appeared with the Israel Cameri Theatre in productions that included "Chips with Everything", "Vitzek," and "Kinneret Kinneret," by the National Laureate, Nathan Alterman
Nathan Alterman ( he, נתן אלתרמן, August 14, 1910 – March 28, 1970) was an Israeli poet, playwright, journalist, and translator. Though never holding any elected office, Alterman was highly influential in Socialist Zionist politics ...
. He left Israel in the early 1960s to study acting at the famous Herbert Berghof Studio in New York, under well-known acting teacher Uta Hagen
Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a p ...
, later graduating with honors from the RCA Institute for TV Production.
He returned to Israel to play the starring role in the 1966 stage production of the original Israeli musical comedy
Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...
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 ...
, which became an immediate hit, and ran for more than 600 performances. The musical's huge success made this "young Jerusalem-born singer...not only...an overnight singing star, but also a figure of solidarity and pride for people of Sephardic origin, many of whom were entering a theatre for the first time." Gaon later reprised his role in the 1974 film version.[IMDB.com.](_blank)
/ref>
He was cast as Yonatan Netanyahu
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu ( he, יונתן נתניהו; March 13, 1946 – July 4, 1976) was an American-born Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer who commanded the elite commando unit Sayeret Matkal during Operation Entebbe, an operation to resc ...
in the Israeli film '' Mivtza Yonatan'' ( en, Operation Thunderbolt) (1977). He also appeared in ''Siege, Every Bastard a King, The Eagles Attack at Dawn, Joker, The Lover, and No-Way Street.'' He starred in the autobiographical feature, '' Ani Yerushalmi'' (''lit.'' I am a Jerusalemite) (1971).
He starred in several other TV series, including '' Krovim Krovim'' (1983), an Israeli sitcom
A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...
. He hosted his own TV show called '' Shishi BeGaon'' ("Friday with Gaon") on Israeli Channel One. The show was extremely popular, with a successful run for a number of years. He later hosted a weekend talk show on commercial Channel 2. Since 1997, he has been hosting a radio show on Reshet Bet
''Kol Yisrael'' or ''Kol Israel'' ( lit. "Voice of Israel", also "Israel Radio") is Israel's public domestic and international radio service. It operated as a division of the Israel Broadcasting Service from 1951 to 1965, the Israel Broadcastin ...
called as "Gaon on the radio" (גאון ברדיו), in which he talks about the current weekly events and expresses his personal views on the various current weekly events.
Gaon moderated the Israel Broadcasting Authority
The Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA; ) was Israel's public broadcaster from 1948 to 2017.
History
The Israel Broadcasting Authority was an outgrowth of the radio station ''Kol Yisrael'', which made its first broadcast as an independent st ...
documentary series for the Jubilee Year, entitled, '' T’kuma''. In 1998 he resigned from the show, explaining in his letter of resignation that he believed that the series displayed "overly biased pro-Arab views."[IINS News Service, Israel, "Yehoram Gaon Resigns from IBA's "Tekumah" Series," March 12, 1998.] "Gaon told the producers of the Channel 1 TV series that he could not tolerate one of the episodes, during which Arab terrorists, responsible for killing many Israelis in the 1970s, were seen to be glorified on the show."
Political and civic career
In 1993 he was elected to the Jerusalem Municipal Council, with the portfolio for Cultural Affairs and Special Education Needs, serving until 2002. He is the Honorary Consul
A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...
of Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
in Israel. He also serves as the president of the Arkadash association of the Turkish immigrants in Israel. He also served as a Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem.
He is active in civic affairs, serving as a member of organizations that include the Committee for the Advancement of Ladino, Yad Ben-Zvi Fund for Diaspora Research, Adopt a Soldier Fund, The Association for Soldiers Welfare, The Association for Autistic Children, The Fund for Music Therapy and The Academy For the Hebrew Language. He is an advocate for peace who has spoken out on some issues, saying it is impossible to freeze growth in settlements, but on the other hand, "I do not approve of angering the entire world. We’re not living alone n this planet and we depend on other countries as well.”
Among Gaon's many contributions to Israel's cultural resources include the Moshe David Gaon Center for Ladino Studies at Ben Gurion University, which he and his brother Benny founded in memory of their father.[Cashman, Greer Fay, "Philanthropist Benny Gaon laid to rest," The Jerusalem Post, May 11, 2008.](_blank)
/ref> In December 2010, he donated books to launch the "Sarah Hakim Gaon Library" for Arkadash, in memory of his mother.
Published works
"In The Middle Of The Road" is a book written by Gaon that includes poems, family stories and photos. He edited "Spices from Spain", a collection of Ladino quotes (with Hebrew translations) passed down to him by his father, a well-known historian and proponent of Ladino. He also published a second edition of "Eastern Jews in Israel," an encyclopedic work originally published by his father.
The complete work includes biographical information on almost 3000 rabbis, scholars and others in Spain, France, Italy, the Ottoman Empire including the Balkans, and the Middle East and North Africa who visited or immigrated to Israel, sometimes moving there to ensure they could die in the Holy Land.
Gaon wrote an autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
in Hebrew titled ''Od Ani Pose'ah-Sipur Hayai'', published in 2017 by Yedioth Ahronoth
''Yedioth Ahronoth'' ( he, יְדִיעוֹת אַחֲרוֹנוֹת, ; lit. ''Latest News'') is a national daily newspaper published in Tel Aviv, Israel. Founded in 1939 in British Mandatory Palestine, ''Yedioth Ahronoth'' is the largest paid n ...
.
Awards and recognition
In 2004, Gaon was awarded the Israel Prize
The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor.
History
The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...
, for Hebrew song.
In 2017 Gaon was honored to light Independence Day torch.
See also
* List of Israel Prize recipients
This is a complete list of recipients of the Israel Prize from the inception of the Prize in 1953 through to 2022.
List
For each year, the recipients are, in most instances, listed in the order in which they appear on the official Israel Prize ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaon, Yehoram
1939 births
Living people
20th-century Israeli male actors
20th-century Israeli male singers
Deputy Mayors of Jerusalem
Israel Prize in Hebrew song recipients
Israeli male film actors
Israeli male musical theatre actors
Israeli male television actors
Israeli people of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Jewish descent
Israeli people of Turkish-Jewish descent
Male actors from Jerusalem
Israeli male stage actors
Musicians from Jerusalem
Israeli Sephardi Jews
Israeli Mizrahi Jews