Aharon Ipalé (; December 27, 1941 – June 27, 2016) was an

Israeli-American Israeli Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Israeli descent. The Israeli-American community, while predominantly Jewish, also includes various ethnic and religious minorities reflective of Israel's diverse demographics. This c ...

actor, known for his roles in American and British film and television productions. His credits included ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'' (1971), '' Innocent Bystanders'' (1972), '' Raid on Entebbe'' (1977), '' Too Hot to Handle'' (1977), '' The Concorde ... Airport '79'' (1979), '' The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood'' (1980), '' Xanadu'' (1980), '' Who Dares Wins'' (1982), '' Eye of the Widow'' (1991), '' Son of the Pink Panther'' (1993), '' The Mummy'' (1999), and ''

The Mummy Returns ''The Mummy Returns'' is a 2001 American fantasy action-adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It is the sequel to the 1999 film ''The Mummy'', and the second in ''The Mummy'' film series. Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, Jo ...

'' (2001).

Early life

Ipalé was born in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

on December 27, 1941. He arrived in present-day Israel with his family when he was just two years old as part of the early migration of Moroccan Jews to Israel. Ipalé enrolled in a theater school in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

following his service in the

Israeli Army The Israeli Ground Forces () are the Army, ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The commander is the GOC Army Headquarters, General Officer Commanding with the rank of major general, the ''Mazi'', subordinate to the Chief of the Gen ...

Career

He began his acting career by appearing in British television series and theater productions, including the television mini-series, ''Christ Recrucified'', in which he played the title role of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

. Ipalé was cast as

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

in the 1973–1974 British mini-series, ''

Moses the Lawgiver ''Moses the Lawgiver'' is a six-hour television miniseries filmed in 1973/74 and starring Burt Lancaster as Moses. It was an ITC/ RAI co-production filmed in Rome and on location in Israel and Morocco. Many of the writers, cast and crew contr ...

'', which starred

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

as Moses. His work in ''Moses the Lawgiver'' earned attention from

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

and led to his later work in the United States. His American television credits during the 1970s and 1980s included '' Hawaii Five-O'', ''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'', ''

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

'', ''

Kojak ''Kojak'' is an American Action film, action Crime film, crime Drama (film and television), drama television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theophilus "Theo" Kojak. Tak ...

'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'', '' Knight Rider'', ''

MacGyver Angus "Mac" MacGyver is the title character and the protagonist in the TV series ''MacGyver''. He is played by Richard Dean Anderson in the MacGyver (1985 TV series), 1985 original series. Lucas Till portrays a younger version of MacGyver in Mac ...

'', ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' and ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts for ABC. It originally aired from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, airing for five seasons consisting of 115 episodes. It was produ ...

''. In ''Knight Rider'', he played the role of Durant, the man who killed Michael Knight's fiancé Stephanie Maison, at the ceremony of his wedding, in the season four episode, "Scent of Roses". In 1985, Ipalé appeared in the British dramatic film, '' The Shooting Party'', which starred

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

and

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

. That same year, Ipalé appeared in the Israeli film, ''Gesher Tzar Me’od'' (1985). Two years later, he co-starred in the 1987 film, ''

Ishtar Inanna is the List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of war, love, and fertility. She is also associated with political power, divine law, sensuality, and procreation. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akk ...

'', which was a notorious critical and box-office failure. More recently, Ipalé was best known for his recurring role as Pharaoh Seti I in '' The Mummy'' and its sequel, ''

'', both of which were directed by

Stephen Sommers Stephen Sommers (born March 20, 1962) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer, best known for big-budget action films, such as ''The Mummy (1999 film), The Mummy'' (1999), its sequel, ''The Mummy Returns'' (2001), ''Van Helsing ( ...

. In 2007, he appeared in '' Charlie Wilson's War''. Ipalé returned to Israel around 2012 after decades residing and working in

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. However, he was unable to recreate the professional success in Israel that he had enjoyed abroad.

Death

Aharon Ipalé died from cancer at Sheba Medical Center in

Tel Hashomer Tel HaShomer (, ''lit.'' Hill of the Guardsman) or Kiryat Krinitzi is a neighborhood in Ramat Gan, Israel. It borders Kiryat Ono in the north, Yehud in the east, and Or Yehuda in the south. A major Israel Defense Forces base and the Sheba Medical ...

on June 27, 2016, at the age of 74. He was being treated for the disease for several months. Ipalé, who was survived by his daughter, was buried in

Holon Holon (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located south of Tel Aviv. Holon is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. In , it had a population of , making it the List of cities in Israel, tenth most populous city in Isra ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ipale, Aharon 1941 births 2016 deaths American male film actors American male television actors American people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Burials at South Cemetery in Israel Deaths from cancer in Israel Israeli expatriate male actors in the United States Israeli male film actors Israeli male television actors Israeli people of Moroccan-Jewish descent Jewish American male actors Jewish Israeli male actors Moroccan emigrants to Israel Naturalized citizens of the United States