Shaike Ophir Movies, TV Shows, and Filmography
Shaike Ophir
Acting
Biography
Shaike Ophir (Hebrew: שייקה אופיר; November 4, 1928 – August 17, 1987) was an Israeli film and theater actor, comedian, playwright, screenwriter, director, and the country's first mime. Yeshayahu (Shaike) Goldstein-Ophir was born in Jerusalem. His family was Masortiim, and his Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry in the city goes back to the mid-19th century. He studied acting as an adolescent but left school in the 1940s to enlist in the Palmach. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War he escorted convoys to the besieged city of Jerusalem and took part in naval battles. Thanks to his comic skills he was accepted to the Chezbatron, an army entertainment troupe. In the 1950s, he made a name for himself as a multi-talented performer. He even recorded a few hit songs during this period. During the late 1950s and early 1960s Ophir occasionally guest-starred in American TV shows such as Shirley Temple's Storybook and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (in the episode "The Waxwork," where he was billed as Shai K. Ophir). Ophir acted in 28 films, wrote, directed, and starred in several variety shows, and was an accomplished mime, appearing alongside Marcel Marceau. He reached the peak of his international fame in the title role of Ha-Shoter Azoulay (literally, Policeman Azoulay, translated as The Policeman), a film vehicle by Ephraim Kishon which won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign-Language Film (1972) and was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Academy Award the same year. He also starred in other Ephraim Kishon films, including Ervinka, Blaumilch Canal and The Fox in the Chicken Coop, and the 1973 Moshé Mizrahi film Daughters, Daughters. In 1977 he starred opposite Melanie Griffith in The Garden. In 1985, Ophir starred in a stage adaptation of Janusz Korczak's children's novel King Matt the First, where he played seven different roles. The children's play was very successful and ran for three years. Over this period Ophir was diagnosed with lung cancer, to which he succumbed in 1987. Ophir was a theatrical director for HaGashash HaHiver. He also directed the Israeli movie Hamesh Ma'ot Elef Shahor, and wrote the screenplay for 4 Israeli movies. He wrote and performed many sketches and comedy routines, many of which are still popular in Israel today. He also did a series of Arabic-instruction TV programs that ran through the 1980s. He also appeared in the Chuck Norris film, The Delta Force. Ophir was married twice and had four children, two from each spouse. His daughter, Karin Ophir, is also an actress. Shaike Ophir, a heavy smoker, died from lung cancer in 1987.
Filmography Movies
Acting
America 3000
900 years after a nuclear war in the USA, mankind is back to the stone ages. Amazon women rule the tribes, while the men are weak and dumb - either kept as slaves or living wild as animals. Only Korvis and a friend are intelligent enough to flee and found a tribe of their own. Will they manage to teach the women to love men again?
The Magician of Lublin
Yasha is a Jewish stage magician who tours through eastern Europe while destroying his career through personal problems. He has one more chance at theatrical success, but he needs to do a brand new trick in a Warsaw theater.
El Dorado
Sherman, who is on trial for murder, is found not guilty thanks to reasonable doubt, however; having stood trial leaves the young felon a changed man. He falls head over heels with his defence attorney’s bright daughter and is even willing to turn his back on a life of crime for her, including walking away from his long-time partner, Jaffan prostitute, Margot. However, the road back to the straight and narrow is not an easy one and indeed, many around hm are wary of this so-called, newly-reformed Sherman.
The Delta Force
A 707 aircraft jetliner, en route from Athens to Rome and then to New York City, is hijacked by Lebanese terrorists, who demand that the pilot take them to Beirut. What the terrorists don't realize is that an elite team of commandos have been called in to eliminate all terrorists on the jetliner.
Daughters, Daughters
In this Israeli comedy, a father is afraid that after having sired eight daughters, that he will never produce a son.
The Big Dig
A slapstick comedy lampooning bureaucracy and the madness of everyday life in Israel centers on an escaped lunatic who digs up the streets of Tel-Aviv with a drill.
Hansel and Gretel
Musical adaptation of the Brothers Grimm story broadcast as a live television special on NBC.
500000 Black
500000 Black 1977
The Policeman
Azulai is a policeman in Jaffa, whose incompetence is only matched by his soft-heartedness. His superiors want to send him to early retirement, but he would like to stay on the force, and the criminals of Jaffa don't want to see him leave either...
The Fox in the Chicken Coop
Amitz Dolniker, an Israeli politician who speaks way to much has a heart attack in the middle of his speech. In the ambulance on the way to the hospital the doctor orders him to "go someplace quite, rest, and don't make speeches". His young assistant immediately suggest they go to Switzerland, however Dolniker had taken a vow not to leave Israel unnecessarily, so he comes up with a different idea - going to a remote village where they have never heard of him, so he would not be asked to make any speeches. As they arrive, it turns out that not only the villagers have never heard of Dolniker, but they have also never heard of running water, electricity, phones, and most importantly: TV, Radio, and newspapers... so its only a matter of time before Dolniker or the villagers go bananas...
Production
500000 Black
500000 Black 1977
Wrong Number
Ze'evik and Srool are hiding in Tiberias from the angry customer to whom they owe money.
Half a Million Black
Two comedians borrow 500,000 Israeli pounds from an entrepreneur who launders the mafia money via his night club in order to produce a musical "Awaiting Godo".
Half a Million Black
Two comedians borrow 500,000 Israeli pounds from an entrepreneur who launders the mafia money via his night club in order to produce a musical "Awaiting Godo".
Fish, Football and Girls
The story of a soccer team, respectable families, a corrupt night club owner, and a young lad to guide all to a happy ending.
Daughters, Daughters
In this Israeli comedy, a father is afraid that after having sired eight daughters, that he will never produce a son.
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