Daliah Lavi
Lavi in 1966
Born
Daliah Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch)

(1942-10-12)12 October 1942
Shavei Zion, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel)
Died3 May 2017(2017-05-03) (aged 74)
Asheville, North Carolina, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, singer, model
Years active1955–1994 and 2008–2009
Spouse4; last marriage to
Charles Gans
​
(m. 1977)​
Children4
WebsiteOfficial website

Daliah Lavi (born Daliah Lewinbuk or Levenbuch, Hebrew: דליה לביא [ˌdalja laˈvi]; 12 October 1942 – 3 May 2017) was an Israeli actress, singer, and model.

Early life

Daliah Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch) was born in Shavei Tzion, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel). Her mother Ruth was of German-Jewish descent. Her father Reuben was of Russian-Jewish descent. The family surname is Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch).[1][2][3]

Daliah met Kirk Douglas when she was 10 years old. Kirk Douglas was in Israel in order to film The Juggler. Daliah told him that she would like to be a dancer. Douglas helped persuade her parents[4] to send her to Stockholm, Sweden to study ballet.[2] Daliah was not suited to the climate. Daliah gave up dancing, and she returned to Israel in order to be a model. A cheesecake photo of Daliah Lavi, while she was adjusting her bikini after it broke while at a Rio de Janeiro swimming pool, was circulated widely by the Associated Press in 1959.[5]

She performed her national service as a goodwill ambassador. Daliah appeared in several more films, Daliah was spotted on a beach during a trip to Rome. Daliah was offered a role in Two Weeks in Another Town, reuniting her with Douglas.[1]

Career

Lavi in Il demonio, 1963

Lavi appeared in her first film in 1955, Hemsöborna,[2] a Swedish adaptation of August Strindberg's 1887 novel The People of Hemsö.[4] She eventually returned to Israel. Her career took off in 1960, when she started appearing in a large number of European and American productions. Daliah is fluent in several languages. She acted in films in German, French, Italian, Spanish and English.[2] Lavi was reunited with Douglas in her first American film, Vincente Minnelli's Two Weeks in Another Town (1962).[4]

Lavi in Leipzig, Germany in 2009

She appeared in Brunello Rondi's witch hunt-themed movie Il demonio (1963), a film she considered her best performance.[6] She also appeared in Mario Bava's Gothic classic La Frusta e il corpo (1963), and the first Matt Helm film, The Silencers (1966), opposite Dean Martin.[2] Her portrayal of The Girl, Peter O'Toole's love interest, in 1965's Lord Jim, was to have been her breakout American role. The tepid reaction of audiences to the film prompted Lavi to accept a new career path. She frequently played a scantily clad femme fatale.[4]

Lavi played European entertainer Ilona Bergen in the 1965 mystery film Ten Little Indians. The movie is a film adaptation of Agatha Christie's thriller. The plot is about a group of strangers with deadly secrets, who are lured to an isolated locale, and murdered one by one. She also acted as "The Detainer/007" in Casino Royale (1967).[2][7]

She was subsequently discovered by record producer Jimmy Bowien and began a successful schlager singing career in Germany. Some of her hits were: "Oh, wann kommst du?", "Willst du mit mir gehn?", and "C'est ça, la vie (So ist das Leben)".[2]

Daliah's single, "Jerusalem", peaked at number 98 in Australia, in August 1971.[8]

Death

Lavi died on 3 May 2017, aged 74, from undisclosed causes[9] in Asheville, North Carolina, US.[9][2] Her funeral and burial were in Israel.[7]

Filmography

Discography

  • Liebeslied Jener Sommernacht (1970) German / English
  • Daliah (1970) English
  • Daliah Lavi / In Liebe (1971) German
  • Sympathy (1971) English
  • Willst Du Mit Mir Geh'n (1971) German
  • Would You Follow Me (1971) English
  • Ich Bin Dein Freund (1972) German
  • Jerusalem (1972) English
  • Meine Art Liebe Zu Zeigen (1972) German / English
  • Let The Love Grow (1973) English
  • I'm Israeli, I'm A Sabra (1974) Hebrew
  • Für Große Und Kleine Kinder (1975) German
  • Cafe Decadence (1975) German
  • Neuer Wind (1976) German
  • Bei Dir Bin Ich Immer Noch Zuhaus (1978) German
  • ... Wenn Schon, Dann Intensiv (1983) German
  • Herzblut (1985) German

References

  1. 1 2 Tim Lucas (2021). "The Kid from the Kibbutz": Daliah Lavi and the Road to IL DEMONIO (blu ray). Severin. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 McNary, Dave (3 May 2017). "'Casino Royale' Actress Daliah Lavi Dies at 74". Variety. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  3. ↑ Bergan, Ronald (9 May 2017). "Daliah Lavi obituary". The Guardian.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Slotnik, Daniel E. (5 May 2017). "Daliah Lavi, Actress in Both Dramas and Spoofs, Dies at 74". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  5. ↑ Horsley, Edith, The 1950s, Bison Books Ltd. London 1978, p. 236, picture and caption top left.
  6. ↑ Lucas, Tim (2012). "Daliah Lavi On Her Early Films". Video Watchdog (170). Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  7. 1 2 Barnes, Mike (4 May 2017). "Daliah Lavi, 'Casino Royale' and 'The Silencers' Star, Dies at 74". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 173. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. 1 2 Evans, Greg (4 May 2017). "Daliah Lavi Dies: 'Casino Royale', 'The Silencers' Actress Was 74". Deadline. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
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