Yehoram Gaon

Yehoram Gaon, informally spelled Yoram Gaon (1939-) is an Israeli singer and actor. He was born December 28, 1939 in Jerusalem to a Sephardic Jewish family. [edit]Singing career His career as a singer started when he joined the Nahal Brigade band in the IDF. He later joined the band "Yarkon Bridge Trio" (Hebrew: שלישיית גשר הירקון), where he performed along with Arik Einstein and Beni Amdorsky. All three became stars in the Israeli popular culture. Gaon's recognition also caused many Israeli composers and song writers to personally ask him to perform their songs. He is the most known singer of Naomi Shemer's Od Lo Ahavti Dai (lit. I have not Loved Enough Yet). Additionally, Gaon performed at the Nobel Prize ceremony of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. [edit]Acting career As an actor, Gaon started his career by starring in the musical film Kazablan. There he performed the songs Kol HaKavod (lit. Congratulations!), and Yesh Makom (lit. There is a Free Spot), which are associated with him to this day. Because of the film's success, Gaon became a sensation and was invited to act in other films. His most notable starring role was in the Israeli film Mivtza Yonatan (English: Operation Thunderbolt) (1977), where he played Jonathan Netanyahu. He also starred in his own autobiography feature, called Ani Yerusalmi (lit. I'm a Jerusalemite) (1971). Yehoram Gaon also starred in several TV series, such as Krovim Krovim (1983), which was the first Israeli sitcom. He hosted the Israel Broadcasting Authority documentary series for the Jubilee Year, entitled, T’kuma. In 1998 he resigned from the show, claiming it glorified Arab terrorists. Yehoram Gaon had his own TV show called Shishi BeGaon ("Friday with Gaon") on Israeli Channel One. The show ran for many years and was very successful in Israel. Currently Gaon hosts a weekend talk show on commercial Channel 2. [edit]Public life In addition to his work in performing arts, Gaon has recently entered the political arena. In 1993 he was elected to the Jerusalem City Council and has worked extensively for the city, primarily in the area of cultural and municipal arts. He has indicated that he may well be interested in pursuing a political career, but retains his interest in promoting Israel, together with its popular and folk music. He was the recipient of the Israel Prize in 2004. ************************************************************************** Singer and Actor The son of Sephardic immigrants, Yehoram Gaon grew up in Jerusalem and aspired to be an actor. During his army service he performed in the Nahal entertainment troupe, but he did not formally begin his singing career until his release from the army. He performed with several singing groups, and achieved his first major professional appearance with his leading role in the musical Kazablan. Since then, Gaon's career as a singer, actor, and director has flowered. He has produced almost fifty albums, including of Ladino music, has performed extensively in Israel and abroad, and has starred in television and movie productions. Among these is Operation Thunderbolt, the movie made about the 1976 rescue at Entebbe which starred Gaon as Yoni Netanyahu. He has recently compered the Israel Broadcasting Authority documentary series for the Jubilee Year, entitled, “T’kuma”. In addition to his work in performing arts, Gaon has recently entered the political arena. In 1993 he was elected to the Jerusalem City Council and has worked extensively for the city, primarily in the area of cultural and municipal arts. He has indicated that he may well be interested in pursuing a political career, but retains his interest in promoting Israel, together with its popular and folk music. **************************************************************************** Biografia de Yehoram Gaon: Yehoram Gaon va néixer a Jerusalem l'any 1939 en el si d'una familia d'immigrants d'origen sefardí. El seu talent artístic va ser descobert ja de nen a l'escola, però va ser a l'exèrcit israelià on veritablement li va donar via lliure. Un cop acabat el servei militar es va integrar com a membre de la banda musical Ha-tarnegolim i posteriorment al trio Gesher Ha-Yarkon, dues formacions de certa popularitat a Israel. Posteriorment va marxar a Nova York on va estudiar Art Dramàtic en una reconeguda institució. Va tornar a Israel quan se'l va convidar a actuar com a personatge principal en la pel·lícula "Kazablan" el 1973, un musical que, dirigit per Menahem Golan, ha esdevingut probablement la pel·lícula més popular d'Israel. Des d'aleshores, la carrera artística de Yehoram Gaon no va fer altra cosa que anar a l'alça. Ha publicat prop d'una vintena d'LPs que inclouen cançons en hebreu, anglès i ladí, i ha actuat en diverses obres de teatre i pel·lícules. A més, ha estat director cinematogràfic i ha presentat diversos programes televisius de gran audiència. La seva veu i el seu talent l'han dut a actuar arreu del món, des del New York's Carnegie Hall fins a l'Olympia de París o la Casa Blanca on, en presència de Clinton, el rei Hussein i Rabin va interpretar la seva cançó "The Last War" durant una cerimònia per la Pau celebrada amb motiu dels acords signats entre Jordània i Israel. A més de tot això, desde 1993 i per elecció del Jerusalem City Council, va encetar la seva carrera política, centrada bàsicament en l'àmbit de la promoció cultural i artística d'aquesta ciutat. Anomenat per alguns el Frank Sinatra d'Israel, Yehoram Gaon és sens dubte una figura emblemàtica d'aquell país, i les seves cançons formen ja part de la història i de l'experiència d'Israel. ***************************************************************************** Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.