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

Early life

Daliah Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch) was born in Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel). Her mother Ruth Klammer was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) to Theodor Hermann Klammer and Gertrud Klammer and was German-Jewish. Her father Reuben was born in Belarus to Yosef Lewinbuk and Michla Levine of Russian-Jewish descent. The family surname is Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch).

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 to send her to Stockholm, Sweden to study ballet. 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.

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.

Career

Lavi in The Demon, 1963

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

Lavi in Leipzig, Germany in 2009

She appeared in Brunello Rondi's witch hunt-themed movie The Demon (1963), which she considered her best performance. 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. Her portrayal of The Girl, Peter O'Toole's love interest, in 1965's Lord Jim, was to have been her breakout American role. However, the tepid reaction of audiences prompted Lavi to accept a new career path.

Lavi frequently played a scantily clad or partly nude femme fatale, but one nude scene was mainly done by a body double. In 1964, the French comedy The Troops of St. Tropez had recently opened; this featured nudism and also premiered in Croatia where the Western Old Shatterhand (film) was made by West German producers at the Krka National Park waterfalls. The second part of a skinny-dipping scene at the falls was made with Lavi during the summer, but the initial jump from the falls (filmed later in the year at low water levels for safety) used a local look-alike when Lavi became ill. The stand-in, Gordana Ceko, climbed over slippery rocks and jumped into the cold water.

Lavi played European entertainer Ilona Bergen in the 1965 mystery Ten Little Indians, an adaptation of Agatha Christie's thriller. She also acted as "The Detainer/007" in Casino Royale (1967).

In 1970, she was discovered by record producer Jimmy Bowien and began a successful schlager singing career in Germany. Some of her biggest hits were Oh Wann Kommst Du (composed by John Kongos), Willst Du Mit Mir Gehn (Kongos), and "C'est ça, la vie (So ist das Leben)". In August 1971, Daliah's single "Jerusalem" peaked at number 98 in Australia.

Death

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

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

External links

  • Media related to Daliah Lavi at Wikimedia Commons
  • at IMDb