Background
Banai was born in Jerusalem during Mandatory Palestine, and grew up in the neighborhood of the Mahane Yehuda market.
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Yossi Banai
Edit ProfileCareer
He dropped out of school in sixth grade to join the theatre, studied acting under Fanny Lovitch and eventually joined the company of Habima theatre. Throughout his lifetime he collaborated with most of the active theatre companies in Israel performing in countless productions. He had a particularly close relationship with playwright Nissim Aloni, and starred in the premiers of many of Aloni"s plays.
Banai also inaugurated famous roles in the plays of Hanoch Levine and Yaakov Shabtai.
Banai himself wrote several cabaret style revues, which he typically performed solo. As a singer, he was famous for his personal presentation, smoky voice and penchant for performing French chansons.
Some of his revues consisted of renditions of the songs of Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens, which were often translated from the French for him by Naomi Shemer. Shemer also wrote several of her own songs for Banai.
He died of cancer in Tel Aviv.
Achievements
Membership
Banai was one of the first members of the Israel Defense Forces"s famous troupe of performers, the Nahal troupe.
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Born
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Died
March 11, 2006 (aged 73) -
Nationality
Israel
Awards
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Israel Prize In 1998, Banai was awarded the Israel Prize for "stage arts – theatre" for his contribution to Israeli theatre.
The Israel Prize (Hebrew: פרס ישראל) is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is generally regarded as the state's highest honor.The Israel Prize (Hebrew: פרס ישראל) is an award handed out by the State of Israel and is generally regarded as the state's highest honor.