Shaike Ophir

Yeshayahu (Shaike) Goldstein was born in Jerusalem near the Mea Shearim neighborhood, to Shimon and Shifra (née Weisfish) Goldstein. His family were Masortiim, and his Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry in the city goes back to the mid-19th century. He grew up in a multilingual environment, such that while he learned Yiddish at home, he also absorbed Ladino and Arabic in his environs. He was educated in Jerusalem's Alliance and the Lycée Français de Jérusalem. He studied acting as an adolescent, and was intending to work as a post office clerk, but left school at age 14 to enlist in the Palmach. As he was underage at the time, he lied about his age and was able to join. He would go on to say that his service in the Palmach was among the most important periods of his life. He volunteered for the Palyam, the naval wing of the Palmach, though he was expelled from the courses due to disciplinary infractions. During his time in the Palmach, he met Dan Ben-Amotz and Haim Hefer, and it was at the latter's suggestion that he decided to change his name to Shaike Ophir. Upon completing his service in the Palmach in 1946, upon Dan Ben-Amotz's recommendation, he was accepted to the acting studio of the Ohel Theater. During the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, he was re-drafted to the military. He escorted convoys to the besieged city of Jerusalem, and took part in naval battles. Later on, thanks to his comic skills he joined the Chizbatron, a comedy and entertainment troupe of the Israeli military. Performing alongside him in the troupe were Naomi Polani, Gideon Singer, Shlomo Bar-Shavit, and others. He soon became one of the troupe's leading stars.

In the 1950s, he made a name for himself as a multi-talented performer. He had even recorded a few hit songs during this period. He married the singer Ohela Halevy, whose father Moshe Halevy had been the founder of the Ohel Theater. In 1950, Ophir went to Paris to learn pantomime under the actor Étienne Decroux, and performed with Marcel Marceau. He returned to Israel in 1952, and set up a pantomime theater under the auspices of the Cameri Theater. In 1956, Ophir and his wife and children moved to the United States for a period that would last four and a half years. 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). In this period, he also performed with Marlene Dietrich, was invited to replace Sammy Davis Jr. in a performance before the UN, and even put on a one-man show on Broadway. Upon his return to Israel, Ophir directed the first two productions of the new comedy trio HaGashash HaHiver ("The Pale Tracker"), and wrote sketches for them. Ophir acted in 28 films, wrote, directed, and starred in several variety shows. He reached the peak of his international fame in the title role of Ha-Shoter Azoulay (literally, Officer 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 play was very successful and ran for three years. Over this period Ophir was diagnosed with lung cancer, to which he succumbed in 1987. He also directed the Israeli movie Hamesh Ma'ot Elef Shahor (Five Hundred Thousand Black or Half a Million Black), 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. From his marriage to Ohela Halevi (1928-2010), he had two children, Elad (1951-2012), and Atalia. From his second marriage, to Lidya Schumacher (1936-2018), daughter of the Yiddish actor Israel Schumacher, he had two more children: Alexander-Gigi, and the actress Karin Ophir. Shaike Ophir, a heavy smoker, died from lung cancer on 17 August 1987 in Tel Aviv at the age of 58.

1956: B'Ein Moledet 1956: Ma'aseh B'Monit.... Soldier 1959: Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Season 4 Episode 27: "The Waxwork").... Bourdette 1963: El Dorado.... Shneider 1964: Shemona B'Ekevot Ahat 1964: Hor B'Levana 1964: Dalia Vehamalahim 1966: Moishe Ventilator 1967: Ervinka.... The Sergeant 1968: Ha-Shehuna Shelanu 1969: Blaumilch Canal.... Police Officer 1971: The Policeman.... Constable Sergeant Abraham Azulai 1972: Shod Hatelephonim Hagadol 1973: Daughters, Daughters.... Sabbatai Alfandari 1973: The House on Chelouche Street.... Haim 1975: Yi'ihiyeh Tov Salmonico 1975: Diamonds.... Moshe 1977: Hamesh Ma'ot Elef Shahor 1977: The Garden.... Avram 1977: Gonev Miganav Patoor 1977: Operation Thunderbolt.... Gadi Arnon 1978: Ha-Shu'al B'Lool Hatarnagalot.... Amitz Dolniker 1979: The Magician of Lublin.... Schmul 1979: Ta'ut Bamispar.... Superintendent Moshe Cohen 1985: King Solomon's Mines.... Kassam 1986: The Delta Force.... Father Nicholas 1986: America 3000.... Lelz 1987: Sleeping Beauty.... Master Elf (final film role)