Shimon Finkel

Shimon Finkel was born in 1905 in Hrodna

Finkel was born in 1905 in Grodno, then in the Russian Empire. His father Zvi was a merchant. He began acting there as a youth and later joined a Yiddish theater group.

He studied acting in Berlin and joined a group of Hebrew actors who planned to found a theater in the Land of Israel. In 1924 he immigrated there and acted in the theater the group founded.

At Habima he played many lead roles, including Hamlet, King Lear, Othello and Oedipus. He is known as the first Hebrew Hamlet. He served twice as Habima's artistic director and promoted the plays of Nissim Aloni.

In 1932 he acted in Oded the Wanderer, the first Hebrew feature film, and later in films such as The Vulture and Hanna's War. He also wrote 11 books about theater in Hebrew.

He was married 3 times and had a daughter, Marit. He died in 1999 and was buried at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv. Habima later created a prize in his name.