Yossi Banai

Yossi Banai was born in 1932 in Jerusalem

Banai was born in Jerusalem in 1932 and grew up in a large, poor family near the Mahane Yehuda Market. He left school in sixth grade and taught himself. He sneaked into theater shows and put on informal performances with friends and his brother Chaim.

During his army service he joined Lehakat HaNahal in 1951 and studied acting with Fanny Lovitch. Although she discouraged him, he was accepted to the Habima acting school and joined the theater. In his mid-twenties he left Habima and went to Paris, where he was drawn to French chansons.

Back in Israel he acted in many theaters and often appeared in plays by Nisim Aloni. In 1963 he co-founded the Theater of the Seasons with Aloni and Avner Hizkiyahu, which closed after about 3 years. He wrote and performed solo revues and wrote and directed 5 shows for HaGashash HaHiver, which included his brother Gavri.

As a singer he performed chansons by Jacques Brel and Georges Brassens, often in Hebrew versions by Naomi Shemer. His last stage role was King David in Keter Barosh at Habima, which won him the Israeli Theater Prize for acting in 2004. He died of cancer in Tel Aviv in 2006.