Daliah Lavi (born Daliah Lewinbuk or Levenbuch, Hebrew: דליה לביא [ˌdalja laˈvi]; 12 October 1942 – 3 May 2017) was an Israeli actress, singer, and model.
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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
In 1955, Lavi appeared in her first film, Hemsöborna, 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).
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
The People of Hemsö (1955) as Professor's Daughter
Burning Sands (1960)
Candide ou l'optimisme au XXe siècle (1960) as Cunégonde
Un soir sur la plage (1961) as Marie
La Fête espagnole (1961) as Nathalie Conrad
Three Faces of Sin (1961) (uncredited)
The Return of Doctor Mabuse (1961) as Maria Sabrehm
The Game of Truth (1961) as Gisèle
Two Weeks in Another Town (1962) as Veronica
Black-White-Red Four Poster (1962) as Germaine
The Demon (1963) as Purif
The Whip and the Body (1963) as Nevenka Menliff
And So to Bed (1963) as Secretary
Old Shatterhand (1964) as Paloma
Cyrano and d'Artagnan (1964) as Marion de l'Orme
DM-Killer (1965) as Lolita, Charlys Stiefschwester
Lord Jim (1965) as The Girl
La Celestina P... R... (1965) as Daniela
Shots in Threequarter Time (1965) as Irina Badoni
Ten Little Indians (1965) as Ilona Bergen
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