Shaike Ofir (original name: Yeshayahu Goldstein; November 4, 1928 – August 17, 1987) was an Israeli film and theater actor, comedian, stand-up comedian, playwright, screenwriter, director, singer, and mime artist, one of the most important and prominent in Israel during the twentieth century. (at the last paragraph, the famous “Shaike Ophir English Teacher” skit)
Ophir was born and raised in Jerusalem as Yeshayahu Goldstein (after his great-grandfather, Rabbi Yeshayahu Pikarsky) to a traditional family, in the Ibn Yehoshua neighborhood near the Mea Shearim neighborhood. From an early age, he studied Yiddish at home as well as Ladino and Arabic in the neighborhood where he grew up. He was educated at Alliance School and St. Joseph’s High School. At the age of 14 he was supposed to start an apprenticeship in the post office as a clerk, but instead decided to join the Palmach; to do so he forged his age and managed to enlist. He later said that his period of service in the Palmach was one of the most important periods in his life. During his service, he volunteered for the naval arm of the Palmach but was fired from several courses due to discipline issues. In the Palmach he met Haim Hefer and Dan Ben-Amotz. On the advice of Haim Hefer, he decided to change his name to Shaike Ofir.
When the Israeli War of Independence broke out, he was initially recruited as a convoy attendant, and later in 1947, he joined the Palmach entertainment band, “The Chizbatron” immediately after its formation alongside Naomi Polani. Later, Gideon Singer, Shlomo Bar Shavit, and others joined. During this period he married the singer Ohala Halevi, the daughter of the founder of the Ohel Theater, Moshe Halevi.
Shaike Ophir as a Mime
In 1950 Shaike Ophir traveled to Paris, where he studied mime with Etienne Decroux, the father of modern pantomime, and performed with the legendary mime artist Marcel Marceau. Already then he was considered a world-class mime artist and was even defined in the prestigious American magazine “Life” as one of the greatest mimes of all time. In 1952 he returned to Israel and to establish a “pantomime theater” he added two young actors, Amos Arikha and Ziva Roden, who then performed at the Habima Theater. The Mime Theater was established under the Cameri Theater, and the premiere, “Masks,” took place in 1954. A year later, Ofir directed the second and final program, “Ayalot,” starring Mia Ziv, one of the most prominent actresses of Zira Theater.
In 1955 he appeared in a small role in the film “A Stone on Every Mill”. In 1956, the Israeli film “Story of a Taxi” was released, in which he first appeared in a prominent role on screen. The film is considered a breakthrough in the field of Israeli comedy and was the first Israeli commercial comedy.
Ophir left for the United States in 1956 with his wife and two young children for four and a half years. During that time he performed alongside Marlene Dietrich, was invited to replace Sammy Davis Jr. in a performance before the UN, and even put on a solo show on Broadway.
In the early 1960s, he returned to Israel and returned to show his performances based on his talent in mime, his ability to imitate, and the variety of characters he created. Some of the sketches he created have become classics in the history of Israeli entertainment, including “Return”, “Ziona and the broken eye”, “A Lesson in English”, and a long list of other sketches documenting Arab, Galilean, and Jerusalem figures.
Shaike directed the first two programs of the “The Pale Tracker” trio (HaGashash HaHiver), which was initiated and founded by Avraham Deshe (Peshanel) and wrote sketches for them. According to the testimony of the band members, most of the rehearsal time was devoted to an ongoing performance by Ofir himself.
Film Career
In the 1960s and 1970s, Ofir appeared in a long line of films, the most famous of which was Ephraim Kishon’s films, especially “The Policeman Azoulay” – whose character was created especially for him, as he designed it, brought life into it and created one of the most complete characters in cinema in Israel. The film was a huge success, and even won the Golden Globe Award in 1971 and was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Among the other notable films: “Abu El Banat” and “The House on Three Street.” Ophir even directed the film “Five Hundred Thousand Black” in 1977, in which he played alongside Jacques Cohen a crook who escaped from the head of organized crime.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s his career faded a bit, and the critique was that he was recycling his old sketches again. In those years he hardly acted in films, and his only presence in the public arena was through an appearance in a TV series for learning Arabic called “Salam WaTa’alam” (“Peace and Learning”).
Shaike Ophir English Teacher
This is the famous “Shaike Ophir English Teacher” Skit, with an English introduction instead of the original one in Hebrew. This was done to both avoid issues while playing it in an environment that is hostile towards Hebrew and to make the skit more accessible.
In the top picture: Melanie Griffith and Shaike Ophir in Ha-Gan (1977), Israeli film