Yehoram Gaon

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Yehoram Gaon
Background information
Born	December 28, 1939 (1939-12-28) (age 71) Jerusalem, Israel
Genres	Pop, Israeli music
Years active	1957–present
Labels	Hed Arzi Music

Yehoram Gaon (Hebrew: יהורם גאון), informally spelled Yoram Gaon (born December 28, 1939) is an Israeli singer and actor.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Singing career 1.3 Acting career 2 Awards 3 Personal life 3.1 Activism and Public life 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Gaon was born in Jerusalem in 1939 in the Beit Hakerem neighborhood as the youngest son of Moshe-David and Sarah Gaon. His father, Moshe-David Gaon, was born in Bosnia in 1889 and when he immigrated to the region of Palestine he began working as an Hebrew teacher. After a while he was sent to teach Hebrew in the Jewish community in Izmir, Turkey. There he met Yehoram's mother, Sara Hakim, and they soon immigrated back to the region of Palestine and formed a family.

When Gaon enlisted to the IDF in 1957, he joined the Nahal entertainment troupe. There Gaon actually began his acting and singing career.

[edit] Singing career

His career as a singer started when he joined the Nahal Brigade band in the IDF. He later joined the band "Yarkon Bridge Trio" (Hebrew: שלישיית גשר הירקון‎), where he performed along with Arik Einstein and the late Beni Amdursky. All three became stars in the Israeli popular culture.

Gaon's recognition also caused many Israeli composers and song writers to personally ask him to perform their songs. He is the most known singer of Naomi Shemer's Od Lo Ahavti Dai (lit. I have not Loved Enough Yet). Additionally, Gaon performed at the Nobel Prize ceremony of Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat. In 2009, Gaon recorded the song "Shir Ha’avoda Vehamlacha" for the organization Pioneers For A Cure, with the proceeds benefiting The Israel Cancer Association (ICA).

[edit] Acting career

As an actor, Gaon started his career by starring in the musical film Kazablan. There he performed the songs Kol HaKavod (lit. all the honor), and Yesh Makom (lit. There is a Place), which are associated with him to this day.

Following the film's success, Gaon became an overnight sensation and was offered parts in other films. His most notable starring role was in the Israeli film Mivtza Yonatan (English: Operation Thunderbolt) (1977), where he played Yonatan Netanyahu. He also starred in his own autobiography feature, called Ani Yerushalmi (lit. I'm a Jerusalemite) (1971). Yehoram Gaon also starred in several TV series, such as Krovim Krovim (1983), an Israeli sitcom.

He hosted the Israel Broadcasting Authority documentary series for the Jubilee Year, entitled, T’kuma. In 1998 he resigned from the show, claiming it glorified Arab terrorists.

Yehoram Gaon had his own TV show called Shishi BeGaon ("Friday with Gaon") on Israeli Channel One. The show ran for many years and was very successful in Israel. Currently Gaon then hosted a weekend talk show on commercial Channel 2.

[edit] Awards

In 2004, Gaon was awarded the Israel Prize, for Hebrew song.^[1][2]

[edit] Personal life

Gaon used to be married to Orna Goldfarb. From that marriage he has two children: Moshe-David (named after his father) and Hila.

Yehoram have three brothers: Yigal, Kalila Armon, and the late businessman Benny Gaon.

[edit] Activism and Public life

For several years Gaon has been hosting a radio show on Reshet Bet called as "Gaon on the radio" (גאון ברדיו), in which he talks about the current weekly events and expresses his personal views on the various current weekly events.

In 1993 he was elected to the Jerusalem City Council.

Gaon is the Honorary Consul of Chile in Israel. He also serves as the president of the Arkadash association of the Turkish immigrants in Israel.

[edit] See also

• List of Israel Prize recipients

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website (Hebrew)
• Official website (English)

Persondata
Name	Gaon, Yehoram
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