The actor who lived in Los Angeles and starred in the Israeli cult film passed away • He also starred in "Masada", in "Do not mess with the Zohan" and appeared in "Seinfeld"
Reuven Bar Yotam
Photography:
Joshua Joseph
"Salomonico" died today.
Actor and screenwriter Reuven Bar-Yotam died in Los Angeles, where he lived for more than three decades.
85 years old at the time of his death.
Bar Yotam began his career as a 13-year-old boy at Eliezer Ansky's Children's Theater, and continued to play in theaters such as "The Tent", "Haifa Theater" and more.
He spent most of his career in cinema in films such as "He Went to the Fields", "Target Tiran", "Blaumilch Canal", "Bloomfield" and more.
Bar Yotam grew up in Haifa as a member of a family of Turkish and Thessaloniki descent, and most of his fame in Israel came when he starred in the successful film "Salomonico" directed by Alfred Steinhart, which was released in 1971 and was a blockbuster that sold about 700,000 tickets.
The sequel "Salomonico will be good" was also a huge box office success.
The film focuses on the character of Salomonico Carastica, a Thessaloniki port worker, and the house he built in the Greek-style Florentine neighborhood.
When his friends from the neighborhood move to the new neighborhoods, he also migrates to North Tel Aviv to give his children a more comfortable life, but is unable to adapt to the new neighborhood.
The film touches on the absorption ropes of Thessaloniki immigrants in the country and the gaps between Ashkenazis and Mizrahis and the intergenerational gap and more.
Bar Yotam, who wrote the script, based Salomonico's character on his own father.
In the 1970s, Bar Yotam also starred in the films "The Persuasive Ltd.", "Let's Blow Up a Million" with Yehuda Barkan and "Operation Jonathan".
In 1980 he left Israel to try his luck in glittering Hollywood, but was often cast in supporting roles in films such as "Masada" or "Sadat" - the film in which he played the editor of the Egyptian daily "Algomhoria".
He has appeared in guest roles in well-known TV series such as "LA Attorney", "Ceremonial", "Nikitia", "Blues for the Uniforms", "McGuire", "Murder by Pulling the Pen" and "Do Not Mess with the Zohan" with Adam Sandler, In the hit series "Shameless" alongside William H.
Macy, when the climax for him was when he was cast as the character of Shlomo, was driving a truck in the immortal series "Seinfeld".
Bar Yotam was the father of three children.
One of his daughters died of an illness in 2014.