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Jacob Bodo: "Kids whose grandfather could have been my fan, want to take a selfie with me" | Israel today

2021-11-19T13:52:12.443Z


He does not forget the terrible audition for the Nahal band ("I did not know Hebrew, I did not understand a word of the text I recited"), is proud to play in Yiddish ("the language of the Jewish people") and angry at the vaccine refusers ("What right do they have?") 90, Yaakov Bodo stars in "Coupe Rashit" and Bezeq's campaign and misses his wife, who passed away seven years ago


When was the last time you thought about your age?

"I celebrated March 90 and was happy with the children and grandchildren. It's a beautiful age and it's important to mark it, but it was also a bit of a sad birthday because I lost my late wife Esther seven years ago and I miss her very much.

She was everything to me.

Professionally she was my director and dresser, and also the critic.

There would be no general return without it, there would be no travel without it.

She was not an actress, but she was involved in theater as a whole.

"Esther died of breast cancer. She was seven years younger than me and I accompanied her 15 years with the disease, from the time the tumor was discovered in one breast, through the surgery to the spread of the disease. A married actor needs the support of the whole family, not just his wife. "You succeeded. We were a couple for almost 60 years, a piece of life. I met her when she was 16 and a half and we got married when she was 18 and I was 25. We got married because I was in the army, and I did not want her to go to the army because I would lose her. She was beautiful."

When was the last time you played?

"This week, at the Yiddishpiel Theater show. I play all the time, I have no break. There is no 'last time' in this profession. I have been in the profession for 70 years, and I have not been out of work even one day. It is exceptional and it is my reward. To be free, I could. I would go from show to show and from movie to movie, but when my wife Esther was alive we would schedule a month of vacation every summer. We did not miss a single vacation. We were in every country possible, and I traveled with shows and theater almost all over the world. I saw in life.I admired their construction, the aesthetics of the buildings.

"By the way, in my first audition, when I wanted to be accepted into the Nahal band, I was in the Golani and prepared a monologue for Bialik's 'On the Slaughter'.

As a newcomer, I was sure it was a beautiful monologue.

In the exam I recited the text and everyone who was there laughed.

They hid their faces under the table, and I did not understand why.

I did not know Hebrew, I did not understand a word of the text, and obviously I was not accepted.

I was told the device was full.

"Since then I've done a lot of things, theater, movies, television, and I'm very proud of it. I did it with my own hands, without connections. I did not connect with any director or director to get a role. Everything I got came from play to play, and I do not regret anything. I did. "

When was the last time you learned a new language?

"I have been dyslexic since childhood and have difficulty with languages. I had teachers of English, but I could not learn the language even though I was in New York for half a year in the late 1980s. I understand English, but it is very difficult for me to speak Hebrew. I was younger and had a base from the 'room' in Romania and for many years in the Gordonia youth movement, of which I was a member from the age of 15 to the age of 20. When I immigrated to Israel, I always had contact with Hebrew through songs and prayers.

"Many ask me, what happened that you went through as a Yiddish player? Yiddish was inside me, because until the age of 7 I did not speak any other language at all. For me, playing Yiddish is like repenting. Yiddish is the language of the Jewish people, a language I grew up in."

When was the last time you went to the doctor?

"I'm 90 years old, and I'm happy for my part that at that age I may have only once or twice been in the hospital, and not from thank God illnesses, but because of tests. The last time I was at a doctor after I fainted, after the first vaccination. This one should check everything. "

When was the last time you were arrested on the street?

"Now it's happening all the time, because of the character of the security guard Chibutro from 'Coupe Rashit.'

"'First checkout' is a phenomenon that there is no such thing. I can not eat in a restaurant or walk on the street, lucky to have a mask. It does not bother me, on the contrary, it makes me happy. When I see teenagers who did not know Joseph who are suddenly happy to see me, it is contagious "There are children whose grandfather could have been my fan, and these children take selfies with me, it makes me happy. By the way, because the series is so popular, they turn to me as Chibutro. They do not know my real name."

When was the last time you were angry?

"Now, about people who are not going to get vaccinated. What is this thing that people do not believe in medicine? Science? What right do they have to do that? See people like that on TV. When your head hurts you take a pill for a headache? Yes. I do not think I know a person who does not take drugs. All of humanity is vaccinated, this is not an Israeli matter.

"I'm one of the first to get vaccinated. The kids kept me going, I did the three vaccinations and I'm also taking care of myself. I'm very obedient, and it could be that because I obey, I've not been in the hospital almost all my life."

When was the last time you went out for fun?

"Since my wife passed away, my only pastime is with family and grandchildren. We have three children, a daughter and two sons, and five grandchildren. We like to sit in restaurants, so every Friday we go out to dinner together. I like to eat everything, but prefer anything with meat. "Without meat, this is not a meal. It belongs to the Romanian origin, and my favorite dish is Romanian kebab. I also eat cheeses and other foods, but my base is meat."

When was the last time you heard a song you loved?

"Every day, mostly old songs. One of my best friends was the late Arik Lavie, who does not have a day that I do not hear his songs.

Eric was like my mentor and we also worked together when he directed my entertainment show 'Vote for Bodo' in the '70s.

I also really like stand-up comedians, and because I'm in the profession, and also because I did stand-up even before they called it that, I can know when they show up with ready-made material and when they improvise. "

When was the last time you remembered your childhood?

"Romania stayed in my mind all the time, even though I left it in 1950. I had a beautiful childhood there, despite the wars. Every day I remember Romania, it was good and it was bad and it was in the middle, it was everything. When World War II broke out I was 8, and for five For years I hid. I worked in German army kitchens as a child to bring leftover food to my parents. We were almost on our way to be sent to camps, and if the war had continued a little longer we probably would not be alive. We were almost the last to survive in Europe.

"Before the war I had a quiet and beautiful childhood. I lived in a kind of Jewish ghetto, because it was forbidden to go out to play with the non-Jews. We were in a small town where 3,000 Jews lived, but 5,000 people spoke Yiddish, even the Gentiles. I have visited there several times since I left, "Like a little boy and I was afraid to enter my house. Then I succeeded, and I also went to a show in Romania in front of the Jewish community."

When was the last time you prayed?

"I pray all the time. I was born in a town where one of the great rabbis, from Beit Stepanesht. I strongly believe in 'Bo', and I had evidence. In the early 1960s my wife had a throat disease and the doctors did not know what she had. Acquaintances suggested I go to the grave of The Rebbe in my town and putting her medicine there. I did it, and what a wonder, after how long she was healed. It's a story that Rabbi Lau invites me to tell a lot. I'm friends with him and he married all my children. We were together on a radio show on Kol Yisrael.

"I also believe in going on stage on the right foot, and I have other superstitions. If for example I forgot something at home, I will not go back, and I also believe in bad luck bringing a black cat and all the stories. Laugh at me? Let them laugh."

When was the last time you were proud of something or someone?

"I am always proud, and now even more proud, of my grandchildren. I have a granddaughter who was discharged from the IDF after serving in combat engineering, and I have a grandson who serves in a unit that should not be talked about.

My kids did not go my way.

My daughter is an English teacher, one is a banker and the other is in the car business.

"I worked hard to get to Eretz Israel, which has always been a dream. After the war, my sisters went to Israel. My older sister was a medic in Palmach and a member of Kibbutz Mishmar HaShiva.

We are a very Zionist family and we have roots here since 1933.

Overall I am satisfied with the country.

Despite everything that is happening, we have a great country.

We are a country that is an example to the Gentiles, and that is thanks to the Jewish mind.

There is no country in the world that does not have a Jewish mind, including "the United States and all the former communist countries."

When was the last time you laughed?

"There are people on TV who make me laugh, for example in 'Coupe Rishit' there is Amir Shorosh, who plays Ramsey. He's a great guy who is very close to me. In general, the whole cast is very close to me. I'm not exaggerating that the respect they give me is huge. It's not. This old man who does not belong to us', they really care about me. I have a feeling I was born again. I am so valued, that sometimes I am ashamed that they do me such honor. .

"I worked with a lot of directors and the director of 'Kupa Rashit', Oren Shakedi, is a boy's baby. I can be his grandfather, and he has a lot of patience for me. He always says 'if you do not remember something, wait'. I like working with young directors There used to be shouting with directors, for example Menachem Golan or Uri Zohar who shouted a lot, or to differentiate George Ovadia who did not direct you at all. I do not know which is better. If you give the actor complete freedom you violate the director's principles, then the film should shout "On the player, but fortunately I get my opinions today, because of the experience I gained."

When was the last time you were on a set?

"This month, in the filming of a Bezeq commercial. I'm one of the first to make a TV commercial. When they had to pay a fee, I published 'Unpleasant, not terrible (pay a fee).' "Round was her name. Yehoram Gaon and I made the phone sketch there, which to this day haunts me."

When was the last time you won an award?

"I have a lot of awards. I received the last award in 2016, from the National Authority for Yiddish Culture. I also received the Theater's Lifetime Achievement Award, an award for volunteering from the Speaker of the Knesset and an award from the University.

Bar Ilan.

"Every award is exciting, but the theater award particularly moved me, because it's very flattering when your friends in the profession appreciate your work."

When for the first time

When did you first see Israel?

"I saw Israel from the ship when we arrived in Haifa, in 1950. We saw the Carmel Mountains in the distance, and it was a moment when I did not believe what I saw. Then my sister appeared there, pregnant, and it became a dream that goes with me all my life, that I came to Israel. I will forget all my life. I was very excited, but I did not cry. Today I cry out of excitement or joy, because at my age emotions are such that anything can make you cry. I had roots in the country when I arrived. Grandparents and uncles have been here since 1933, and my sister since 1944. I "I remember how we accompanied them to the bus when they left, it was like a dream. When I got up, Grandpa was no longer alive, but Grandma was. I had a huge family, and I did not suffer much from the absorption. I have no complaints."

Yaakov Bodo // 90 years old, actor, resident of Tel Aviv.

Widower, father of three and grandfather of five.

Winner of the Israeli Theater Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Born in Romania, immigrated to Israel in 1950, was one of the founders of the Haifa Theater, and since 1992 has performed at the Yiddishpiel Theater.

Played in dozens of series and movies and put on entertainment and singing shows.

He currently plays for "Kupa Rashit" here and participates with Gidi Gov and "Kupa Rashit" players in the Bezeq campaign.

shirshirziv@gmail.com

Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2021-11-19

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