Person Biography:
Daliah Lavi, a stylish and slender-framed actress, was born Daliah Levenbuch on October 12, 1942, in the Moshav Shavey Zion, British Mandate of Palestine. She was the daughter of Reuben and Ruth Lewinbuk, who were of German-Jewish and Polish-Jewish descent. At a young age, she was sent to Stockholm, Sweden, to train in dance, where she made her film debut at 13 in the drama Hemsöborna (1955).
After returning to Israel, Daliah joined the Israeli Army following her father's death. She later resumed her acting career, becoming fluent in many European languages, and began to appear in a variety of French, Italian, German, and English productions, often as a co-star.
Daliah's early films include a starring role in the German/Israeli co-production Brennender Sand (1960),the classic Voltaire comedy Candide or The Optimism in the 20th Century (1960),and the Martine Carol drama Un soir sur la plage (1961). She gained recognition with the war drama No Time for Ecstasy (1961),the mystery crime The Return of Dr. Mabuse (1961),and the American movie debut Two Weeks in Another Town (1962).
Daliah continued to build her European film reputation with films such as Le jeu de la vérité (1961),Das schwarz-weiß-rote Himmelbett (1962),Il demonio (1963),Old Shatterhand (1964),Cyrano et d'Artagnan (1964),They're Too Much (1965),and Ten Little Indians (1965).
She hit her height of international popularity with four popular English/US-based films: Lord Jim (1965),The Spy with a Cold Nose (1966),The Silencers (1966),and Casino Royale (1967). Her final film was the western comedy Catlow (1971).
In the 1970s, Daliah pursued a singing career in Germany, becoming a popular draw with a few hit songs. She was also glimpsed again on German television in the 1990s. Daliah died on May 3, 2017, in North Carolina, leaving behind her fourth husband, Charles Gans, and four children, including her son Alex Gans, who followed in her footsteps in the film industry.
