RIP Daliah Lavi

Israeli actress Daliah Lavi died at her home in Asheville, North Carolina on May 3rd. She was 76. Born Daliah Lewinbuk on October 12, 1942 in Moshav Shavei Zion, Palestine (now Israel). She began training as a dancer and bit part actress before she abruptly halted her career to serve with the Israeli army. Lavi was a star in Europe long before she made a dent in Hollywood in the late 1960s. Daliah pursued sex symbol status via spy spoofs, erotic thrillers, tongue-in-cheek comedies and rugged adventures. In retrospect, however, she fell quite short of her pedestal amid the large crowd of sexy luminaries at the time. Decked out in tight mini-skirts, thigh-high go-go boots and a helmet of black hair, Daliah fit in perfectly with the times, a swinging chick of the psychedelic 60s. Her last film was Catlow (1971) with Yul Brynner and she quickly abandoned films. Ms. Lavi pursued a singing career back in Europe with little fanfare and only recently has been glimpsed on German television in the 90s. Besides Catlow, Lavi also appeared as Paloma in the 1964 German western Apache’s Last Battle.