Daliah Lavi (born Daliah Lewinbuk or Levenbuch, ; 12 October 1942 – 3 May 2017) was an Israeli actress, singer, and model.
Early life
Daliah Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch) was born in Haifa, British Mandate of Palestine (now Israel). Her mother Ruth Klammer was born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) to Theodor Hermann Klammer and Gertrud Klammer and was German-Jewish. Her father Reuben was born in Belarus to Yosef Lewinbuk and Michla Levine of Russian-Jewish descent. The family surname is Lewinbuk (or Levenbuch).
Daliah met Kirk Douglas when she was 10 years old. Kirk Douglas was in Israel in order to film The Juggler. Daliah told him that she would like to be a dancer. Douglas helped persuade her parents to send her to Stockholm, Sweden to study ballet.
She performed her national service as a goodwill ambassador. Daliah appeared in several more films, Daliah was spotted on a beach during a trip to Rome. Daliah was offered a role in Two Weeks in Another Town, reuniting her with Douglas. She also appeared in Mario Bava's Gothic classic La Frusta e il corpo (1963), and the first Matt Helm film, The Silencers (1966) opposite Dean Martin.
Lavi played European entertainer Ilona Bergen in the 1965 mystery Ten Little Indians, an adaptation of Agatha Christie's thriller. She also acted as "The Detainer/007" in Casino Royale (1967).
In 1970, she was discovered by record producer Jimmy Bowien and began a successful schlager singing career in Germany. Some of her biggest hits were Oh Wann Kommst Du (composed by John Kongos), Willst Du Mit Mir Gehn (Kongos), and "C'est ça, la vie (So ist das Leben)".
Death
Lavi died on 3 May 2017, aged 74, from undisclosed causes in Asheville, North Carolina, US.