All About Jewish Theatre - Israeli actor Avraham Chalfi (1904-1980 )-The Poet with the cane and green coat

Boaz Trinker is drama student in Nissan Nativ's actors studio in Tel-Aviv, and publishes in Hebrew in "Tochnia – The Israeli Theatre
Heritage Website" Web : www.tochnia.co.il e-mail : boaz@tochnia.co.il

December 31st 2004 marked the 100th birthday of actor Avraham Chalfi 1904-1980. Not many of the theatre goers who saw him onstage knew that this sad-eyed man of small stature, the bashful lonely bachelor, was also a wonderful poet, loved by many of his contemporaries - Shlonsky, Alexander Penn, Alterman and Lea Goldberg. Similar to other "minor poets" who did not achieve fame in their lifetime as poets, Chalfi was discovered by the wide audiences mainly after his death; owing in large to his songs being composed by such young composres as Yoni Rechter, Miki Gavrielov, Alon Oleartchik and Yehudit Ravitz. His songs, such as "Tza'ar Lach", "Shir Al Hatooki Yossi" and mainly "Atur Mitzchech" which was twice voted among artists and musicians as the most beautiful song composed in Israel to date, still left him somewhat anonymous.

Born in Poland, he made Aliyah in 1924 and worked in construction and agriculture as did many of the new immigrants. Not long after that he joined the "Ohel" theatre, founded by Moshe Halevy, but in 1954 he joined the "Cameri" theatre, where he would develop to the heights of his acting career. Among his most famous roles was the first ever portrayal of "Utz-Li-Gutz-Li" (Rumplestiltskin) in Avraham Shlonsky's version of the children's fairytale. He would go on to reprise this role in the various remakes of this successful musical. But the role he is mostly remembered for is Akakii Akakievich in Nikolay Gogol's "The Overcoat", translated from Russian by Shlonsky and directed by Shmuel Bunim in the Cameri theatre, 1966.
In 1980, at age 76, still playing the nimble little man Utz-Li-Gutz-Li, he collapsed one night after performing two shows in a row and rushed to a hospital. A week later he was gone.

On Friday, January 7th 2005 the Cameri theatre held a special event commemorating Chalfi's 100th birthday, as part of their regular series homages to prominent cultural figures who lived and worked in Tel-Aviv. The show itself was a rare tribute to the artist, comprising of readings of his poems by veteran actors such as Shlomo Vishinsky, Zaharira Harifai and Yosef Carmon and also performances by Miki Kam, Alon Oleartchik and some of the theatres young new recruits. The full venue (of 1000 seats) applauded at rare footage of Chalfi in a film adaptation of "Children of the Shadows" which concluded the event. Today it is the only way to get acquainted with Chalfi's art, apart from his poetry which lives on.

A song about my cane and green coat
By : Avraham Chalfi

When I die -
Take my green coat
and wear it on a suitable day,
a day of double nonsense.
When I die.

Take my cane
Sent to me by relatives in Mexico-City.
Its' colors
like those of a fading sun
somewhere beyond Mexico-City.

Go out into the day light, dressed in my green coat.
And whitle, whistle.

Spin my cane in the air.
Wave it here and there.
Let them say: dandy.