Arieh Elias


Arieh Elias was an Israeli actor.

Biography

Arieh Elias was born in Baghdad. In 1941, he was the first Jew to be accepted to the drama faculty of Baghdad's Academy of Fine Arts. Elias immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in 1947. He joined the Palmach and fought in the War of Independence. At first he had trouble finding work as an actor due to his pronounced Arabic accent, but his popularity grew after playing the lead in the Israeli film HaYeled Me'ever LaRechov in 1965.

Acting and film career

In the early 1960s, he directed the theater troupe of the Frank Sinatra Center in Nazareth, staging Jean d'Arc, Nasser Aladdin and Majnun Night for El-Hadit Theater.
Elias appeared in more than thirty films from 1954 to 2006. In 2013, he won a lifetime achievement award from the Israeli Artists’ Association.

Selected filmography