Hanna Maron

Hanna Maron
Maron during a rehearsal in 1957
Born
Hanna Meierzak

(1923-11-22)22 November 1923
Berlin, Germany
Died30 May 2014(2014-05-30) (aged 90)
Tel Aviv, Israel
Occupation(s)Actress and theater personality
Years active1927–2014
Spouse(s)1. Yossi Yadin;
2. Itzhak Yashar;
3. Yaakov Rechter
ChildrenDafna Rechter, Amnon Rechter
Awards
Hanna Maron (right) with Yossi Yadin (left) and Sol Hurok (middle), 1954

Hanna Maron (Hebrew: חנה מרון, romanized: Chana Maron; 22 November 1923 – 30 May 2014) was a German-born Israeli actress, comedian and theater personality. She held the world record for the longest career in theater.[1]

Life and career

Hanna Meron demonstrates against the proprietors of the Mugrabi movie theater in Tel Aviv, 1950

Hanna Meierzak was born in Berlin, Germany on 22 November 1923.[2] As a child, she appeared in several plays, films, and radio plays. In 1931 she appeared uncredited in Fritz Lang's M. She attended a Montessori school where she learned French. In 1932, she spent a year in Paris.[3] In 1933, following the Nazi Party's rise to power, she immigrated with her family to Mandate Palestine.[4]

In 1940, she joined Habimah. During World War II, she volunteered for the Auxiliary Territorial Service of the British army, serving two years before joining the Jewish Brigade's entertainment troupe. In 1945 she joined the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv. As a member of the repertory committee, she helped shape the company's repertoire, including new works by Israeli dramatists. Early on, she appeared in supporting roles, but after her success as Mika in He Walked in the Fields by Moshe Shamir, she became one of Israel's leading actresses.[3]

She married a fellow actor, Yossi Yadin (son of the archaeologist Eleazar Sukenik and brother of the Israeli Chief of Staff Yigael Yadin).[5] They were together for six years.[6] Among her better known roles were in Pygmalion, The Glass Menagerie and Hello, Dolly!, as well as several plays by Nathan Alterman.[2]

On 10 February 1970, the airport bus transport to her London-bound El Al flight at the Munich-Riem Airport was attacked by Palestinian terrorists. Sustaining serious injuries in a grenade attack, her leg had to be amputated, but she resumed her acting career a year later.[7][8] She remained a peace activist.[8][9]

She starred in the films Aunt Clara (1977), The Vulture (1981) and Dead End Street (1982). From 1983 to 1986 she starred in the Israeli sitcom Krovim, Krovim ("Near Ones, Dear Ones"). In 2000 she initiated and founded the Herzliya Theater Ensemble.[2] She directed and participated in an evening of Alterman poems, and on an evening of Bertolt Brecht's works.[10] In late 2003, she returned to the Cameri to play in a comedy.[11] In 2004 she starred in a theater event that reenacted an IDF refuseniks' trial.[12]

She was married to architect Yaakov Rechter, with whom she had three children: Amnon, an architect, Ofra, a philosopher, and Dafna, an actress.[13][14] Hanna Maron died in Tel-Aviv, Israel on 30 May 2014, aged 90.

A new graphic novel biography is due to appear in German in September 2016: Barbara Yelin, Vor allem eins: Dir selbst sei treu. Die Schauspielerin Channa Maron, lit. First and foremost: be true to yourself. Actress Hanna Maron.[15]

In 2017, an exhibition was created by Barbara Yelin and David Polonsky after Yelin's graphic novel. It was shown at German high schools (the Heinz Berggruen Gymnasium in Berlin and the Humboldt Gymnasium at Vaterstetten), the Berlin International Literature Festival, and the Goethe Institutes in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.[16]

Awards and honours

Hanna Maron and Orna Porat, 1949

See also

References

  1. ^ "Israeli actress breaks world record". ISRAEL21c. 22 September 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d "Hanna Maron, heroine". Habama (in Hebrew). 23 November 2003. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b "Hanna Meron (Marron)". jwa.org.
  4. ^ "Timeline". Jewish Agency. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  5. ^ "Yossi Yadin obituary". The New York Times. 21 May 2001. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  6. ^ Yossi Yadin obituary, New York Times
  7. ^ Almagor, Dan (16 July 1998). "Musical Plays on the Hebrew Stage". The Israel Review of Arts and Letters. 1996/103. Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  8. ^ a b Krystal, Meirav (6 February 2007). "Up from the Vale of Tears". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  9. ^ a b Krystal, Meirav (16 May 2007). "Honorary doctorate to Hanna Maron and Aharon Applefeld". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  10. ^ Yudilevich, Meirav (6 December 2003). "Hanna Maron is our sunshine". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  11. ^ Oren, Amos (5 November 2003). "Hanna Maron returns to the Camera". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  12. ^ Yudilevich, Meirav (6 June 2004). "Heuberger and Maron in a play reenacting the Refuseniks' trial". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 May 2008.
  13. ^ Zipi Shohat (5 October 2012). "Battling the demons, on stage and in life". Haaretz.com.
  14. ^ "Philosophy Department". tau.ac.il.
  15. ^ "Vor allem eins: Dir selbst sei treu. Die Schauspielerin Channa Maron | Reprodukt". Archived from the original on 25 July 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016. Book ISBN 978-3-95640-102-2
  16. ^ "Channa Maron: Dir selbst sei treu - Graphic art - Goethe-Institut Israel".
  17. ^ "Israel Prize Official Site – Recipients in 1973 (in Hebrew)".
  18. ^ Yudilevich, Meirav (6 December 2003). "All about Hanna". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 May 2008.

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