Yehuda Barkan (75)

Yehuda Barkan (Hebrew: יהודה בארקן‎) was an Israeli actor, film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was noted for his appearance in Israeli comedy cult classics of the 1970s, and for producing and directing candid camera “prank films” in the 1980s.

During the 1970s and 1980s Barkan participated in many Israeli “Bourekas films”, among them Lupo!, Lupo in New York, Katz V’Carasso, Charlie Ve’hetzi, Hagiga B’Snuker, Bo Nefotzetz Million and more. Other films he appeared in during that time include Malkat Hakvish (1971) appearing alongside Gila Almagor, Menachem Golan’s film Attack at Dawn (1970), and the film adaptation of the novel He Walked Through the Fields (1967) alongside Assi Dayan.

During the 1980s Barkan began to direct and produce films, including the hidden camera film Hayeh Ahaltah Otah (which he directed together with Yigal Shilon), Nipagesh Bachof, Nipagesh Basivuv, Matzlema Bli Busha and Geveret Tiftehi, Ze Ani. Also during the 1980s, Barkan produced and directed comic drama films, most notably the Abba Ganuv film series and the film Neshika Bametzach released in 1990 alongside Michal Yanai.

He died of the coronavirus on October 23, 2020.