[Deathwatch] Ehud Manor, Israel Prize laureate, 64

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Another one from a reader - Ed.

Israel Prize laureate Ehud Manor dies at the age of 64
By Haaretz Service and Reuters

Israel Prize laureate Ehud Manor, one of Israel's most prolific and
best-loved songwriters, passed away early Tuesday morning in his Tel
Aviv apartment at the age of 64.

The cause of death was not immediately known. His widow said he
collapsed early Tuesday of an apparent heart attack.

In 1998 Ehud Manor was awarded the Israel Prize for his unique
contribution to Israeli songwriting.

Manor said earlier this year that he did not know how many songs he had
written, but that when he was awarded the prize, his friends had
counted more than 1,000, and that he had written many more since then.

He had fruitful and longstanding collaborations with Mati Caspi, Riki
Gal and Boaz Sharabi and other prominent Israeli singers and musicians.


Manor's oeuvre comprises hundreds of songs that have become
cornerstones of Israeli music, such as "Ein li Erertz Aheret" (I Have
No Other Land), "Lo Dibarnu od al Ahava" (We Didn't Speak About Love
Anymore) and "Bashana Haba'ah" (Next Year).

His song "Aba Ni Bi," composed by Nurit Hirsch, won the 1977 Eurovision
competition.

"One of the greatest creators of modern Hebrew culture has gone," said
Education Minister Limor Livnat in a statement Tuesday. "Today is a day
of mourning for the entire Israeli people."

Manor's songs were performed by some of Israel's top singers, among
them Avi Toledano, Haim Moshe, Zehava Ben and Sarit Hadad.

Manor also translated several famous plays and Broadway musicals from
English to Hebrew, including the musical Hair and Shakespeare's Romeo
and Juliet and the Twelfth Night.

Ehud Manor will be buried at the Binyamina cemetery on Wednesday. He is
survived by his wife, singer Ofra Fuchs, and three children.