Efron Etkin (; 29 December 1952 – 16 January 2012) was an Israeli actor and voice actor.

Biography

Born in Hatzor, Etkin was born to a family of three children. His father, Zvi Etkin was a member of the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

and also taught the

Arabic language Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

. Etkin studied acting at the

Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...

and also went to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to continue his acting studies at the

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He also served as an officer in the Israeli Air Force. Etkin was a frequent performer at the

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv. History ...

. There, he performed in stage adaptations of ''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a Comedy (drama), comedy play written by William Shakespeare in about 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One s ...

'' and ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

''. He also worked at other theatres such as the Beersheba Theatre as well as the

Cameri Theatre The Cameri Theatre (, ''HaTeatron HaKameri''), established in 1944 in Tel Aviv, is one of the leading theatres in Israel, and is housed at the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. History The Cameri Theatre was founded with the purpose of promoting ...

and the Orna Porat Children's Theatre. In cinema and television, Etkin made an appearance in the 1999 film '' Operation Grandma'' directed by

Dror Shaul Dror Shaul (; born June 28, 1975) is an Israeli filmmaker, commercial director and film writer-director, residing in Tel Aviv, Israel. Biography Shaul was born and raised in the Kibbutz Kissufim where he lived until the age of 22. Shaul was bor ...

. He also appeared in the television shows ''

Polishuk ''Polishuk'' ({{langx, he, פולישוק) is an Israeli political comedy television series. It tells the story of politician Rubi Polishuk, a member of the Melel Party (National Liberal Center) who was unexpectedly appointed as the Minister for ...

'' and '' Life is Not Everything'', which were among his final roles on television. Etkin was perhaps best recognised as a voice actor. He was among the most leading dubbers across Israel. He was best known for performing the Hebrew voice of Piglet from the ''

Winnie the Pooh Winnie-the-Pooh (also known as Edward Bear, Pooh Bear or simply Pooh) is a fictional Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A. A. Milne and English illustrator E. H. Shepard. Winnie-the-Pooh first appeared by ...

'' franchise. He also dubbed Dolf in ''

Alfred J. Kwak ''Alfred J. Kwak'' is a children's animated comedy-drama television series based on a Dutch theatre show by Herman van Veen, produced by Telescreen (company), Telecable Benelux B.V. in co-production with Omroepvereniging VARA, VARA, Zweites Deu ...

'', Elvis Cridlington in ''

Fireman Sam ''Fireman Sam'' () is a British animated children's television series about a fireman named Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other residents in the fictional Welsh rural village of Pontypandy (a portmanteau of two real towns, Pontypridd and T ...

'' and numerous characters in ''

Dragon Ball Z ''Dragon Ball Z'' (''DBZ'') is a Japanese anime television series produced by Toei Animation. Part of the ''Dragon Ball'' media franchise, it is the sequel to the 1986 ''Dragon Ball'' television series and adapts the latter 325 chapters ...

''. For films, Etkin performed the Hebrew voices of the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

in ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'', Bernard in ''

The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American Animated film, animated adventure film, adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor respectively star as Bernard and B ...

'' and ''

The Rescuers Down Under ''The Rescuers Down Under'' is a 1990 American animated adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the sequel to ''The Rescuers'' (1977). In ''The Rescuers Down Under'', Bernard and Bianc ...

'',

Aaron According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

in ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...

'' and many more. In 2005, Etkin began serving as a dubbing director for Videofilm International.

Death

In late 2011, Etkin was diagnosed with

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

but this did not stop him from making his final stage and voice contributions. On January 16, 2012, he succumbed to the disease and died in his hometown shortly after his 59th birthday. Etkin did not marry, nor did he have any children.

References

External links

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Efron Etkin
at BillionGraves.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Etkin, Efron 1952 births 2012 deaths People from Ashdod Tel Aviv University alumni Israeli male voice actors Israeli male stage actors Israeli male television actors Israeli male film actors Israeli theatre directors Israeli voice directors Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Jewish Israeli male actors Deaths from cancer in Israel 20th-century Israeli male actors 21st-century Israeli male actors 20th-century Israeli Jews 21st-century Israeli Jews