Peter Frye (1914-1991; born Peter Friedman) was a Canadian actor, screenwriter and film director. Frye, who was Jewish, was born on March 1, 1914, in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada. Frye, who spoke fluent English, French, German, Hebrew and Spanish, fought in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

from 1937 to 1938 as a member of the

XV International Brigade The XV International Brigade was one of the International Brigades formed to fight for the Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. History The XVth Brigade mustered at Albacete in January 1937. It consisted of English-speaking volunte ...

and was

wounded in action Wounded in action (WIA) describes combatants who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during wartime, but have not been killed. Typically, it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing ...

. He emigrated to Israel in the 1950s and became a drama professor at the

University of Tel Aviv Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a 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 research of the ci ...

, and also worked as a stage director, actor, screenwriter and film director. He moved to the United Kingdom in the 1970s. Frye co-wrote the screenplay for the 1954 Israel war film ''

Hill 24 Doesn't Answer ''Hill 24 Doesn't Answer'' (, ''Giv'a 24 Eina Ona''), the first feature film produced in Israel, is a 1955 Israeli war film directed by Thorold Dickinson. It was entered into the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The plot revolves around the personal s ...

'' (''; ''), the first feature film produced in Israel. He directed, and co-wrote the screenplay for, the 1961 Israeli drama film '' I Like Mike'' (), which was entered for the

1961 Cannes Film Festival The 14th Cannes Film Festival took place from 3 to 18 May 1961. French writer Jean Giono served as jury president for the main competition. The ''Palme d'Or'' was jointly awarded to '' The Long Absence'' by Henri Colpi and '' Viridiana'' by Lu ...

. He co-directed the 1963 Israeli documentary film ''The Hero's Wife'' (''Eshet Hagibor''), which depicted life on a

kibbutz A kibbutz ( / , ; : kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1910, was Degania Alef, Degania. Today, farming has been partly supplanted by other economi ...

, and directed the 1960 Israeli drama film ''Surprise Part'', the 1966

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

''Israel – The Holy Land'' and the 1969 Israel film ''My Margo''. His acting roles included Kasyan in the 1976 film '' The Sell Out'',

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...

in the 1979 film ''

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

'', Rutherford in the 1984 film ''

Nineteen Eighty Four ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' (also published as ''1984'') is a dystopian novel and cautionary tale by the English writer George Orwell. It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker & Warburg as Orwell's ninth and final completed book. Thematically, ...

'' and Professor Maddox in the 1988 British TV film ''Mr Know-all''. He also acted in the 1972

Jack Gold Jacob M. Gold (28 June 1930 – 9 August 2015) was a British film and television director. He was part of the British realist tradition which followed the Free Cinema movement. Career Jacob M. Gold was born on 28 June 1930, in North Lond ...

film ''The Gangster Show: The Irresistible Rise of Arturo Uri''. He was married twice. His first wife was Romanian actress Batya Lancet with whom he had a daughter. His second marriage, from 1970 until his death, was to English actress

Thelma Ruby Thelma Ruby (born 23 March 1925) is a British actress, best known for her long stage career and for co-adapting and starring in the one-woman show Momma Golda, about Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. Early life and education Ruby was born The ...

. From 1980, they adapted and performed together in the play ''Momma Golda'' about the life of

Golda Meir Golda Meir (; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was the prime minister of Israel, serving from 1969 to 1974. She was Israel's first and only female head of government. Born into a Jewish family in Kyiv, Kiev, Russian Empire (present-day Ukraine) ...

, Israel's first and only woman

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. Frye died on June 2, 1991, in

Sutton, London Sutton is a town in the London Borough of Sutton in South London, England. It is the administrative headquarters of the Outer London borough, on the lower slopes of the North Downs. It is south-southwest of Charing Cross, one of the fourteen ...

, England, UK.

Filmography

Publications

* Ruby-Frye, Thelma; Frye, Peter (1997). ''Double or Nothing: Two Lives in the Theatre. The Autobiography of Thelma Ruby and Peter Frye''. Janus Publishing Company, 336 pp.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frye, Peter 1914 births 1991 deaths 20th-century Canadian male actors 20th-century Canadian Jews 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Canadian anti-fascists Canadian male screenwriters Canadian people of the Spanish Civil War Canadian socialists Film directors from Montreal Male actors from Montreal Jewish anti-fascists Jewish Canadian male actors Jewish Canadian screenwriters Writers from Montreal Tel Aviv University people Screenwriters from Quebec International Brigades personnel