Dori Ben-Zeev is a broadcaster, actor, singer and lyricist. Ben-Zeev grew up in Haifa where his father, Mordechai Ben-Zeev, was an actor with a local theatre company. In the IDF, Ben-Zeev served at the popular army radio station, Galei Zahal, where he hosted the programme From Him to You (1970). His distinctive voice and fresh, uninhibited style of hosting, coupled with the music he would play, made him a fan favourite amongst listeners. His radio programme also featured a segment called the ‘Poogy Section’ that became the point of genesis for folk-rock band Kaveret (‘hive’), that would soon take the country by storm.
In the early seventies, Ben-Zeev appeared in comedy satire ensemble Lool’s sketch, ‘The Bible Quiz,’ that became a staple of Israeli culture for the ages. He also released a number of albums including Heading West (1975), and Lemonade (1977) featuring the singles ‘And You’re Dancing’ [ve’atem rokdim’] and ‘Lemon Tree.’ In 1979, he wrote and performed the song ‘Moving House’ [‘ovrim dira’] that was featured in the soundtrack of Avi Nesher’s film classic, Dizengoff 99. Ben-Zeev also wrote songs regularly for other big names of the time including the hit single ‘Strong Radio’ [‘radio hazak’] by T-Slam (aka Tislam), and Ephraim Shamir’s ‘Dad’s Gone to Work.’
Ben-Zeev starred in the children’s TV programme Danidina in 1974, directed by Boaz Davidson. Then in 1982, he appeared in the television classic, Red River Valley. The programme featured Hebrew adaptations and rearrangements of popular US Country and Western songs, translated by Ehud Manor and arranged by Matti Caspi.
Highlights of his film acting credits include: Fifty Fifty (Boaz Davidson, 1971), The Pill (David Perlov, 1972), Shalom, Wayfarer’s Prayer (Yaky Yosha, 1973), The Persuader (Yehiel Ne’eman, 1973), Saint Cohen (Assi Dayan, 1975), Fantasy on a Romantic Theme (Vitek Tracz, 1977), and Julia Mia (Yuval Granot, 2007).
Ben-Zeev was also the voice of popular children’s character, Hugo, whose eponymous programme aired on Israeli cable TV’s Children’s Channel.
Since 2012, Ben-Zeev has been presenting radio programme Ben-Zeev for the Weekend, which first debuted on radio station 88FM and currently airs on KAN 88.
His brother is actor Eran Ben-Zeev, and his sister is lyricist Chamutal (Hamutal) Ben-Zeev.
