Larry Frisch (1929-2020) was a screenwriter, director and producer, and Israeli cinema pioneer. Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, Frisch served in the US army’s Film and Photographic Unit as a cameraman. After completing his service, he found work as a producer in American television.
His father was Daniel Fischer, a prominent American Zionist leader. Following his sudden death and in his honour, Frisch decided to head off to Israel and direct a comedy that would showcase the nascent state in all its beauty. The end result was Tel Aviv Taxi, the country’s first-ever commercially released comedy that opened in cinemas in 1956. Three years later he directed his sophomore feature, the war film Pillar of Fire (1959). This would be Frisch’s final foray into feature-film directing.
In the ensuing years, Frisch worked on the set of Exodus (1960) as director Otto Preminger’s AD, and also directed a number of documentaries including The Power of a Pebble and Bus to Sinai (1979). In 1968, he directed the big screen adaptation of the stage musical Casablan.
