Haya Harareet(1931-2021)
- Actress
- Writer
Born in Palestine before the inception of the Israeli state in the city
of Haifa, she first distinguished herself by winning one of the first
beauty contests in the nascent Israel. Haya Harareet (also spelled
Hararit) made her debut in
Thorold Dickinson's film
Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (1955) ("Hill
24 Doesn't Answer"). The landmark Israeli film, mostly in English, is
also the first feature-length production to be shot and processed
entirely in Israel, and made for international distribution. The film
was an official selection at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival and Harareet
won an award for her role in the film. She plays Miriam Mizrahi, a
fourth generation, dark-eyed and beautiful Sabra, working for the
underground.
Best-known for her role as Esther, opposite
Charlton Heston in
William Wyler's film classic
Ben-Hur (1959), she also played in
Francesco Maselli's
The Doll That Took the Town (1957)
("The Doll that Took the Town") with
Virna Lisi, _Edgar G. Ulmer''s
Journey Beneath the Desert (1961) ("Journey Beneath
The Desert", AKA "The Lost Kingdom")with
Jean-Louis Trintignant, and
Basil Dearden's
The Secret Partner (1961) with
Stewart Granger. She cowrote the
screenplay for
Our Mother's House (1967)
which starred Dirk Bogarde.
Ms. Harareet was also credited as a presenter for 'Best Special
Effects' at the 32nd Annual Academy Awards in 1960.
She was married to the British film director Jack Clayton until his
death in 1995.
of Haifa, she first distinguished herself by winning one of the first
beauty contests in the nascent Israel. Haya Harareet (also spelled
Hararit) made her debut in
Thorold Dickinson's film
Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (1955) ("Hill
24 Doesn't Answer"). The landmark Israeli film, mostly in English, is
also the first feature-length production to be shot and processed
entirely in Israel, and made for international distribution. The film
was an official selection at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival and Harareet
won an award for her role in the film. She plays Miriam Mizrahi, a
fourth generation, dark-eyed and beautiful Sabra, working for the
underground.
Best-known for her role as Esther, opposite
Charlton Heston in
William Wyler's film classic
Ben-Hur (1959), she also played in
Francesco Maselli's
The Doll That Took the Town (1957)
("The Doll that Took the Town") with
Virna Lisi, _Edgar G. Ulmer''s
Journey Beneath the Desert (1961) ("Journey Beneath
The Desert", AKA "The Lost Kingdom")with
Jean-Louis Trintignant, and
Basil Dearden's
The Secret Partner (1961) with
Stewart Granger. She cowrote the
screenplay for
Our Mother's House (1967)
which starred Dirk Bogarde.
Ms. Harareet was also credited as a presenter for 'Best Special
Effects' at the 32nd Annual Academy Awards in 1960.
She was married to the British film director Jack Clayton until his
death in 1995.