Yiftach Katzur יפתח קצור

Born: July 17th, 1958, Israel

Sometimes Credited as
: Iftach Katzour, Iftach Katzur, Jesse Katzur, Jeremy Katzur, Yftach Katzur.

BIOGRAPHY

Yiftach Katzur was born in Israel on July 17th, 1958. Whilst serving in the army, he performed as part of the Israel Defence Forces Theatre and Radio (IFD) group. The theatre group educated the young soldiers and service men in performing arts and was a starting ground for many Israeli actors of the time.

In 1975 he landed the lead role of Alan Strang in the The Cameri Theatre’s production of Equus. The story was written by by Peter Shaffer and tells of a psychiatrist who tries to treat a young man who has a pathological attraction to horses.

At aged 18 he was Benji (Bentzi) in Lemon Popsicle and production began in 1977.  His character Benji is based on the director Boaz Davidson himself, the sensitive shy guy of the Popsicle movies. “This is Benji, always sensitive, always complicated, always in love” (- Bobby, Young Love), a quote that sums up Benji’s character perfectly. 

With the success of
Lemon Popsicle, sequels soon went into production and gave little time for other film roles. However, he still continued to write and perform in theatre productions while studying at Beit Zvi, the School of performing arts.

In 1984, Yitach graduated from Beit Zvi and appeared in his only American film production, The Ambassador starring Robert Mitchum who played a controversial U.S. ambassador sent to Israel. Katzur had a small role and the film also featured other Popsicle co-stars Zachi Noy, Joseph Shiloah, and Rachel Stiener.

After starring in eight Popsicle movies, Yiftach said goodbye to his Benji character and acting. In 1990 he was studying screen writing at the University of Tel Aviv. In the same year he was chosen from a large number of candidates to participate in a screenwriters workshop run by the director/screen-writer Frank Daniel, held in Switzerland, Belgium and Germany.

Briefly returning to acting in 1997 for Gentila, a drama about four malcontent and oddly matched characters on a three-day journey. The film won the 1998 Haifa Film Festival Award For Best Film.

Leaving his acting career behind, he is now a entrepreneur and businessman and established the media and publishing company Aktmdih Israel Corporation Ltd. After leaving the company, he has gone on to develop and produce many projects for TV and continues to live in Israel. Yiftach was recently appeared in the Lemon Popsicle 2018 documentary, Eskimo Limon – Eis am Stiel: Von Siegern und Verlierern.

Filmography

  • Eskimo Limon – Eis am Stiel: Von Siegern und Verlierern (2018)
  • Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
  • Gentila (1997)
  • Summertime Blues (1988)
  • Young Love (1987)
  • Up Your Anchor (1985)
  • The Ambassador (1984)
  • Baby Love (1984) Atalia (1984)
  • Soldier of The Night (1984)
  • First Love (1982)
  • Private Popsicle (1982)
  • Hot Bubblegum (1981)
  • Going Steady (1979)
  • Lemon Popsicle (1978)

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