Aharon Ipalé

Aharon Ipalé
Aharon Ipalé at the Bel Air Film Festival in 2014.
Born	(1941-12-27)December 27, 1941 Morocco
Died	June 27, 2016(2016-06-27) (aged 74) Tel Hashomer, Israel
Other names	Ron Ipale
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1963–2015
Spouse	Rachelle F. Ellison (1978–?)
Children	1

Aharon Ipalé (December 27, 1941 – June 27, 2016) was an Israeli-American actor, known for his roles in American and British film and television productions. His credits included Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Innocent Bystanders (1972), Raid on Entebbe (1977), Too Hot to Handle (1977), The Concorde ... Airport '79 (1979), The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood (1980), Xanadu (1980), Who Dares Wins (1982), Eye of the Widow (1991), Son of the Pink Panther (1993), The Mummy (1999), and The Mummy Returns (2001).

Early life

Ipalé was born in Morocco on December 27, 1941. He arrived in present-day Israel with his family when he was just two years old as part of the early migration of Moroccan Jews to Israel. Ipalé enrolled in a theater school in London following his service in the Israeli Army.

Career

He began his acting career by appearing in British television series and theater productions, including the television mini-series, Christ Recrucified, in which he played the title role of Jesus Christ.

Ipalé was cast as Joshua in the 1973–1974 British mini-series, Moses the Lawgiver, which starred Burt Lancaster as Moses. His work in Moses the Lawgiver earned attention from Hollywood and led to his later work in the United States. His American television credits during the 1970s and 1980s included Hawaii Five-O, Wonder Woman, Dynasty, Kojak, The Love Boat, Knight Rider, MacGyver, Miami Vice and Charlie's Angels. In Knight Rider, he played the role of Durant, the man who killed Michael Knight's fiancé Stephanie Maison, at the ceremony of his wedding, in the season four episode, "Scent of Roses".

In 1985, Ipalé appeared in the British dramatic film, The Shooting Party, which starred James Mason and John Gielgud. That same year, Ipalé appeared in the Israeli film, Gesher Tzar Me’od (1985). Two years later, he co-starred in the 1987 film, Ishtar, which was a notorious critical and box-office failure. More recently, Ipalé was best known for his recurring role as Pharaoh Seti I in The Mummy and its sequel, The Mummy Returns, both of which were directed by Stephen Sommers. In 2007, he appeared in Charlie Wilson's War.

Ipalé returned to Israel around 2012 after decades residing and working in London and Los Angeles. However, he was unable to recreate the professional success in Israel that he had enjoyed abroad.

Death

Aharon Ipalé died from cancer at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer on June 27, 2016, at the age of 74. He was being treated for the disease for several months. Ipalé, who was survived by his daughter, was buried in Holon.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1970	Madron	Singer	Uncredited
1971	Fiddler on the Roof	Sheftel
1972	Innocent Bystanders	Gabrilovitch
1976	Raid on Entebbe	Major David Grut	TV movie
1977	Too Hot to Handle	Domingo De La Torres
1978	The Immigrants	Joseph Lavetta
1978	Hawaii Five-O	Rashid	Episode: My Friend, the Enemy"
1978	One Day at a Time (1975 TV series)	Abdul Ben Halmi	Episode: The Arab Connection
1979	The Concorde ... Airport '79	French Reporter
1980	The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood	Raul
1980	Xanadu	Photographer
1982	Who Dares Wins	Malek
1985	Gesher Tzar Me'od (On Narrow Bridge)	Unknown
1985	The Shooting Party	Sir Reuben Hergesheimer
1987	Ishtar	Emir Yousef
1988	Vibes	Alejandro De La Vivar
1989	One Man Out	General
1991	Eye of the Widow	Soltaneh
1993	American Ninja V	Dr. Strobel
1993	Son of the Pink Panther	General Jaffar
1993	Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight	Petroff
1999	The Mummy	Pharaoh Seti I
2001	The Mummy Returns
2006	The Ten Commandments: The Musical	Seti
2007	Charlie Wilson's War	Egyptian Defense Minister
2013	The Bible	Pharaoh	TV Mini-Series documentary
2016	The Promise	Dr. Nazim	(final film role)

External links

• Aharon Ipalé at IMDb