Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

(Israel Hayom/Exclusive to JNS.org)-Renowned Israeli director and screenwriter Assi Dayan died in his Tel Aviv apartment at the age of 69 on May 1, 2014, following a long battle with substance abuse and various health issues.

Dayan, the son of former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, was considered a pioneer of the Israeli film industry. He first won acclaim with his trailblazing acting role in the film "He Walked Through the Fields," Yossi Milo's adaptation of Moshe Shamir's novel and play of the same name. Dayan won eight Ophir Awards, Israel's version of the American Oscars.

In 1976, Dayan wrote and directed the iconic Israeli cult comedy "Givat Halfon Eina Ona" ("Halfon Hill Doesn't Answer") about a group of army reservists in Sinai. In 1992 he wrote and directed "Hachayim Al-Pi Agfa" ("Life According to Agfa"), a film portraying life in a Tel Aviv pub.

In summing up his life in 2005, Dayan wrote, "I think I've lived enough for several people. It's time to summarize, to take stock. So here it is: There are 80 movies I've acted in, 16 I've written and directed, nine Oscars (Ophir Awards), three lifetime achievement awards, and besides that, thousands of newspaper articles, one novel, three books of poetry, three and a half years in psychiatric wards, three suicide attempts, two arrests, three wars, four weddings, four children, but before everything, and before God, one father, with one eye."