Esther Zaied, better known by her married name Esther Ofarim (
Hebrew: אסתר עופרים; born June 13, 1941), is an Israeli singer. She came second in the
1963 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "
T'en va pas", representing Switzerland. After marrying
Abi Ofarim in 1958, she was half of the husband-and-wife
folk duo
Esther & Abi Ofarim in the 1960s. After the couple divorced, she undertook a successful solo career.
Life and career
Beginnings
Esther Zaied was born in
Safed to a
Syrian Jewish family. She began performing as a child, singing
Hebrew and international
folk songs. In 1958, Esther met
Abi Ofarim, a guitarist and dancer, who she later married.[1] She was a student in his dance studio in
Haifa. Esther served four months in the
Israeli Army before she was discharged owing to her marriage to Abi.[2]
American director
Otto Preminger cast Esther for a small role in the film Exodus (1960). In 1960, Esther landed the role of Katzia in the play The Legend of Three and Four at the
Habima Theatre. In 1961, she won first at Israel's first pop song festival in
Tel Aviv, where she sang "Saëni Imchá Bemachol" (Take Me with You When You Dance) and "Naamah", written by Pnina and
Tsvi Avni, accompanied by
Kol Yisrael orchestra under
Gary Bertini.[3][4]
In 1962, Esther released her self-titled debut solo album and was invited to join Frank Sinatra in his performances in Israel.
Kol Yisrael radio then sent her to the
Sopot International Song Festival in Poland. She came in second place for singing "Stav", written by
Moshe Wilensky and Shimshon Halfi.[5]
Eurovision 1963
Esther and Abi settled in
Geneva, Switzerland, where she took part in the
1963Eurovision Song Contest representing
Switzerland with the song "T'en va pas". In a very close and controversial competition with the Danish duo
Grethe and
Jørgen Ingmann, her song placed second. Initially it appeared Switzerland had won the contest with 42 points to Denmark's 40, but after an apparent change to the Norwegian scores, Ofarim ended up with 40 points, as opposed to 42 points for "
Dansevise", a reversal of the initial result.
"T'en va pas" was released as single on
Philips Records in 1963, reaching No. 39 in Germany.[6]
In 1963, Esther had a starring role in the German film Es war mir ein Vergnügen.
In 1963 and 1964, Esther and Abi had success on the charts in Europe. In the fall of 1964, Esther embarked on a tour of the United States with the
Smothers Brothers.[7] Speaking about a performance at
Oregon State University in
Corvallis, Oregon, Jim Albright, campus correspondent, stated: Everyone expected the Smother Brothers to be great, but Ester [sic] turned out to be fabulous...people were amazed with her singing and her looks."[8]
By 1965, Esther was well known throughout Europe. She headlined in the major concert halls and theaters. She starred in German films and had her own television specials on
BBC and
Eurovision.[9]
In 1966, Abi and Ofarim had their first hit with "Noch einen Tanz", an English version of which, "
One More Dance", was a hit in the UK two years later, peaking at No. 13.[10] Their greatest success in Germany was in 1967 with "
Morning of My Life", which was written by the
Bee Gees. In 1968 "
Cinderella Rockefella" hit the top of the
charts in a number of countries including the UK.[11] They performed live concerts in New York City and London, and they toured Europe before separating in 1969.[12]
Solo career
Esther began recording as a solo artist in the early 1960s. She often sang in different languages. In 1967, she recorded, Esther im Kinderland, in which she sang 20
children's songs from eight countries in six different languages.[13] After her divorce from Abi, she continued performing and released several albums.
At the age of 17, Esther married Abi Ofarim on December 11, 1958.[1] They separated in 1969, and their divorce was finalized in Germany in November 1970.[1][16]
Esther later married assistant television director Philipp von Sell, who is 18 years her junior. They had a son, David von Sell, born in
New York in 1983. Esther and Philipp divorced when David was nine. David is a musician, he attended
Berklee College of Music in
Boston.[17]