Rami Heuberger, a celebrated Israeli actor and director best known for his work in the satirical sketch series The Cameri Quintet and roles spanning stage, television and film, died late Wednesday after a battle with cancer. He was 61.
Heuberger died in a Tel Aviv hospital, his family said. He is survived by two children from his first marriage and two more from a later relationship with artist Dana Yahalomi.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1963, Heuberger studied at the Nissan Nativ Acting Studio after graduating from Ironi Aleph High School. Though he would go on to become one of Israel’s most recognized actors, he often recalled that as a boy, he never imagined a life in theater. “Every morning I would walk past the Cameri Theater on my way to school and dream dreams,” he told Ynet in 2013. “But who thought I would become an actor or a man of culture? I didn’t grow up in that kind of environment.”
He began his film career with small roles, including in Yehuda Barkan’s 1985 movie Smell and Smile, before making his mark in theater. He performed at Israel’s leading venues, including the Cameri, where he appeared in productions such as Macbeth, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Glengarry Glen Ross, Hamlet and Scenes from a Marriage.
His breakthrough came in the early 1990s with The Cameri Quintet, a biting satirical sketch program that became a cult favorite and cemented his place in Israeli pop culture alongside fellow performers Keren Mor, Dov Navon, Menashe Noy and Shai Avivi.
On screen, Heuberger starred in Israeli classics including the comedy Operation Grandma, the TV drama The Bourgeoisie and the internationally acclaimed series In Therapy. His film credits included Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List, Hagai Levi’s Snow in August, the television hit Checkout, and the 2023 biopic Golda. He continued acting into his final years, with appearances in series such as TV police drama Manayek.
In a 2013 interview, Heuberger described acting as an endless pursuit. “I want to challenge myself, to reach places I’ve never been,” he said. “Creation is dynamic, and the learning process never ends. You’re always in the first year of a school that never finishes.”
Heuberger’s career was not without controversy. In 2007, he was investigated by police after a makeup artist accused him of inappropriate touching, though prosecutors closed the case citing lack of evidence. In February 2024, he was dismissed from a planned stage adaptation of Operation Grandma after reports he made abusive comments toward colleagues, including telling an actress, “If you miss the cue, I’ll rape you.”
In his later years, Heuberger spoke candidly about his struggles with depression, which he said began during the COVID-19 pandemic and developed into clinical depression that left him physically and emotionally debilitated. In a 2023 interview with 7 Nights, he said thoughts of his four children had kept him alive at his lowest points. “Even if life became unbearable, there were four beings who mean the most to me in the world,” he said. “They kept me going. Without a doubt.”