Yaakov Bodo

Yaakov (Yankale) Bodo (Hebrew: יעקב (יענק'לה) בודו‎‎) (born 1931) is an Israeli actor and comedian notable for numerous Israeli film appearances, for his years in theater, and for his work in the Yiddish language theater in particular. He is also notable for his performance as "Moishe Ventilator" (also Moishe Air-Condition [2]) in the self-titled theater show that ran over a thousand times and was eventually made into a film by that name in 1966.

Bodo is a recipient of the Israeli Theater Award lifetime achievement award, the Edith and Israel Pollack Award, and the Lerner Yiddish Foundation Award.

Bodo was born in Romania in 1931, and spoke only Yiddish until the age of 7. He emigrated with his family to Israel in 1950 and settled in Afula. His grandparents were Zionists who helped establish Kfar Hasidim and Kiryat Haroshet (now part of Kiryat Tiv'on) after they emigrated to Mandate Palestine in 1933.

A year after his arrival in Israel, Bodo joined the Israel Defense Forces, where he first assembled and led the Southern Command Troupe. Following the disbanding of that troupe in 1954, he was assigned the creation of the Northern Command troupe, which he led for three and a half years.

During this period, he came up with his "Moishe Ventilator" character. Upon his release, he starred in a theater show by that name which was a hit in the 1950s—running more than a thousand times—and which was eventually made into a film version.

Bodo performed on the stages of the institutionalized theaters Zira Theatre, Habima Theatre, Haifa Theatre as well as commercial theater, mostly in the Yiddish language, where he was successful. In 1992 he joined the Yiddish-Shpiel theater where he mostly performs in leading roles. Among the more notable plays he performed in were "Maagal HaGir" (lit. "The Chalk Circle"), and "Karnafim" (lit. "Rhinoceroses").

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