Shmuel Shilo (; 1 December 1929 – 4 October 2011) was an Israeli actor, director and producer, best remembered for his role on the Israeli production of Rechov Sumsum, a popular TV show based on Sesame Street. In 1983 he founded the Negev Theatre and served as its creative director for fifteen years.Adva Cohen (10 June 2011), Actor Shmuel Shiloh dies. Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
Biography Shmuel Shilo was born in Łuck, eastern Poland (now Lutsk, Ukraine). Following the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland and the creation of the Łuck Ghetto by the German occupation authorities in December 1941,Dr Pawel Goldstein, Lutsk (Luck) Ghetto. Geni.com. Retrieved July 24, 2015. Shmuel (Shmulik, age twelve) was interned in the ghetto along with his family and 20,000 other Polish Jews.Yad Vashem, Note: village Połonka ( or its Połonka Little Hill subdivision) is misspelled in the documentary, with testimony of eyewitness Shmuel Shilo. Retrieved July 24, 2015. He survived the ghetto liquidation action of August 19, 1942, hiding in a cellar with his mother and siblings, and the subsequent deportation to Górka Połonka killing fields. On September 12 he joined the slave workers in a Nazi labor camp set up at the Jewish school building. He escaped once more, during a prisoner revolt by hiding under a work bench,Yad Vashem, testimony of Shmuel Shulman (Shmulik Shilo), . Retrieved July 21, 2015. and survived the war in the forests amongst partisans. In 1946, after reuniting with his sister rescued by the Poles, he made aliyah to Palestine, where he joined the Palmach. He was a founding member of Kibbutz Tze'elim.
Acting and directing career Shilo studied acting and performed regularly in several theatres. In 1983 he founded the Negev Theatre and served as its art director until 1997. He also acted in several films and television series, best known for his role on the Israeli production of Sesame Street, Rechov Sumsum. He died of cancer at the age of 81.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1981 Sipur Intimi 1982 Noa Bat 17 Shraga 1982 Hamsin 1985 Goodbye, New York Moishe 1986 Yaldei Stalin 1986 Malkat Hakitah Baruch 1986 Gloves 1987 I Don't Give a Damn 1987 Ha-Holmim Halperin 1987 The Impossible Spy Rabbi TV movie1989 Sadot Yerukim 1992 Double Edge Moshe 1998 Aviv Shmuel 2001 Ajimae King Bataton TV movie2003 Meorav Yerushalmi Episode: "Kise Ha-Sandak"2006 The Galilee Eskimos Faybel 2006 Ha-Chaim Ze Lo Ha-Kol Ephraim Rozanski Episode: "Yam Shel D'maot"2007 The Little Traitor Mr. Lazarus 2009-2012 Prisoners of War Yoske 2 episodes, (final appearance)2011 Footnote Committee Member
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