Actor Yehuda Barkan, Israel's iconic prankster, died Saturday at age 75 after a battle with COVID-19.
Barkan, whose career spanned 55 years, had been hospitalized at Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center for the past few weeks.
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Sending his "deepest condolences" to Barkan's family, President Reuven Rivlin hailed him as "a wellspring of joy, a great, multifaceted actor who was also large of spirit and full of generosity. We will return to the treasures he left Israeli culture again and again, and remember him with much love and with a smile."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Barkan had "great love" for the people and the country. Barkan, he said, "brought joy to generations of Israelis. He will be greatly missed by us all."
