{{Short description|Israeli singer and actress (1933–2019)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Yona Atari | native_name = יונה עטרי | native_name_lang = Hebrew | image = File:Yon Atari & Matty Enav.jpg | caption = Atari (left) with Matty Enav in 1958 | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1933|12|4|df=y}} | birth_place = Sanaa, Yemen | death_date = {{death date and age|2019|3|11|1933|12|4|df=y}} | death_place = Tel Aviv, Israel | occupation = {{hlist|Singer|actress}} | years_active = 1949–2009 | other_names = | spouse = {{marriage|Uri Yaffe|1960|2012|end=died}} | children = 2 | relatives = Shosh Atari (sister)<br>Gali Atari (sister) }}
'''Yona Atari''' ({{langx|he|יונה עטרי}}{{lrm}}; 4 December 1933 – 11 March 2019) was an Israeli singer and actress.<ref>{{Cite web |title=יונה עטרי |url=https://www.ishim.co.il/p.php?s=%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94+%D7%A2%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%99 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250222041046/https://www.ishim.co.il/p.php?s=%D7%99%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%94+%D7%A2%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%99 |archive-date=February 22, 2025 |access-date=2025-06-25 |website=www.ishim.co.il |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Biography== Born in Sana'a and the first out of eight children, Atari and her family moved to Israel when she was three months old. She was brought up in Rehovot. Atari was sent by her mother to study music and theatre but her father forbade this since these pastimes were considered to be idolatry. At the age of 15, Atari moved to Tel Aviv where she resided in Kerem HaTeimanim under the guidance of Nahum Nardi who introduced her to Esther Gamlielit. In 1950, she joined up with the Nahal Troupe and between 1951 and 1955, she studied acting at the Habima Theatre.<ref>[http://zemer.nli.org.il/artist/Bait_Lazemer900283524&SysNum יונה עטרי], zemer.nli.org.il. Retrieved July 15, 2020 (in Hebrew)</ref>
In 1957, Atari joined up with Batzal Yarok before starring in a play written by Haim Hefer and Dahn Ben-Amotz. She also participated in a theatrical adaption of Sammy Gronemann’s ''King Solomon and the Shoemaker'' alongside Rachel Attas and Illi Gorlitzky in 1964. She teamed up with the latter once again and they performed the song ''Concertina and a Guitar''. Atari began to focus more of her attention on acting and starred in adaptations of ''The Dybbuk'', ''Medea'', ''The Threepenny Opera'' and more.
On television, Atari was a prominent cast member on ''Rechov Sumsum,'' the Israeli adaptation of the U.S. children's show ''Sesame Street'', from 1983 until 1987.
===Personal life=== Atari was the older sister of radio personality Shosh Atari and singer Gali Atari. She was married to El Al and Air Force pilot Uri Yaffe from 1960 until his death on June 10, 2012. They had two children, Dana and Oren.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.timesofisrael.com/actress-and-singer-yona-atari-dies-at-85/ |title= Actress and singer Yona Atari dies at 85 |date=March 11, 2019 |publisher=timesofisrael.com |language=en|access-date=July 15, 2020}}</ref>
==Death== Atari died on 11 March 2019, in Tel Aviv following complications from Alzheimer's disease at the age of 85.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.maariv.co.il/culture/theater-art/Article-688789 |title= הזמרת והשחקנית יונה עטרי הלכה לעולמה בגיל 85 |date=March 11, 2019 |publisher=maariv.co.il|language=he|access-date=July 15, 2020}}</ref> Her coffin was put on display at the Cameri Theatre for the funeral service before being laid to rest at Yarkon Cemetery.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-5477382,00.html |title= "אוהב אותך לעולמים. אחותך הקטנה, גלי": יונה עטרי הובאה למנוחות |date=March 12, 2019 |publisher=Ynet|language=he|access-date=July 15, 2020}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category-inline}} *{{IMDb name|nm0040301|Yona Atari}} *{{discogs artist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Atari, Yona}} Category:1933 births Category:2019 deaths Category:People from Sanaa Category:Entertainers from Rehovot Category:Yemeni emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Category:Yemenite Jews in Israel Category:Immigrants of the Fifth Aliyah Category:Israeli people of Yemeni-Jewish descent Category:Israeli Mizrahi Jews Category:Israeli stage actresses Category:Israeli television actresses Category:Israeli film actresses Category:Jewish Israeli actresses Category:Jewish Israeli singers Category:Jewish women singers Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Israel Category:Burials at Yarkon Cemetery Category:20th-century Israeli women singers Category:20th-century Israeli actresses Category:20th-century Israeli Jews Category:21st-century Israeli Jews Category:20th-century Yemenite Jews Category:21st-century Yemenite Jews Category:20th-century Mizrahi Jews Category:21st-century Mizrahi Jews