{{short description|Israeli actor (1953–1995)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Yoni Chen | native_name = יוני חן | native_name_lang = Hebrew | image = <!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing brackets --> | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software --> | caption = | birth_name = Yonatan Hanono | birth_date = {{birth date|1953|8|10|df=y}} | birth_place = Tel Aviv, Israel | death_date = {{death date and age|1995|6|27|1953|8|10|df=y}} | death_place = Tel Aviv, Israel | occupation = {{hlist|Actor|voice actor|director|puppeteer}} | years_active = 1978–1995 }}
'''Yoni Chen''' ({{langx|he|יוני חן}}{{lrm}}; 10 August 1953 – 27 June 1995) was an Israeli actor, voice actor, director and puppeteer.<ref>[https://www.ishim.co.il/p.php?s=יוני+חן Yoni Chen's filmography] (in Hebrew)</ref>
== Biography == Chen was born in Israel to a Syrian Jewish family. When he was two years old, he and his family lived in Cuba for five years. After reaching adolescence, Chen attended the Thelma Yellin High School in Givatayim to study drama, then he worked for the Israel Defense Forces. He began his career in 1978 performing on stage at the Cameri Theatre and the Orna Porat Children's Theatre. That same year, he made his debut film appearance in ''The Band'' and appeared in other films over the next several years such as ''Dizengoff 99''.
Among Chen's most popular roles was on the children's puppet show ''Parpar Nechmad'', in which he performed the character Batz the Turtle.
As a voice actor, Chen was heavily involved in the Hebrew language dubbing of ''Looney Tunes''. He performed the Hebrew voices of Sylvester, The Tasmanian Devil and Elmer Fudd.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYmijWChzzY יוני חן ואיילת לוין מתארחים בערוץ הילדים 1993]</ref> Other roles Chen performed included Morten, Gusta and Gorgo in ''The Wonderful Adventures of Nils'', Tin Man in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', Yogi Bear in ''The Yogi Bear Show'', all characters in ''Tip en Tap'', several characters in ''The Smurfs'' and many more. Chen also founded a dubbing company which was then later acquired by Elrom Studios after his death.
=== Personal life === Chen was openly gay. His partner, Ari worked for Israeli Educational Television.
== Death == On 27 June 1995, Chen died after suffering from AIDS for some time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://oldtv.co.il/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2609 |title=אורנה לביא פלינט מספרת על יוני חן |publisher=oldtv.co.il |language=he |access-date= September 7, 2019}}</ref> He was nearing his 42nd birthday. ''Parpar Nechmad'' underwent a hiatus for a while and eventually, the role of Batz was passed on to Ami Weinberg.<ref>[http://www.newsbox.co.il/5-מפורסמים-שמתו-מאיידס/ 5 מפורסמים שמתו מאיידס] (in Hebrew)</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *{{IMDb name|0155396|Yoni Chen}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Yoni}} Category:1953 births Category:1995 deaths Category:Male actors from Tel Aviv Category:Thelma Yellin High School of Arts alumni Category:Israeli people of Syrian-Jewish descent Category:Israeli male film actors Category:Israeli male stage actors Category:Israeli male television actors Category:Israeli male voice actors category:Israeli puppeteers Category:Israeli voice directors Category:Israeli gay actors Category:Jewish Israeli male actors Category:LGBTQ puppeteers Category:Gay Jews Category:AIDS-related deaths in Israel Category:20th-century Israeli male actors Category:20th-century Israeli LGBTQ people Category:20th-century Israeli Jews