German-Israeli folk singer Abi Ofarim dies at 80 in Munich

He had hits including ‘Cinderella Rockefella’ in the ’60s with his wife as part of the musical duo Esther & Abi Ofarim

By AP 4 May 2018, 6:12 pm Edit
Undated image of Israeli singer and composer Abi Ofarim (Abraham Raichstadt) with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, right, and wife Esther Ofarim (Esther Zaid), strolling along a street in West Germany. (AP Photo)
Undated image of Israeli singer and composer Abi Ofarim (Abraham Raichstadt) with an unlit cigarette in his mouth, right, and wife Esther Ofarim (Esther Zaid), strolling along a street in West Germany. (AP Photo)

BERLIN  — German-Israeli singer Abi Ofarim, who had hits including “Cinderella Rockefella” in the ’60s with his wife in the musical duo Esther & Abi Ofarim, has died in Munich. He was 80.

Germany’s dpa news agency reported Ofarim died Friday after a long illness.

Born Abraham Reichstadt in what is today Israel, Ofarim started performing there with Esther Zaled in 1959, and the two married in 1961.

After hits in Germany, their greatest success came with “Cinderella Rockefella,” which reached No. 1 in Britain in 1968 and led to appearances in London and New York.

After the pair separated in 1970, Ofarim worked as a producer and manager but had little success with a solo career.

In recent years he’d been working with a Munich organization to help seniors.

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