Yehuda Talit

Yehuda Talit (; 2 December 1944 – 8 June 2019) was an Israeli businessman, record producer and talent agent. He was a prominent figure in the Israeli entertainment industry, known for bringing international artists to Israel and producing large-scale concerts and theatrical productions. Talit founded Talit Productions in 1977, which became a significant player in the Israeli music and entertainment scene. He later expanded into television, founding Talit Communications in 1997 and partnering in various broadcasting ventures, including buying the rights of representation for the French channel, TV5, and established the baby channel, Baby TV.

Biography

Childhood, teenage years and early career stages Talit was born in Tel Aviv, where he studied at Balfour Elementary School and later at the Agricultural High School at Mikve Israel. He first stepped into the business world with the production, promotion and selling of key chains with celebrity portraits imprinted on them, which were very popular during the 1960s.

A producer and an agent In 1966, Talit met Haim Saban, who was a member of "The Lions" band. Talit offered Saban to sell key chains with The Lions’ portraits, a move which was their first business partnership. The two of them went on and established a company that represented The Lions and other known Israeli performers of that time like Arik Einstein and The Churchills.

In 1977, Talit founded "Talit Productions". During the 1980s, the company produced large concerts and brought international artists to Israel such as Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Dire Straits, Sting, Leonard Cohen, Billy Joel, Boy George, Bryan Adams, Joe Cocker, Julio Iglesias, Duran Duran, David Bowie, The Eurythmics and many others. The company also initiated a line of Opera productions, Musicals, theater shows and sport events. The most prominent of them were The Bolshoy Theater, Today "Talit Communications" owns and represents 20 channels broadcast in Israel.

Personal life and death Talit lived in Herzliya with his wife Batia. He had three children: Liran, who is currently residing in Israel, Liat and Elinor who work at “Talit Communications” in Israel.

Talit died of cancer on 8 June 2019 in Herzliya, at age 74.