Rami Heuberger, the controversial actor from Israel, has died in a Tel Aviv hospital, according to family who spoke to ynet. He was 61.
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Heuberger is widely known in Israel for his stage and screen work, though he faced two sexual misconduct scandals over the years. He is best known in the U.S. for appearing in Schindler’s List, Steven Spielberg’s 1993 Holocaust drama that earned six Academy Awards.
In Schindler’s List, Heuberger portrays real-life Holocaust survivor Joseph Bau. Bau was imprisoned at Płaszów and secretly married another prisoner, Rebecca Tennenbaum. The wedding is depicted in the movie.
Heuberger once faced a police investigation after a makeup artist accused him of sexual assault in 2007. The actor denied any wrongdoing. The Jersuelem Post reported that the investigation did not lead to charges because “police investigators did not conclude which of the two versions presented before them was the true one.”
Controversy came again in 2024 during work on a stage version of Operation Grandma, per Mako and 13 News. Heuberger allegedly declared in the midst of a dress rehearsal, “If the cue doesn’t come in, I’ll rape the actress.” Other unspecified inappropriate conduct had also allegedly occurred during the production, which was ultimately canceled.
Heuberger claimed the quote was wrong and taken out of context. Per his account, he was frustrated with a sound technician who missed a cue during a romantic scene, causing it to continue on farther than intended. Heuberger claimed he said, “Maybe you could turn on the phone ringing already? What do you want — that I rape her?'”
“This may not have been a successful statement of mine, and I apologize to anyone who was hurt or offended by it – but these are the things and this is the context,” Heuberger said, per 13. “It is a shame that some interested parties distorted the things and the context, and rushed to present them in this way to the media. In doing so, they not only caused me enormous damage – but also led to the cancellation of the show and severe damage to the livelihoods of actors and stage workers.
“It is doubtful that the heavy damage can be repaired, but I hope that following the clarification, those who need to come to their senses will come to their senses and retract their blatant and false slander.”
Outside of Schindler’s List, ‘s next biggest role that made a splash stateside came with in 2023’s Golda, the Golda Meir biopic starring Helen Mirren.
Heuberger is survived by four children.