What happened to Svika Pick? Tributes pour in as Israeli legend and Quentin Tarantino's father-in law dies aged 72

Singer, songwriter, composer, and television personality Svika Pick passed away on August 14, 2022, at the age of 72. The cause of death has not yet been revealed, and it is speculated to be due to age-related issues or natural causes.

Pick suffered a stroke in 2018 which affected his speech and movement. Although his condition improved after that, he discontinued performing or writing like he had previously. While there is currently no information on whether the stroke had anything to do with his death, his family members are yet to comment on the same.

The Prime Minister of Israel, Yair Lapid, paid tribute to him and stated,

“Svika Pick died today, but the songs and melodies he left behind will continue to be played for many years to come.”

President Isaac Herzog mentioned that Svika brought a new life and revolutionary change to the cultural landscape of Israel. He added that Pick’s music touched everyone’s hearts and became an important part of the soundtrack of people’s lives.

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Svika Pick’s life and career explored

Pick was born on October 3, 1949, to Jewish parents. His grandfather was the head of a music school and his uncle was a music professor. He started his training in classical music when he was five years old.

His family shifted to Israel in 1957, and after studying music at the Conservatory of Ramat Gan, Pick started performing with local rock bands. He was one of the leading pop singers in Israel during 1970s and played the lead role in the Hebrew adaptation of the musical Hair the same year.

Svika Pick wrote songs for several artists (Image via Naveed Anjum/Getty Images)

Pick started writing songs in 1998, and wrote Diva in collaboration with lyricist Yoav Ginai. The duo reunited in 2002 and wrote the song Light a Candle for Sarit Hadad, who represented Israel at Eurovision 2002. He also composed songs for Eurovision contestants Oleksandr Ponomaryov and Angelica Agurbashin. He wrote Hasta la Vista for Ponomaryov in 2003 and also wrote another song for Agurbash.

Svika Pick was a judge on the singing reality show Kokhav Nolad from 2005 to 2009. He then appeared on the Bip docu-reality show HaMaestro in 2005. The late artist also made a guest appearance in an episode of Tamid Oto Chalom in 2009, and his songs were used for its title and soundtrack.

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Netizens pay tribute to the late artist on Twitter

Svika Pack had become a familiar name in the entertainment industry for his work as a singer and songwriter. Twitter was flooded with tributes when people heard about his death:

Pick is survived by his wife Shira Manor, his five children, and grandchildren.