Svika Pick, Israeli ‘King of Pop’ and Eurovision Winner, Dies at 72
variety.comK.J. Yossman Svika Pick, the Israeli king of pop who wrote Dana International’s Eurovision-winning hit “Diva” in 1998, died on Sunday.
He was 72. According to Israeli media, he died at home, although no cause of death was given. The musician (pictured above left with Dana International), whose career spanned six decades, was also Quentin Tarantino’s father-in-law, following Tarantino’s marriage to Pick’s daughter Daniella in 2018.That was the same year in which Pick suffered a stroke while flying from London to Israel, causing the plane to make an emergency landing in Vienna.Despite the stroke, Pick was still working well into his eighth decade and had even been set to tour Israel this summer before his appearance was suddenly cancelled a week and a half before it was due to start, reported local newspaper Haaretz.
His death prompted an outpouring of tributes in Israel, including from the country’s president and prime minister, with a number of reports saying radio stations cancelled their regular programming to play Pick’s greatest hits on Sunday, as news of his death became public.Pick was born in Poland in 1949, where his uncle was a music professor.
From the age of five, Pick studied classical music and at 10 he immigrated to Israel where he joined a music conservatory in Ramat Gan.
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