1927 − Born in Leipzig as Leo Alexander Inselsbacher. The surname is that of a French Foreign Legion man who married his mother, Edith Hauben.
1936 − Immigrates to Palestine with distant relatives, raised in kibbutzim and moshavim as an “outside child.”
1949 − Joins the Carmel entertainment troupe of the Palmach commandos, initially as a stagehand, later as a singer.
1950 − Attends Cameri Theater drama school.
1954 − Appears in “Hill 24 Doesn’t Answer,” the first feature film produced in Israel.
1955 − Meets Shoshik Shani at acting school.
1957 − Leaves Cameri Theater. Marries Shoshik Shani. Forms the Arava Trio, with Shimon Israeli and Zvi Borodo. The group appears across Europe; Charles Aznavour is their warm-up act at the Olympia in Paris.
1958 − Appears at the Theater Club in Tel Aviv in a new show, including “The Echo” (the first written by the lyricist and novelist Yaakov Shabtai) and “The Red Rock” (which was banned from the radio for fear it would tempt young Israelis to try to reach Petra, the “rose-red city,” in Jordan).
1959 − Releases first record album, which becomes a hit. Appears as Roberto-Les-Diams in more than 600 performances of “Irma La Douce” on Broadway; can be heard on the original cast recording.
1963 − Back in Israel, appears with Shani in a revue, “He and She,” written and directed by Ephraim Kishon. The show runs for about 300 performances.
1965 − Appears with Shani in the Cameri Theater production of the children’s musical “Utz Li Gutz Li” (based on the Rumpelstiltskin story). Also performs in a show of Brecht songs, appears in Uri Zohar’s film “A Hole in the Moon” and on the stage in the musical “The King and I,” with Rivka Raz.
1967 − “To the IDF with Love,” evening of songs dedicated to the army after the Six-Day War.
1968 − New album, “For the Division of Steel” (referring to the 84th Armored Division), which contains the songs “Battle of Rafah” and “Those Who Fought.” Appears in Menahem Golan’s first film, “999 Aliza Mizrahi”; and in the following two years in several more Golan productions, including “My Margot,” “Lupo” and “Attack at Dawn.”
1971 − His new album, “A Song Isn’t Just Words,” includes the hits “Autumn Song,” “Why Didn’t You Tell Me” and more.
1973 − Releases “From 1948 with Love,” an album of songs of the War of Independence. The theme song is by Shlomo Artzi (music) and Haim Hefer (lyrics). Appears with Shani in the Habima Theater production of “Oh, Juliette,” written and directed by Ephraim Kishon, which is also a hit in Germany and Austria.
1974 − Takes part in the program “Youth Movement Songs,” also released as a record album.
1975 − His new album, “Portrait,” includes one of his biggest hits, “It Happens.”
1977 − Appears as Maj. Gen. Dan Shomron in Menahem Golan’s film “Operation Thunderbolt,” about the Entebbe operation.
1978 − Records the album “I Will Sing You a Song,” which includes “Noa” and “Sahaki Sahaki.” Records an album with the Chocolate, Mint, Chewing Gum group.
1980 − Releases an album of songs arranged by Matti Caspi, among them “Evening Song” and “The Pomegranate Tree.”
1982 − New album, “Almost Dawn.”
1984 − “Messages,” a new album, includes “Kinneret” by Alexander Penn and Mordechai Zeira, and “Last Love,” by Haim Hefer and Yigal Hared.
1986 − Appears in stage production of “My Fair Lady” and in the Menahem Golan film “Million Dollar Madness.”
1987 − Stars in the Hebrew-language version of “Irma La Douce” with Hanna Laszlo and Moshe Becker. Records the song “All the Dreams” (lyrics: Lavie; music: David Krivoshei) with his firstborn daughter, Noa.
1988 − Solo show “All the Dreams,” which is also released as a double album.− Appears in the musical “The Wizard,” written and directed by Uri Fester, based on “The Wizard of Oz.”
1997 − Guest on Gidi Gov’s late-night television program and performs “The Echo” with him, which is included on a triple album of songs from the program.
1998 − Appears with songwriter Naomi Shemer in a show marking Israel’s jubilee. Double album, “You Are an Israeli,” released, containing the best of Lavie.
2003 − Receives lifetime achievement award at Days of Song Festival in Holon.
2004 − Records his last song, “My Way” (based on the Sinatra hit), which contains his life story. Dies in June in Beilinson Hospital, Petah Tikva, while undergoing treatment for his heart condition.