Yoram Kahana

1939 - 2021

January 1, 1939 - June 14, 2021 Yoram Kahana was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was a regular guest on Shmuel Rosen's radio quiz show in 1953-54 gaining national recognition for his intellectual prowess. He began writing and photographing for Ha'olam Hazeh in 1956. This set the tone for his independent spirit and life-long passions for progressive politics, freedom of speech, arts, and literature. In his early teens, he was a leader in the Israeli national scouting movement, and in high school he perfected his English by working in a cinema, quickly learning how to match the dialogue with the subtitles. At 16 Yoram began his service in the Israeli Army (Nachal) in 1955, in the officer's academy. However, the army did not align with his independent spirit, causing a slight falling out with his commanders. This landed him in a military prison on the beach, which in true Yoram spirit, he turned into a vacation, reading James Joyce, and writing letters for illiterate prisoners. He attended University of Jerusalem for a semester, studying archaeology, a long time passion, before deciding that his path lay in America. He began Columbia University in September 1958 but after one New York winter, he quickly transferred to UCLA. Once in California, Yoram decided to teach himself Spanish and spent the next 50 years switching seamlessly between Hebrew, English, and Spanish.In 1961 he met the love of his life, Peggy. They married in 1962 and began making educational films and film strips, under the banner of Kahana Film Productions, for which they won many awards. Yoram received Masters Degrees in Film and Journalism from UCLA. Yoram photographed for the Los Angeles Free Press chronicling the zeitgeist of the 1960's. As his reputation and career quickly grew, he achieved global recognition and worldwide distribution for his photography, which continues to this day. In the 1970's he created Shooting Star International Photo Agency, where he represented himself as well as hundreds of other photographers worldwide. Until his death his images have appeared in magazines, on magazine covers, album covers - too many to count.He joined the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1963, and held numerous positions on the Board and in the Association. Until his last days he remained committed to steering the HFPA towards reform. He was also a longstanding member of the Society of American Travel Writers and his award winning travel photography was published globally.He was a mentor to numerous photographers, journalists and bright eager minds. He championed the underdog, spoke for the silenced, and was a moral compass. Travel was ingrained in his life and purpose. With his camera slung over his shoulder and a pen in his pocket, he traveled to over one hundred countries and every continent, documenting what he saw with open eyes and an open heart. He advocated for charities including the LA Conservancy, Pablove, Doctors Without Borders, the ACLU, and Arab-Israeli Peace. In lieu of flowers, any donations to those organizations would be an honor to his memory. He died peacefully on June 15, 2021, in Los Angeles with his wife at his side. He is survived by his wife Peggy, daughters Tal (Ted) and Paz, and grandchildren Jacob, Goldie, Ben, Nathan, and Noa.