Infamous Hollywood actor and Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey is slated to perform an evening of musical jazz and pop standards in a show called One Night Only at Hangar 11 in Tel Aviv on November 19.
Backed by a jazz band, Spacey, the star of films like American Beauty and TV series House of Cards, will croon classics by the likes of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. In between, he’ll share anecdotes and stories from his life in film and theater.
The 66-year-old Spacey’s film, TV, and theater career cratered following multiple criminal investigations in 2018 and 2019, accusing him of sexual misconduct. In each case, Spacey was either not charged or the charges against him were dropped. In a separate case in England, he was acquitted by a jury of sexual assault charges in 2023. In 2022, aA
New York jury also ruled in Spacey’s favor, determining that he did not sexually abuse actor Anthony Rapp, who had accused Spacey of assaulting him in the 1980s when Rapp was just 14 years old. He is currently facing another British lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault.
Spacey's Connection to Israel
Spacey’s connection to Israel is not new. He visited the country privately several years ago and was surprised by an unusual visit last December. He visited communities near the Gaza border as well as wounded soldiers in Israeli hospitals.
Speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana, posted pictures of his meeting with Spacey, alongside a handwritten note from the actor in the Knesset guest book. The note reads: “For the people of Israel, my heart is filled with admiration and strength for your struggle. I will share the stories I have heard and what I have witnessed with my own eyes. With love, Kevin Spacey.
In 2019, Spacey visited Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. During his visit, Spacey donned a kippah while paying a condolence call at the Jerusalem Gardens Hotel to mourn the passing of Rabbi Jaeger, the brother-in-law of his manager, Evan Lowenstein. Lowenstein, an Orthodox Jew and former member of the singing duo Evan & Jaron, had been managing Spacey for about three years at the time.
Spacey is not the only entertainer who has turned to Israel to rehabilitate a career that had been cancelled.
In 2022, comedian Louis CK performed three sold-out stand-up shows in Tel Aviv in a comeback effort after accusations against him were made by several women in the wake of the #MeToo movement that emerged in 2017, and which he admitted were correct.
Tickets to Spacey’s show are available at: https://www.eventim.co.il/artist/kevinspacey/
Mathilda Heller and Hannah Brown contributed to this report.