Among his other successes are "Al ain zarga" (The Blue Eyes), "Mahenni zine" (The beauty disturbed me), "Habibti samra" (My beloved has dark skin) and "Allala illali".

[6] During the German occupation of France, Si Kaddour Benghabrit, the founder and first rector of the Great Mosque of Paris, managed to hide Halali's Jewish roots by providing him with a false birth certificate as a Muslim and etching the name of his late father on a tombstone at an unmarked grave in a Muslim cemetery Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis).

In 1947, Halali created a Middle Eastern cabaret, Folies Ismailia, in a Paris hotel that belonged to Ferdinand de Lesseps, located on the Avenue Montaigne in one of the city's best neighborhoods.

In 1949, he moved to Morocco, bought an old café in Maârif, the cosmopolitan quarter of Casablanca, and transformed it into a prestigious cabaret, Le Coq d'Or.

It was frequented by wealthy Moroccans and visiting dignitaries, including King Farouk of Egypt, and it was where Haja El Hamdaouia sang.

[7] Halali's career reached a turning point in when he released a long-playing record in French and performed at the Salle Pleyel in Paris early in 1970.

Though still successful, Halali decided to retire to Cannes, where he was known for hosting lavish parties at his villa, which had an Arabian nights decor like his cabarets, and a garden with two pet tigers.

[2] Tom Cohen, the head conductor and artistic director of the Mediterranean Orchestra of Ashkelon, summed up Halali's life and influence thus: The man was an enigma.