Elie Hazak grew up in Jerusalem, where he was fascinated by sculpture. There he studied at the Bel Zallel Art School and later toured Israel and Europe as an actor and performer, working on clay sculptures in his spare time. His work, vivid scenes of Indians, cowboys and mountain men, is on permanent display at the Thomas Gilcrease museum in Tulsa. In 1999, he was commissioned by Championship Auto Racing Teams to create the Mario Andretti Trophy.