A year after his arrival in Israel, Bodo joined the
Israel Defense Forces, where he first assembled and led the
Southern Command Band. Following the disbanding of that troupe in 1954, he was assigned the creation of the
Northern Command troupe, which he led for three-and-a-half years. Meanwhile, he came up with his "Moishe Ventilator"
character. Upon his release, he starred in a theater show by that name, which was a hit in the 1950s—running more than a thousand times was picked up and made into a parody film by the same name (), where, under the direction of
Uri Zohar, Bodo, accompanied by
Shaike Ophir and the
Gashah HaHiver trio, portrayed a
frugal private whose cost-cutting ideas include cutting on maps in the
operation room, which are coveted by a spy who infiltrates the IDF ranks. In 1967, he performed in Kishon's film
Ervinka (, Starred by
Chaim Topol), about an incorrigible layabout who becomes involved in a robbery of the
Israeli lottery under the cover of making a documentary. Bodo also performed
The Fox in the Chicken Coop (),
Nahche and The General (),
Millionaire in Trouble (),
My Margo (),
Take When They Give (),
Five Five (),
A Miracle in The Village (),
Just Not on Saturday (),
Not a Word to Morgenstern (), and others. He also starred in
Kupa Rashit (Checkout), a TV comedy about a supermarket, as the security guard Chibotero. ==Awards and recognition==