Chaim Topol

Israeli actor and singer Chaim Topol, best known for his role as Tevye the dairyman in the musical 'Fiddler on the Roof', has died at the age of 87 in ...

while watching his daughters heading out to make their own choices in life. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story His first on-screen role was in "I Like Mike" in 1961, and his part in the Israeli comedy film Sallah Shabbati in 1964 won him his first Golden Globe, for most promising male newcomer.

It is for ever associated with the irrepressible Israeli actor Chaim Topol, who has died aged 87. He played Tevye in the 1967 London premiere of Fiddler on the ...

[the Haganah](http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/haganah.html) against the British in the war of independence, and Rel (nee Goldman), a seamstress. [a delightful revival of Gigi](http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/aug/16/gigi.theatre) by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe in the Open Air theatre at Regent’s Park. He helped to found the Jordan River Village, a holiday camp in lower Galilee for chronically ill children of all ethnic and religious backgrounds, which opened in 2012. In the army, Topol, who had two younger sisters, joined an entertainment troupe and then started his own satirical revue company, Batzal Yarok (“The Spring Onion” – “To convey the idea of something fresh, sharp and spicy,” he said). Topol returned to London in the role in 1983, and toured extensively in the US in the late 1980s, when Rosalind Harris, who played the eldest of his five daughters in the film, played his wife. He was already well known for the character of Sallah Shabati, an immigrant weighed down with troubles and children who somehow overcomes all adversity. When he played Tevye again at the London Palladium in 1994, he was still only 58. [Joseph Stein](http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2010/oct/26/joseph-stein-obituary) from the stories of Sholem Aleichem, the insinuating songs written by Sheldon Harnick and Jerry Bock. He always deferred to Mostel’s genius as Tevye, and was surprised to be cast in the film. But he brought a passion and warmth to his signature role – which he played on stage in more than 3,500 performances, he estimated – that had possibly eluded the more clownish and hard-edged Mostel. Topol won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination in the role, attending the Oscar ceremony on leave from the Israeli army. The sight of Tevye the milkman shaking his upper torso and stomping out his yearning, melodic, future subjunctive – “If I were a rich man, yubby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dibby dum / All day long I’d biddy biddy bum / If I were a wealthy man …

Chaim Topol won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of an immigrant to Israel, stepped off the stage in London to fight for his countrt.

Topol was board chair of the Jordan Youth Village, modeled after Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camp in the United States, until his death. The Ephraim Kishon film was Israel’s first Academy Award nominee in the foreign language film category and earned Topol a Golden Globe for best new actor. Israel’s swift defeat of an alliance of enemies caused the world to notice the young country and the actor who took part in its victory. In 1967, he appeared as the lead character in London’s staging of “Fiddler on the Roof,” which had been a breakout hit on Broadway three years before. 9 on the British charts — besting Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” in July 1967. In his early 30s at the time, he wowed audiences and critics with his portrayal of a character decades older.

The acclaimed actor and singer also appeared in Flash Gordon and the Bond film For Your Eyes Only.

In 2005, Topol was voted the 90th-greatest Israeli of all time, in a poll by the Israeli news website Ynet. But he was granted leave so he could attend the ceremony in Los Angeles. "Anyone who ever plays Tevye should be thankful to Zero Mostel," Topol was once quoted as saying. He was one of the first global Israeli celebrities and a very sweet and modest man. To coin one of Fiddler's most famous lines - To life, to life, l'chaim! RIP to a great."

The Israeli actor was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in 1971 musical Fiddler On The Roof.

A 1991 Broadway revival of Fiddler On The Roof also saw Topol nominated for a Tony Award for best actor. Topol scooped a second Golden Globe in 1971, this time for best actor, for his role of Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof. The Israeli actor was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in 1971 musical Fiddler On The Roof.

The Israeli actor was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in 1971 musical Fiddler On The Roof.

A 1991 Broadway revival of Fiddler On The Roof also saw Topol nominated for a Tony Award for best actor. Topol scooped a second Golden Globe in 1971, this time for best actor, for his role of Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof. The Israeli actor was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in 1971 musical Fiddler On The Roof.

The Israeli actor was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in 1971 musical Fiddler On The Roof.

In his statement, Herzog added that despite being highly decorated for his “talent and creation”, it was the people of Israel that had won “the most important award” by being able to enjoy his work. Topol scooped a second Golden Globe in 1971, this time for best actor, for his role of Tevye in Fiddler On The Roof. The Israeli actor was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in 1971 musical Fiddler On The Roof.

In 1969, for my seventh birthday, I was taken – dragged, probably – 'up west' to the theatre to see a musical. As I recall, it didn't fill me with joy to be ...

Apart from commenting that everyone in the film’s village looked like me, she saw in it a good illustration of what brought my ancestors to this country in the first place. Of course it resonates with Jews – but in some ways that is like preaching to the converted. There are plenty of what could be called Jewish-ish films – from Diner to Manhattan to The Producers to Funny Girl – that tick the requisite boxes of stereotypical humour, self-deprecation and neurotic behaviour.

A memorial ceremony was held in the presence of Chaim Topol's coffin and he was remembered by friends and admirers.

He was part of Salah Shabati and Fiddler on the Roof, and the director of the latter said that he chose Topol when he was young because he saw in him 'an actor who was proud to be Jewish.' Topol was at the top, always on the roof of the world. "Chaim brought gifts and respect to this country," said Gabi Armani, who was with Topol in the Nahal band and their Green Onion band later on. Topol was a star in the Nahal band, commander of the band, who knew how to be silly mainly in the company of Uri Zohar. Beyond being an actor, singer, songwriter and illustrator, Chaim really cared about what was happening with the Israeli people which he expressed through involvement in social activities and volunteering." Zohar added that "Chaim Topol was no doubt the good Israeli. "It was his legacy and maybe his biggest and most important gift," said Zorer. "Chaim was an actor who left a great stamp on us, and his works will be remembered forever, etched into Israeli culture," he said. "It will continue for years to come with sick children coming to the village. "Topol had a very big soul," she said. Dad was released." He had a blessed path, and maybe it was even know from the beginning. "The end really limited him, this sickness was sad to see.

Actor Sean Connery was reported to have once said that he wanted to be recognised outside of his work as James Bond, the fictional spy for the British ...

Actor Sean Connery was reported to have once said that he wanted to be recognised outside of his work as James Bond, the fictional spy for the British intelligence service MI6. Chaim Topol, the Israeli actor and singer who's singularly known for his portrayal of Tevye, the lead role in the stage musical 'Fiddler on the Roof' and its 1971 film adaptation, died a day before. Hollywood actor Robert Blake, best known as a child star in Westerns of the 1940s and 1950s, and his starring role in the 1970s television series 'Beretta', died on March 9.