Topol

President Isaac Herzog shared the news on Twitter, in which he paid tribute to “one of the leading giants of Israeli culture”.

It was his second Golden Globe, after he had won most promising male newcomer at the awards previously for his role in Israeli comedy Sallah Shabati. In his statement, Herzog said: “I had the privilege of getting to know him closely during the establishment of the unique village, and to be exposed to his work even outside the spotlight.” In his statement, Herzog added that despite being awarded 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, the Israeli actor who in his late 20s took on the role of the patriarch Tevye — the soulful shtetl milkman at the center of “Fiddler on the Roof” ...

“I wanted a third-generation European actor for the role, a third-generation man who understood the background,” Mr. (He would make a similar decision in 1991, with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf war, leaving the Broadway revival to be with his family in Tel Aviv.) The recognition came both for his acting and his charitable work, notably helping to found Jordan River Village, a holiday camp in Israel for seriously ill children from all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Now, as I pass the age of 55 by 20 years, I feel totally free to jump and dance as much as I feel like.” “At 29, I knew I had to restrain some muscles to make sure I didn’t suddenly jump in a way that destroyed the image of an elderly man,” he told The Boston Globe in 2009, in the midst of a multicity United States tour of the show. “Zero was going wild,” he recalled in a 2008 interview with The Telegraph, a British newspaper. But on returning to Israel, Topol saw the Tel Aviv production and had a change of heart. Topol, who by his own account, knew “about 50 words of English” then, had learned the songs phonetically from the Broadway cast album. His parents, Jacob, a plasterer, and Rel Goldman Topol, a seamstress, had fled shtetlach in Eastern Europe to settle in Palestine in the early 1930s. There, Jacob Topol became a member of the Haganah, the Jewish paramilitary organization. “It takes you to a wide range of emotions, happiness to sadness, anger to love.” The film, for which Topol earned an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award, made him a star.

The Israeli actor was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in the classic 1971 musical.

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.

As well as Fiddler on the Roof, the Israeli actor is known for other roles including in the 1980 sci-fi film Flash Gordon.

Topol scooped a second Golden Globe in 1971, this time for Best Actor, for Fiddler On The Roof. Herzog described Topol as “a gifted actor who conquered many stages in Israel and overseas, filled the cinema screens with his presence and above all entered deep into our hearts”. Topol was best known for his portrayal of Tevye in the 1971 musical Fiddler On The Roof.

Chaim Topol, who played Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for over five decades, has died at the age of 87.

He also did the Hebrew voice for Rubeus Hagrid in the first two versions of [Harry Potter](https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/topic/harry-potter). The actor also took on the role in the 1971 film, for which he won a golden globe for best actor. The actor was best known for playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof for more than five decades.

'The story of Chaim Topol's life has been sealed but I am certain that his contribution to Israeli culture will live on for generations,' says Israeli Prime ...

He fervently supported the justice of Israel’s path and enthusiastically believed in the Zionist vision…. His breakthrough film role came in 1964 as the title character in Sallah Shabati, written by Israeli Ephraim Kishon. He later toured Israel with various theatrical companies and eventually co-founded the Haifa Theater.

The news was confirmed by Israeli president Isaac Herzog on Twitter, who called Topol “one of the most outstanding Israeli stage artists”. The actor, who went ...

The film went on to earn eight Oscar nominations, including a leading actor nomination for Topol. The actor, who went by his last name, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s several years ago. The actor was cast in the role of Tevye for the 1971 version of Fiddler On The Roof after director Norman Jewison saw him portray the character in the stage version.

Chaim Topol, the actor best known for playing Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof," has died, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced. He was 87.

“We didn’t have a radio in the house.” “I still don’t understand how they let me have the part.” The story of Haim Topol’s life has been sealed but I am certain that his contribution to Israeli culture will live on for generations,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “They were very brave to let me have that part … “He greatly loved the land of Israel, and the people of Israel loved him in return.” [“Fiddler on the Roof,”](https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/15/us/man-yells-heil-hitler-baltimore-fiddler-roof-trnd/index.html) has died in Israel following “a long illness,” his representative confirmed to CNN Thursday.

Chaim Topol, who has died at 87, was beloved for his portrayal of Tevye, Fiddler's long-suffering and charismatic milkman. Topol long has ranked among ...

Yet Topol said he sometimes needed to look outside of acting to find meaning in his life. Topol also starred in more than 30 other movies, including as the lead in "Galileo," Dr. Topol has said his personal experience as the descendant of Russian Jews helped him relate to Tevye and deepen his performance. He lost out to Gene Hackman in "The French Connection." The film made history as the first Israeli film to earn an Academy Award nomination and also gave Topol his first Golden Globe Award. His first major breakthrough was the lead role in the 1964 hit Israeli film Sallah Shabati, about the hardships of Middle Eastern immigrants to Israel.

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.

Israeli actor and singer Chaim Topol, best known for his performance as Tevye in the musical and film Fiddler on the Roof, has died in Tel Aviv, aged 87.

Topol truly was a talent and infectious musical presence, that enriched us all. In the musical’s most famous song, ‘If I Were a Rich Man’, Tevye, reflects on his labour-intensive, humble life, musing on a life of wealth and comfort. In 2015, Topol received Israel’s highest cultural honour; the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement. This began with him becoming a member of the Nahal entertainment troupe. After the film, Topol was continuously cast as an on-stage Tevye, including on London’s West End. The town buzzes with Jewish community and traditions, with the constant threat of displacement from the tsar.

Wide acclaim for the role of Tevye helped make him, according to one newspaper, “Israel's most famous export since the Jaffa orange.”

“I wanted a third-generation European actor for the role, a third-generation man who understood the background,” Mr. (He would make a similar decision in 1991, with the outbreak of the Persian Gulf war, leaving the Broadway revival to be with his family in Tel Aviv.) The recognition came both for his acting and his charitable work, notably helping to found Jordan River Village, a holiday camp in Israel for seriously ill children from all ethnic and religious backgrounds. Now, as I pass the age of 55 by 20 years, I feel totally free to jump and dance as much as I feel like.” “At 29, I knew I had to restrain some muscles to make sure I didn’t suddenly jump in a way that destroyed the image of an elderly man,” he told The Boston Globe in 2009, in the midst of a multicity United States tour of the show. “Zero was going wild,” he recalled in a 2008 interview with The Telegraph, a British newspaper. But on returning to Israel, Topol saw the Tel Aviv production and had a change of heart. Topol, who by his own account, knew “about 50 words of English” then, had learned the songs phonetically from the Broadway cast album. His parents, Jacob, a plasterer, and Rel Goldman Topol, a seamstress, had fled shtetlach in Eastern Europe to settle in Palestine in the early 1930s. There, Jacob Topol became a member of the Haganah, the Jewish paramilitary organization. “It takes you to a wide range of emotions, happiness to sadness, anger to love.” The film, for which Topol earned an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award, made him a star.

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.

Chaim Topol, best known for playing Tevye the milkman in Fiddler on the Roof, has died at the age of 87.

"Topol was one of the giants of Israeli culture and he will be greatly missed. In later life, Topol frequently reprised the role of Tevye on the stage around the world – including a Tony-nominated Broadway revival – but by then he had also become known for his roles in other major movies. He then played Tevye the Dairyman in the Israeli stage production of Fiddler on the Roof in 1966, when he was just 31. When Norman Jewison made the 1971 movie adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof, Topol was controversially cast ahead of Zero Mostel, who had originated the role on Broadway in 1964. Despite his then lack of fluency in English, he was cast in a new production of the play at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. "From Fiddler on the Roof to the roof of the world, Chaim Topol, who has passed away from us, was one of the most outstanding Israeli stage artists," said Israel's president Isaac Herzog.

The actor, who has died, aged 87, played the role 3500 times and was regarded as Israel's greatest export since the Jaffa orange.

Topol was not a man known for his modesty but in that account, he was probably doing himself a disservice in that version of the story following the Six-Day War. By the time he reprised the role for the umpteenth time at London’s Palladium in 1994, he had a Tony Award for his New York performance to fill the gap that the Oscar might have occupied if he had won it. News of his death at 87 was announced by Israel’s President on Twitter. Competition for the role included Rod Steiger, Danny Kaye, and in an era when authenticity casting was not even a notion let alone a requirement, even Frank Sinatra. Topol, the son of a plasterer on his father’s side and a seamstress on his mother’s, later said that he knew it was not him they were applauding but Israel, the country for which he often saw himself as an unofficial ambassador. He was in his late 20s when he first took on the role for Norman Jewison’s 1971 movie version of the Broadway hit.