Chaim Topol, ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ Star of Stage and Screen, Dead at 87

Chaim Topol, the Israeli-born actor who starred in Fiddler on the Roof on both stage and screen, has died at the age of 87.

Known simply to audiences worldwide as Topol, the actor’s death was announced Thursday by Israeli president Isaac Herzog. “From Fiddler on the Roof to the roof of the world, Haim Topol, who has passed away from us, was one of the most outstanding Israeli stage artists, 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,” Herzog tweeted of one of Israel’s most beloved actors.

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Topol died in Tel Aviv, Israel, following a “long illness,” the actor’s representative told CNN; Topol’s son also told Israeli outlets that his father had battled Alzheimer’s disease in recent years.

Topol was best known for playing the Russian dairyman Tevye in the 1971 big-screen adaptation of the Tony-winning musical Fiddler on the Roof. While actor/comedian Zero Mostel first popularized the role on Broadway, Topol — a veteran of the Israeli and London musical productions— ultimately landed the starring role in director Norman Jewison’s film version.

Topol won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy for Fiddler on the Roof and was nominated for the Academy Award in that same category. The actor would return to the Tevye role a decade later for a London revival of the musical and finally star as Tevye on Broadway in 1990 for another revival.

In addition to playing Tevye an estimated 3,500 times onstage, Topol also portrayed Galileo in a 1975 film about the astronomer, Dr. Hans Zarkov in the 1980 Queen-scored adaptation of Flash Gordon and the James Bond ally Milos Colombo in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only.

“To many of you, he was Tevya, to us Chaim Topol was a national treasure, a cultural icon and above all a human being who loved his country,” Israel’s official Twitter account tweeted Thursday. “Today we celebrate his life and legacy from Tel Aviv to Anatevka. Lechaim.”

“Sadly, the fiddler on the roof is no longer with us,” former Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement. “The strings of the fiddle have fallen silent. 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. He greatly loved the land of Israel, and the people of Israel loved him in return.”

Actor Josh Gad tweeted, “There is no way to overstate how much this man & this performance meant to me. #Topol is a large reason why I became an actor. In fact, his performance of Tevye in “Fiddler” was the very first performance I ever saw on a Broadway stage. RIP to a great.”

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