Silke Jasso
Chaim Topol, the celebrated Israeli actor renowned for his iconic performance as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, has sadley passed away at the age of 87. Israeli officials announced that Topol died in Tel Aviv, Israel. A cause of death has yet to be disclosed, but the actor’s son told several media outlets that his father had been grappling with Alzheimer’s disease for a number of years.
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“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,” Israel’s ceremonial president Isaac Herzog revealed on Twitter.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid tribute to the late actor, acknowledging that Topol’s “legacy in Israeli culture will continue to exist for generations to come.” Topol, who primarily used his last name throughout his career, earned a Golden Globe for his performance in the film adaptation of Fiddler back in 1972. He delighted audiences worldwide as the cherished Russian milkman and patriarch on stages in London, Broadway, and beyond. The Associated Press reported that the actor played the role more than a wopping 3,500 times, which gained him multiple generations of admirers with his masterful portrayal.
Fiddler on the Roof – If I Were a Rich Man (1971)
“I wasn’t brought up in Hollywood. I was brought up in a kibbutz,” he previously told AP in 2015. “Sometimes I am surprised when I come to China or when I come to Tokyo or when I come to France or when I come wherever and the clerk at the immigration says ‘Topol, Topol, are you Topol?”
Topol’s lenghtly career began when he joined an acting troupe during his military service in Israel. He gained prominence after appearing in the 1964 box office hit Sallah Shabati, which earned him his first Golden Globe award. The movie also made history by becoming the first Israeli film to receive an Academy Award nomination. Topol went on to appear in numerous movies, including Cast a Giant Shadow with Kirk Douglas, Galileo, Flash Gordon, and For Your Eyes Only.
In 2015, the accomplished actor was bestowed with the Israel Prize, which is the highest cultural honor awarded in his homeland, as reported by The New York Times. However, Topol will always be remembered for his iconic portrayal of Tevye, a role that he claimed to love playing.
“Let’s face it, it’s one of the best parts ever written for a male actor in the musical theater,” he told The Boston Globe back in 1989. “It takes you to a wide range of emotions, happiness to sadness, anger to love.”
The talented actor is survived by his wife, Galia, and their three children.
