Israeli actor and singer Chaim Topol, best known for his role as Tevye the Dairyman in the musical “Fiddler on the Roof”, has died in Israel at age 87. According to Israeli media, the artist died in his Tel Aviv home on Wednesday. Mononymously know simply as Topol, the actor won worldwide fame for his performance in the 1971 film adaptation of the Broadway musical which was based on the tales by Russian-born Yiddish-language author Sholem Aleichem.
“My wife and I, and all the citizens of Israel, with deep pain are parting from our dear Chaim Topol - loved by the audience and one of the great artists of Israel,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on Twitter.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog recalled Topol as a “gifted actor who conquered many stages in Israel and overseas, filled the cinema screens with his presence and especially entered deep into our hearts.”רעייתי שרה ואני, ככל אזרחי ישראל, נפרדים היום בכאב עמוק מיקירנו חיים טופול – אהוב הקהל שהיה מגדולי אמניה של מדינת ישראל.
— Benjamin Netanyahu - בנימין נתניהו (@netanyahu) March 9, 2023
הוא היה מגדולי אוהביה של ארץ ישראל, ועם ישראל החזיר לו אהבה
Topol was born in Tel Aviv on September 9, 1935, and founded a comedy troupe after completing military service as a member of an entertainment troupe called Nahal.מכנר על הגג ועד לגג העולם, חיים טופול שהלך מאיתנו היה מאמני הבמה הישראליים הבולטים, שחקן מחונן אשר כבש במות רבות בארץ ומעבר לים, מילא בנוכחותו את מסכי הקולנוע ובעיקר נכנס עמוק לליבנו.
— יצחק הרצוג Isaac Herzog (@Isaac_Herzog) March 9, 2023