Remembering Chaim Topol: Iconic Israeli Actor, Singer, and illustrator

Last Thursday we lost one of the great Jewish entertainers of our time with the death of Chaim Topol at the age of 87 after a multi-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

He was best known for his role as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof — first in stage productions of the famed Shalom Aleichem musical in London and then later in the iconic film, before eventually returning to the stage with the role.

It was during the London run that he began being known by his last name only, as the English producers were unable to pronounce his first name.

As Amy Spiro wrote in the The Times of Israel,

Born in Tel Aviv in 1935, Topol began his acting career while completing his service in the army’s entertainment troupe where he met his wife, Galia. After his release, he joined a theater group, appearing in multiple productions before his first film role, the 1961 drama “I Like Mike.”

But it was his 1964 role in the film “Sallah Shabati” that first gained Topol serious attention, both domestically and internationally. Topol played the title role in the now-iconic film about the hardships of a Mizrahi immigrant family living in a transit camp.

In later years, Topol – who also wrote several books and illustrated several others – devoted himself to philanthropy, in particular as president of the Jordan River Village. The facility, which opened in 2012, runs a year-round camp in the Galilee for children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

 Topol illustrated approximately 25 books in both Hebrew and English. He also produced drawings of Israeli national figures. His sketches of Israeli presidents were reproduced in a 2013 stamp series issued by the Israel Philatelic Federation, as was his self-portrait as Tevye for 2014 commemorative stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the Broadway debut of Fiddler on the Roof.

Video clips from "Fiddler" are showing up all over the Internet, but today we'll share two clips showing other sides of Topol... singing Eli, Eli, the poem written by Hannah Senesh, on Yom Hashoah in Auschwitz-Birkenau on a March of the Living in 2012, and a scene from Sallah Shabati.

A memorial ceremony was held on Friday morning at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects in the ceremony in which Culture and Sport Minister Mikki Zohar, Rivka Michaeli, Oded Cutler, Gabi Armani and Topol's daughter Adi gave speeches.

Zohar said "His works will be remembered for ever, etched into Israeli culture."

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