An 87-year-old actor, Chaim Topol from 'Fiddler on the Roof, passes away

In a statement released Thursday, Chaim Topol's representative confirmed that the 87-year-old actor passed away in Israel after "a long illness." A tribute was paid to Topol on Thursday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who described him as a "multi-faceted artist, full of energy and charisma." President Netanyahu said in a statement, "the story of Haim Topol's life has been sealed. However, I am confident that his contributions to Israeli culture will endure for generations. 

He loved the country of Israel, and the Israeli people loved him." In his career, Topol has been known by his surname since he was born on September 9, 1935, in Tel Aviv. As part of his army service, he served in Israel as part of the entertainment troop, where he met Galia Topol, the woman he would later marry. In 1965 he won a Golden Globe for most promising newcomer for playing Saallah Shabati in the title role, and in 1972, Fiddler on the Roof won the best actor award.

The talented actor in Oscar nomination

As Tevye the milkman in 1971, he also received an Oscar nomination. As well as playing Dr Hans Zarkov in "Flash Gordon" (1980), he also starred as Milos Columbo in "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), opposite Roger Moore as James Bond. For the actor-singer, who said he could not play an instrument or read music, music was like "organized noise." As a result, Topol earned acclaim for his role in a musical. 

In 1983, he told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs that he was deprived of music until he was 12. The household did not have a radio. Topol said he played Tevye on stage in Tel Aviv before playing a role in London's West End after temporarily filling in for the role on stage. It was very brave of them to let me do that part," he said, with just a fifty-word vocabulary.

Israeli President's tribute to Chaim

The country's highest cultural honor, the Israel Prize, was awarded to Topol eight years ago by Netanyahu. Israeli President Isaac Herzog posted a tribute to the late actor on Twitter. Haim Topol, the Fiddler on the Roof to the world's Roof, who passed away from us recently, was one of the most outstanding Israeli stage actors, filling the theatre screens with his presence and, most importantly, entering our hearts as he conquered so many stages in Israel and overseas." Topol helped sick and disabled kids, Herzog and Netanyahu say. The world of Israelis will be saddened by his passing culture to lose Topol, Herzog wrote on Twitter. The three children he left behind are the only survivors of Topol.

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