Chaim Topol: Tevye
Chaim Topol was born in Israel in 1935. His first acting experiences began when he was in the Israeli army. After his army service, Topol created his own acting troupe in Tel-Aviv. By 1964, Topol had made a name for himself in Israeli theater and movies. His first English language film came in 1966 with a part in "Cast a Giant Shadow."
It was "Fiddler on the Roof" that gave Topol international fame. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in the film and he went on to perform the role many more times on stages around the world. His first performance as Tevye was not, however, in the movie version. Topol had played Tevye successfully in the London production of "Fiddler on the Roof" before being selected to play the part in the movie. In 1990, Topol again reprised Tevye, this time in the Broadway revival, and he was nominated for a Tony award for his performance.
In addition to performing in theater all over the world, Topol made 22 movies from 1963 until 1998.