My daughter will be starring in a production of Fiddler On The Roof so I figured I would look up some trivia from the landmark musical and later movie. The decision to cast Chaim Topol, instead of Zero Mostel, as Tevye in the 1971 film verion of "Fiddler on the Roof" was a somewhat controversial one, as the role had originated with Mostel and he had made it famous. Years later, Jewison said he felt Mostel's larger-than-life personality, while fine on stage, would cause film audiences to see him as Mostel, rather than the character of Tevye. Before the 1971 film version, Topol had played Tevye in over 400 performances in London. Since the film's release, he has played the milkman over 2,000 times in places from United States and Canada, to Europe, Japan, and Australia.
"Anyone who ever plays Tevye should be thankful to Zero Mostel. He gave us all room and I know I wouldn't have done the movie without the advantage of a year's rehearsal on stage."
Director Norman Jewison: " One reason I liked Topol's performance so much on the stage was that he projected his sense of destiny as, and pride in being, a Jew. His Tevye never loses dignity and strength; he is a man who knows who he is and where he's going."
To make Topol look older, the makeup team clipped 15 white hairs from Jewison's beard and applied them to Topol's eye brows (seven on the left, eight on the right).
Topol was on active duty with the Israeli army when he was nominated for an Oscar for "Fiddler on the Roof" in early 1972. He was granted leave so he could attend the ceremony in Los Angeles that year...
NEW YORK – Jerry Bock, who composed some of the most memorable shows in Broadway history, including "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Fiorello!" has died. He was 81.
Richard M. Ticktin, Bock's attorney and family friend, said the composer died Wednesday morning at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, N.Y., of heart failure.
Together with lyricist Sheldon Harnick, Bock wrote the powerful score to "Fiddler on the Roof," one of the most successful productions in the history of the American musical theater, having an initial run of eight years. It earned the two men Tony Awards in 1965.
Bock had recently spoken at a memorial service for "Fiddler" playwright Joseph Stein, who died Oct. 24. "So now two of the three creators of 'Fiddler on the Roof' have passed away within three weeks of each other," said Ticktin.
Bock and Harnick also took home Tonys and a Pulitzer Prize for the music and lyrics to "Fiorello!" in 1960. In addition, Bock was nominated for Tonys in 1967 for "The Apple Tree" and in 1971 for "The Rothschilds."
"The world will remember him as a gentle human being with great talent who was a collaborator in musical theater. Jerry believed that the essence of musical theater was the collaboration — working with your colleagues, trying to make a unified whole out of disparate parts," Ticktin said.
Bock's other works include "The Body Beautiful," "Mr. Wonderful" and "She Loves Me."
In 2004, Bock said his favorite moment in the creation of a song was playing it with his collaborator. "If it works, we say, 'Wow!'" Bock said. "There's no reward like it — to finish a song and celebrate it with your partner."
Survivors include his wife, Patti, daughter Portia Bock, son George Bock and granddaughter Edie Mae Shipler. Funeral services will be private, his lawyer said.
