Chaim Topol, an Israeli actor best known for playing the milkman in Fiddler on the Roof and singing about the value of tradition in the face of change in his Russian shtetl, died Thursday at the age of 87 at his Tel Aviv home. Topol played Tevye in the musical in both Hebrew and English from 1966 until its final performance in 2009. He earned notoriety, acclaim, and an Oscar nomination for his role in Norman Jewison's hit 1971 film adaptation. If I Were a Rich Man, Topol's rendition of the well-known song will live on in music history.
He began acting while serving his mandatory military service with his unit's theater company. He was born in Tel Aviv in 1935, 13 years before the establishment of the State of Israel. There he met Galia, the woman who would marry him for 60 years.
Topol avoided talking about politics, but spent a lot of time on charitable and philanthropic projects, such as one for sick and disabled children and their families. He also dabbled in painting. To donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale to one of his charity projects, he created a series of portraits of Israeli presidents that appeared on stamps in 2013.