Israeli Actor Chaim Topol, known professionally as Topol, has passed away at age 87. The official cause of death is said to be the effects of Alzheimer's Disease. He was born in Tel Aviv in 1935 and grew up in a modest family setting. He began performing during a stint in the Israeli army. In 1964, the 29 year-old landed the leading role in the acclaimed Israeli film satire "Sallah Shabati", which was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar. It also gained Topol a Golden Globe award for Most Promising Male Newcomer. It set the pattern for the young actor to excel at playing characters far older than his actual age. In 1966, he was cast in a major Hollywood production- Kirk Douglas's "Cast a Giant Shadow", which chronicled the battles surrounding the founding of the state of Israel as seen through the eyes of American Army officer Mickey Marcus, played by Douglas, who played a key role in establishing the Israeli military as a fighting force. Topol had a plum role in a film that featured supporting performances by such heavyweights as John Wayne, Frank Sinatra and Yul Brynner.
Topol had first played his signature role of the Russian milkman Tevye in the stage musical "Fiddler on the Roof" in Israel at age thirty, even though the character was much older. He had seen Zero Mostel's acclaimed starring role in the production on Broadway, little dreaming that he would follow in his footsteps. However, in 1967, producer Hal Prince cast Topol in the part for the West End stage production in London. The show was a smash hit and Topol was on his way to stardom. He would eventually play the role in the Broadway revival in the early 1990s, earning a Tony Award nomination. However, most people became acquainted with him through director Norman Jewison's 1971 big screen musical adaptation. The film bucked the recent trend of high-priced screen musicals bombing and became a major hit, with Topol getting a Best Actor Oscar nomination. (He lost to Gene Hackman for "The French Connection".) He appeared as a villain in the 1980 film "Flash Gordon". In 1981, he was cast as the mysterious and charismatic Greek smuggler Columbo opposite Roger Moore in the James Bond film "For Your Eyes Only". His genuine chemistry with Moore would make him one of the more popular Bond allies in the film series' history. He would also appear in the mega-budget TV productions of "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance".