Remembering Chaim Topol: Iconic Israeli Actor, Singer, and illustrator

Last Thursday we lost one of the great Jewish entertainers of our time with the death of Chaim Topol at the age of 87 after a multi-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

He was best known for his role as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof — first in stage productions of the famed Shalom Aleichem musical in London and then later in the iconic film, before eventually returning to the stage with the role.

It was during the London run that he began being known by his last name only, as the English producers were unable to pronounce his first name.

As Amy Spiro wrote in the The Times of Israel,

Born in Tel Aviv in 1935, Topol began his acting career while completing his service in the army’s entertainment troupe where he met his wife, Galia. After his release, he joined a theater group, appearing in multiple productions before his first film role, the 1961 drama “I Like Mike.”

But it was his 1964 role in the film “Sallah Shabati” that first gained Topol serious attention, both domestically and internationally. Topol played the title role in the now-iconic film about the hardships of a Mizrahi immigrant family living in a transit camp.

In later years, Topol – who also wrote several books and illustrated several others – devoted himself to philanthropy, in particular as president of the Jordan River Village. The facility, which opened in 2012, runs a year-round camp in the Galilee for children living with chronic illnesses and disabilities.

 Topol illustrated approximately 25 books in both Hebrew and English. He also produced drawings of Israeli national figures. His sketches of Israeli presidents were reproduced in a 2013 stamp series issued by the Israel Philatelic Federation, as was his self-portrait as Tevye for 2014 commemorative stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the Broadway debut of Fiddler on the Roof.

Video clips from "Fiddler" are showing up all over the Internet, but today we'll share two clips showing other sides of Topol... singing Eli, Eli, the poem written by Hannah Senesh, on Yom Hashoah in Auschwitz-Birkenau on a March of the Living in 2012, and a scene from Sallah Shabati.

A memorial ceremony was held on Friday morning at the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv. Hundreds of people came to pay their respects in the ceremony in which Culture and Sport Minister Mikki Zohar, Rivka Michaeli, Oded Cutler, Gabi Armani and Topol's daughter Adi gave speeches.

Zohar said "His works will be remembered for ever, etched into Israeli culture."

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO. 

 

 

Funniest Jewish Film Moments (A Tu B'Shvat Treat): The Tree Planting Scene from Sallah Shabati

One of the funniest films to come out of Israel is Sallah Shabati סאלח שבתי))

It's a 1964 comedy about the chaos of Israeli immigration and resettlement. This social satire placed the director Ephraim Kishon and producer Menahem Golan among the first Israeli filmmakers to achieve international success. It also introduced actor Chaim Topol (Fiddler on the Roof) to audiences worldwide.

The film's name, Sallah Shabati, is a play on words; ostensibly a Yemenite Jewish name, it is also intended to evoke the phrase סליחה שבאתי, "sorry that I came". In earlier print versions of Kishon's short stories which were revised for the film, the character was known as Saadia Shabtai.

The film begins with Sallah Shabati, a Mizrahi Jewish immigrant, arriving with his family in Israel. Upon arrival he is brought to live in a ma'abara, or transit camp. He is given a broken down, one room shack in which to live with his family and spends the rest of the movie attempting to make enough money to purchase adequate housing. His money-making schemes are often comical and frequently satirize the political and social stereotypes in Israel of the time.

In this scene, appropriate for tomorrow's holiday of Tu B'Shvat, the new year of the trees, Sallah is  working in a tree planting detail on a hillside in Israel. A government official plants a sign announcing the naming of a forest for an American donor couple just as they arrive in a taxi.  After they take a few photos of  their new tree and depart, the official plants a new sign with the name of another donor pair just as they arrive at the same spot.

The movie is in Hebrew and there are no English subtitles, but the story line is obvious and easy to follow.

Enjoy, and have a happy Tu B'Shvat! 

(A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.)