Rosalind Harris lit a yahrzeit  candle. The actress who was Tzeitel in the 1971 film felt she had to, as the ‘eldest daughter’ then sent a photo of the flame to her screen sisters, each of whom cried when they heard that Chaim Topol had died.

“It doesn’t seem real,” said Rosalind, as Michele Marsh, who played Hodol, wrote: “I am so saddened by the loss of my Fiddler [On The Roof] papa.” Neva Small, the movie’s Chava, knew Topol would be greatly missed and thanked him for “creating a beloved performance that helped the world to understand Sholem Aleichem’s concept of a Jewish dairyman and father of five daughters as universal.”

Topol with his screen daughter Tzeitel – actress Rosalind Harris

Although Zero Mostel originated the stage role of Tevye the milkman, for his film, director Norman Jewison wanted the lesser-known Chaim Topol, whom he felt was closer to the reality of the character. And Jewison was right.Other actors have played the part, and delivered, but pale beside Topol, who was Tevye.

Born in Tel Aviv to parents who fled Poland in the 1930s, Topol was a star in Israel by 1964, as his first film Sallah Shabati, a comedy about immigration, was a huge hit and won an Oscar for best foreign film. But Topol, like many Israeli men, was also a soldier in waiting, so left the London production of Fiddler to serve in the Six-Day War in 1967 and had just made the movie that would define his career when he served in the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

After Fiddler was released, Topol told The New York Times that he hoped it would help minorities to “understand they have rights and not to be pushed around by majorities that hopefully someday will understand it too”.

“He was a force of nature,” texted Rosalind on the WhatsApp group created for Jewish News’ Fiddler 50th anniversary celebration in 2021. “Topol will always be remembered for his dynamism and belief in Israel, which gave him a lifetime achievement award. I was lucky enough to not only play his daughter, but also his wife Golda on the Fiddler US tour.”

Topol with his grand-daughter Darya Margalith then aged 6

Topol’s youngest daughter, Adi, played Tevye’s youngest, Chava, at the Palladium in 1994, and remembered the nightly ritual of being shouted at by her dad for marrying Fyedka, being followed by a huge hug from her dad after the show. ”He needed that hug just as much as me,” she told Life, and it was the hug she longed for when she flew to Israel for her father’s funeral this month to be with her mother, Galia, brother Omer and sister Anat.

Chaim Topol with his daughter Adi

“The amount of stories we heard during the shiva but can’t repeat is astounding,” said Adi, overwhelmed at the number of visitors paying their respects. As one of Israel’s most famous citizens and biggest talent exports, this was to be expected, and global obituaries cited his performances in Cast a Giant Shadow with Kirk Douglas and opposite Roger Moore’s Bond in For Your Eyes Only. He even played Othello at the Chichester Festival and bought a London home, but Israel had his heart and drove his charity commitments.

“My father didn’t think about himself,” noted Adi. “There was an army of people, including his family, that had to look after him. Clothes didn’t interest him, he never read reviews and if he went to parties, it was because there was something to achieve outside of his career. Being an actorwas just the tip of the iceberg as he founded Variety Israel and the Jordan River Village, a holiday camp for children with terminal, chronicand life-threatening illnesses.”

Topol with his wife Galia

Adi sent a photo of Topol with her daughter Darya, then aged six, visiting the village (pictured, above left) and admitted that as her father’s health deteriorated, he was unable to help with raising funds for Jordan River, which is now facing financial issues.

“I think that if anyone loved and appreciated my dad, it would be amazing if they helped keep this children’s life-changing, soul-saving village open,” said Adi. “In honour of Topol and his selflessness and to remind us that the individual is part of the whole, and when we make life better for everyone, we are all included within the whole.”

Adi is staying on in Israel to be with her mother – “to help her adjust to the vacuum that’s left behind”.“Fiddler was on TV yesterday and I cried all the way through,” wrote Rosalind, signing off to her screen sisters. Topol may have left the stage, but his Tevye will stay with us forever.