--- name: "Chaim Topol" canonical: "https://film.one/person/chaim-topol" roles: ["Actor"] born: "9 September 1935" died: "8 March 2023" reviewed_on_fi1m: 1 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-18T11:31:49.557635+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Chaim Topol Actor. Born 9 September 1935 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Died 8 March 2023. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 9 September 1935, Tel Aviv, Israel - **Died:** 8 March 2023 - **Also known as:** Haym Topol, חיים טופול, Topol - **Golden Globes:** 2 Golden Globes (2 won) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Topol, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q319133, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0867694/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10501 ## Fi1m on Chaim Topol > Topol was a young man who made a career of playing old ones, and one part in particular: Tevye, on stage more than three thousand times and once on film. He was warm, loud and unembarrassed, and in small parts he was a gift. The thing to watch in *For Your Eyes Only* (1981) is not Roger Moore but the smuggler cracking pistachios beside him. Topol's Milos Columbo is a man who finds his own danger funny, and he laughs at it with his whole chest while everyone else in the film is being grim. The plot keeps hauling Bond off elsewhere; it lifts whenever it gets back aboard Columbo's boat. We caught ourselves waiting for him, as you wait for the one guest who will make a dull party bearable, and the reason is simple: he is the only person on screen who looks as though he is enjoying himself. That warmth, earthy and slightly larger than life, was his stock in trade. He came to it by an odd route: a printer, then an army entertainment troupe, then a hand in founding the Haifa municipal theatre in 1961, then a breakthrough in the Israeli film *Sallah Shabati* (1964). Two years after that he put on the make-up and played Tevye for the first time, in Israel in 1966 and in London in 1967. He was barely into his thirties. Playing old men young was a technique with him, a matter of locked muscles and paint, and he was unbothered by anyone who thought it a trick: "A good actor can play an old man, a sad face, a happy man. Makeup is not an obstacle." Norman Jewison's film of *Fiddler on the Roof* (1971) fixed him in the world's mind, and the arguments about it have never quite stopped. The general view was that his Tevye was natural and dignified, a working man rather than a turn; a minority thought him too vigorous, too Israeli, and missed the softer Yiddish and American readings of the part. We are with the majority. A milkman who argues with God ought to have the shoulders for it. He went on playing the role on stage until 2009, more than 3,500 times, which is a length of service most actors would find unbearable and he did not. The rest was smaller and often better than it needed to be: Dr Hans Zarkov in *Flash Gordon* (1980), Columbo the year after, *The Winds of War* on television in 1983. He was, by any measure, typecast, and he was asked about it for the rest of his life. His answer was the sensible one. "How many people are known for one part? How many people in my profession are known worldwide? So I am not complaining." Neither should we. If all you know is the milkman, find the smuggler, and watch what he does with a bag of pistachios. ## Biography Chaim Topol (1935–2023), often billed simply as Topol, was an Israeli actor and singer. He began his career after military service in an army entertainment unit and made his film debut in the early 1960s. He is best known for playing Tevye in the stage musical *Fiddler on the Roof*, performing the role more than 3,500 times between 1967 and 2009, and in the 1971 film adaptation. Other notable screen roles include Dr Hans Zarkov in *Flash Gordon* (1980) and Milos Columbo in the James Bond film *For Your Eyes Only* (1981). He also appeared in *Cast a Giant Shadow* (1966), *The Winds of War* (1983) and *seaQuest DSV* (1993). Topol received a Golden Globe for his performance in *Fiddler on the Roof* and an Academy Award nomination. He was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement in 2015. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, 007.info.* ## On Fi1m (1) - *For Your Eyes Only* (1981), Fi1m 68, as Milos Columbo — [page](https://film.one/film/for-your-eyes-only.md) ## Complete filmography (27) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Bialik - King of the Jews* (2014), as Hayim Nahman Bialik - *Inside 'For Your Eyes Only'* (2000), Acting - *Left Luggage* (1998), as Yacov Apfelschnitt - *seaQuest DSV* (1993), series, as Dr. Rafik Hassan - *War and Remembrance* (1988), series, as Berel Jastrow - *Queenie* (1987), series, as Dimitri Goldner - *Roman Behemshechim* (1985), as Effi Avidar - *The Winds of War* (1983), series, as Berel Jastrow - *For Your Eyes Only* (1981), as Milos Columbo — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/for-your-eyes-only.md) - *Flash Gordon* (1980), as Dr. Hans Zarkov - *The House on Garibaldi Street* (1979), as Michael - *Tales of the Unexpected* (1979), series, as Professor Max Kelada - *Galileo* (1975), as Galileo Galilei - *The Going Up of David Lev* (1973), as Chaim - *Follow Me!* (1972), as Julian Cristoforou - *Fiddler on the Roof* (1971), as Tevye - *The Rooster* (1971), as Gadi Zur - *Norman Jewison, Film Maker* (1971), Thanks - *Before Winter Comes* (1969), as Janovic - *A Talent for Loving* (1969), as Mexikanischer Bandit - *Ervinka* (1967), as Ervinka, Producer - *Cast a Giant Shadow* (1966), as Abou Ibn Kader - *Sallah* (1964), as Sallah Shabati - *Tel Katzir* (1964), as Narrator (voice) - *El Dorado* (1963), as Benny Sherman - *The True Story of Palestine* (1962), Acting - *I Like Mike* (1961), as Micha ## Gallery - ![Chaim Topol](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-d781f8ae7675.jpg) Chaim Topol — Rob C. Croes / Anefo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Chaim_Topol_%281971%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958)](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-6bc904459e18.jpg) להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958) — ראובן יהודאי - IDF Spokesperson's Unit photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_I.jpg/1280px-Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_I.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958)](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-60d66362d708.jpg) להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958) — ראובן יהודאי - IDF Spokesperson's Unit photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_II.jpg/1280px-Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_II.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958)](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-cfb9087c0b89.jpg) להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958) — ראובן יהודאי - IDF Spokesperson's Unit photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_III.jpg/1280px-Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_III.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Chaim Topol](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-23e9212800d0.jpg) Chaim Topol — Image via TMDB - ![Chaim Topol](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-6a6ffe17c06b.jpg) Chaim Topol — Image via TMDB - ![Chaim Topol](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-192ec3171c65.jpg) Chaim Topol — Image via TMDB - ![להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958)](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-2791c1517ae4.jpg) להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958) — ראובן יהודאי - IDF Spokesperson's Unit photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_IV.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958)](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-60ebb49304ee.jpg) להקת בצל ירוק בחזרות לתכניתם השנייה "הופ עברנו". בין המשתתפים: אורי זוהר, חיים טופול, יונה עטרי, עליזה רוזן, אליהו ברקאי (ברקו), נחמה הנדל, גבי עמרני ויוסף אורג (1958) — ראובן יהודאי - IDF Spokesperson's Unit photographer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Batzal_Yaroks_Second_Show%2C_1958_V.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Chaim Topol](https://film.one/media/person/1028387/gallery-980b4331ec33.jpg) Chaim Topol — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated - 1972: Best Actor (nominated), for *Fiddler on the Roof* ### Golden Globes — 2 won - 1972: Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (won), for *Fiddler on the Roof* - 1965: New Star of the Year – Actor (won) ### Other awards — 2 won, 1 nominated - Israel Prize 2015: Israel Prize (won) - Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical 1991: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical (nominated) - Kinor David 1964: Kinor David (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/chaim-topol