Topol, star of 'Fiddler on the Roof' onscreen and onstage, dies at 87

Wide acclaim for his portrayal of Tevye helped make him, according to one newspaper, Israel's most famous export since the Jaffa orange

Topol, the Israeli actor who took on the role of the patriarch Tevye, the soulful shtetl milkman at the center of “Fiddler on the Roof,” in his late 20s and reprised the role for decades, died on Thursday at his home in Tel Aviv. He was 87.

His son, Omer Topol, confirmed the death. He said in an email that his father had Alzheimer’s disease, which had caused his health to deteriorate over the last year.

Topol — born Chaim Topol, he used only his surname throughout much of his professional life — came to international renown heading the cast of the