OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY
c. 1980
RICHARD
BERK, 72, of
Ann Arbor, died
March 5, 2023.
He is survived
by his son, Ian
Berk; brother
and sister-in-
law, Chuck and Debbie Berk
of California; sister and
brother-in-law, Shelley and
Mickey Eizelman of Oak
Park; many other family
members and friends.
Contributions may be
made to Jewish Hospice
& Chaplaincy Network,
6555 W. Maple Road, West
Bloomfield, MI 48322; or to
a charity of one’s choice. A
graveside service was held
at Beth Moses Cemetery in
Roseville. Arrangements by
Hebrew Memorial Chapel.
EVELYN
CANTOR, 105,
of West
Bloomfield, died
March 3, 2023.
She is survived
by her son, Michael Cantor;
daughter-in-law, Sherry
Cantor; grandchildren,
Jaime (Michael) Ben,
Joshua Cantor, Amy Cantor;
great-grandchildren,
Caryn Ben, Matthew Ben
and Hannah Ben; brother,
Joseph Grossman; many
nieces, nephews, other
loving family members and
friends.
Mrs. Cantor was the wife
of the late Harold Cantor;
mother of the late George
Cantor; mother-in-law of
the late Joyce Cantor; sister
of the late Samuel (the late
Charlotte) Grossman, the
late Daniel (the late Sandra)
Grossman, the late Rose
(the late Lou) Rosenfeld and
the late Zella (the late Paul)
Daugherty; grandmother of
the late Courtney Cantor;
sister-in-law of the late
Gertrude Grossman.
Contributions may be
made to the Courtney Lisa
Cantor Travel Scholarship
Fund at Temple Israel.
Interment took place
at Clover Hill Park
Cemetery in Birmingham.
Arrangements by Dorfman
Chapel.
CARL
FRIEDLANDER,
81, of Southfield,
died March 6,
2023.
He is survived
by his sisters and brother,
Linda Schwarz, Allen
Friedlander and Rabbi
Elaine Pollack; Linda’s
children, Julie and Reisz,
and Ken; Rabbi Elaine’s
children, Beth, Matthew
and Lisa; special friends,
Tom Totzke, Jerry Appel
and Tom Crown; Tom and
Stacey’s children, Jack,
Blair and Julian Totzke; his
beloved cousins, Bruce and
Carol Goldsmith; his great-
nieces and great-nephews.
The family would like to
thank Carl’s caregivers,
Davanee and Dena, and all
those in the past for their
devotion and support.
Mr. Friedlander was the
devoted son of the late
Frieda Friedlander and
the late Jack Friedlander;
special uncle of the late
Marc.
Interment was at Clover
Hill Park Cemetery.
Contributions may be
made to Ronald McDonald
(JTA)
C
haim Topol won a Golden
Globe for his portrayal of
an immigrant to Israel,
stepped off the stage in London to
fight for his country and had his
sketches of Israeli presidents turned
into postage stamps.
But the actor was, by far, best
known for his embodiment of Tevye
the Dairyman in Fiddler on the Roof,
first in the Israeli and London stag-
ings and then in the 1971 movie
that brought the musical about poor
shtetl Jews to the masses.
Topol died Thursday, March 9, in
Tel Aviv at 87, a day after his family
announced that he was near death.
He had suffered from Alzheimer’s
disease for some time.
Born in 1935 in Tel Aviv, Topol
served in the Israel Defense Forces
entertainment unit before embark-
ing on a career on stage and screen
that took him around the world. In
1967, he appeared as the lead char-
acter in London’s staging of Fiddler
on the Roof, which had been a break-
out hit on Broadway three years
before. In his early 30s at the time,
he wowed audiences and critics with
his portrayal of an older character.
But it was when he turned his
character over to an understudy
that his profile truly exploded. It
was June 1967 and Israel was locked
in a war with several Arab states;
Topol was called up as a soldier and
returned to Israel to serve in what
would ultimately be known as the
Six-Day War. Israel’s swift defeat of
an alliance of enemies caused the
world to notice the young country
and the actor who took part in its
victory.
“He had left London as a star; he
returned as a hero,
” Alisa Solomon
wrote in her 2013 book Wonder of
Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler
on the Roof. “Fiddler became a site
for celebration, drawing Jews as well
as gentiles to the theater — some for
repeat viewings — to bask in Jewish
perseverance and to pay homage
to Jewish survival. The show didn’t
change, but the atmosphere around
it did.
”
In one sign of Topol’s breakout
moment, his recording of “If I Were
a Rich Man” hit No. 9 on the British
charts — besting Aretha Franklin’s
“Respect” in July 1967.
From there, Topol was cast in
the film production of the musical,
beating out Zero Mostel — who
put an indelible stamp on Tevye as
the star of the original Broadway
production — as well as a host of
Jewish and non-Jewish movie stars.
Using only his last name — pur-
portedly because his first name was
easily mispronounced by non-He-
brew speakers — he ultimately
starred in more than 30 films in
both English and Hebrew, published
two books and released multiple
albums.
Topol won Israel’s most presti-
gious award, the Israel Prize, for his
lifetime of achievement in 2013.
He is survived by his wife,
Galia, an actor whom he married
in 1956; three children and their
children.
56 | MARCH 16 • 2023
Israeli
Actor Who
Played
Tevye in
‘Fiddler’
Dies At 87
Chaim Topol, Israeli actor who played
Tevye in 1971 ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ film,
dies at 87.