World’s oldest working actor dies at 101

Russian actor Vladimir Zeldin, who was described as the world’s oldest working actor, dies in Moscow at the age of 101.

Russian news agencies quotes his wife, Ivetta Kapralova, as saying he died this morning in a Moscow hospital.

Hoy murió gran actor Vladímir Zeldin.El Caballero de la imagen.Habría cumplido102años en febrero.Estuvo en la Escena hasta sus últimos dias. pic.twitter.com/9i4YOiK6Pf

— valevale (@cimonetca) October 31, 2016

Russian chief Rabbi Berel Lazar pays tribute to the actor he says never forgot his Jewish ancestry.

“He always remembered his Jewish roots and was not going to abandon them, although in the Soviet period, a Jewish name could significantly slow down your career,” Lazar says, according to the Russian media.

Zeldin shot to stardom with the role of a shepherd in “They Met in Moscow.” The shooting began a few months before the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The 26-year old Zeldin was conscripted and sent to the front line before Stalin’s order recalled him to Moscow to continue the shoot.

The actor, whose career spanned from iconic movie parts in the 1940s to theater appearances in recent years, was due to appear on stage in early November.

— AP and Times of Israel staff