obituary

Actor Chaim Topol plays the role of Tevye in the famous play 'Fiddler on the Roof' in a theatrical production on December 21, 1997. (Flash90)

March 9, 2023, 6:18 am

Chaim Topol, iconic ‘Tevye’ of film and stage, dies at 87

Oscar-nominated actor, an Israel Prize laureate, gained global recognition for his role as the grumbling ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ milkman, whom he played over 3,500 times on stage

By Amy Spiro

Walter Mirisch, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at the organization's headquarters in Beverly Hills on September 16, 1975. (AP Photo/George Brich)

February 26, 2023, 11:55 pm

Walter Mirisch, Oscar-winning filmmaker who produced ‘West Side Story,’ dies at 101

Astute producer hailed as ‘true visionary’ by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; he also helped make ‘Some Like it Hot,’ ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and countless other movies

By AP

Moses Elisaf, shown in 2021, was the first Jewish person elected mayor of a city in Greece and also the longtime leader of the Ioannina Jewish community. (Nikos D. Karabelas/Wikimedia Commons via JTA)

February 18, 2023, 7:28 am

Moses Elisaf, first Jewish mayor of a city in Greece, dies at 68

Elisaf was also the long-time leader of the Jewish community of Ioannina, once home to one of Greece’s largest populations of Romaniote Jews

By Gabe Friedman

Composer Burt Bacharach, left, and lyricist Hal David hold Oscars they won for 'Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head' from 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' at the Academy Awards, April 7, 1970. (Bettmann/Getty Images via JTA)

February 10, 2023, 4:05 am

Burt Bacharach, sophisticated Jewish hitmaker of the ’60s and ’70s, dies at 94

Acclaimed composer turned out a string of hits like ‘Walk on By’ and ‘I Say a Little Prayer’ with longtime lyricist partner Hal David, a fellow Jewish New Yorker

By Andrew Silow-Carroll

Composer Burt Bacharach performs in Milan, Italy on July 16, 2011. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno, File)

February 9, 2023, 11:36 pm

‘A titan of beautiful song’: Tributes pour in for legendary composer Burt Bacharach

American Jewish songwriter and pianist behind ‘I say a little Prayer’ dies at 94, remembered for romantic, melancholic ballads that blurred line between jazz and pop

By Huw Griffith and Susan Stumme

Dr. Charles Silverstein, therapist and LGBTQ rights activist, died on January 30 at the age of 87. (YouTube screenshot; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the copyright law)

February 7, 2023, 7:47 pm

Charles Silverstein, who helped delist homosexuality as mental illness, dies at 87

The Jewish American therapist, author and activist was best known for role in securing the landmark DSM reclassification in 1973 and for his canonical book ‘The Joy of Gay Sex’

By Yaakov Schwartz

Grigory Kanovich wrote dozens of works about the Lithuanian Jewish experience. (Courtesy of Sergey Kanovich/ via JTA)

January 24, 2023, 10:13 am

Grigory Kanovich, award-winning author who chronicled Lithuanian Jewry, dies at 93

Born in 1929 in the shtetl of Janova, an almost entirely Jewish village just north of Kaunas, the writer and his family escaped the Holocaust in Soviet-controlled Central Asia

By David I. Klein

Italian actress and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) goodwill ambassador Gina Lollobrigida poses on the red carpet, on the occasion of World Food Day, at the 4th edition of the Rome Film Festival, in Rome, October 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)

January 16, 2023, 4:09 pm

Italian film legend Gina Lollobrigida, a 1950s international sex symbol, dies at 95

Actress and filmmaker started her career in beauty pageants and was propelled to fame after WWII with movies such as ‘The World’s Most Beautiful Woman’ and ‘Come September’

By Frances D'Emilio

Lisa Marie Presley arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Mad Max: Fury Road" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on May 7, 2015. Presley, singer and only child of Elvis, died Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, after a hospitalization, according to her mother, Priscilla Presley. She was 54. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

January 13, 2023, 7:38 am

Lisa Marie Presley, singer and daughter of Elvis, dies at 54

Presley followed in her father’s footsteps, releasing her own rock albums; a turbulent private life saw her married 4 times, including to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage

By KRISTIN M. HALL and Hillel Italie

Chinese President Jiang Zemin at a press conference in Beijing, one day before his departure for an eight-day visit to the US, October 25, 1997. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)

November 30, 2022, 1:52 pm

Jiang Zemin, ex-China leader who led economic boom, political repression, dies at 96

A former soap factory manager, Jiang was about to retire when he got top job in aftermath of brutal crackdown on 1989 Tiananmen protests, and was president from 1993 to 2003

By AP and ToI Staff

Friars Club dean Freddie Roman poses for photos at the Friars Club Roast of Don Rickles at the Waldorf Astoria on June 24, 2013 in New York. (Greg Allen/Invision/AP)

November 28, 2022, 10:49 am

Comedian Freddie Roman, a Borscht Belt icon, dies at age 85

Born Fred Kirschenbaum, the longtime stand-up comic and former dean of The Friars Club is remembered by friends as ‘the ultimate pro with the biggest heart’

By Lindsey Bahr

Michael Shafir in a 2011 interview. (Screenshot: YouTube; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

November 24, 2022, 10:11 am

Michael Shafir, scholar who wrote ‘encyclopedia’ of Holocaust denial, dies at 78

Israeli-Romanian researcher, who played key role in Holocaust memory in the former Soviet country, is remembered for his straightforward, humorous presentation of difficult truths

By MARCEL GASCÓN BARBERÁ

Henry Rosovsky was a longtime leader at Harvard University. He died in November 2022 at 95. (Jim Harrison/Courtesy of Harvard Hillel via JTA)

November 19, 2022, 1:28 pm

Henry Rosovsky, refugee from the Nazis who shaped Harvard University, dies at 95

Rosovsky, an economist, led a committee charged with improving conditions for Black students and shepherded the flourishing of Jewish life on campus

By Penny Schwartz

Gerald Stern speaks to the audience during the National Book Awards in New York November 18, 1998. (AP Photo/Osamu Honda, File)

October 30, 2022, 2:09 am

Gerald Stern, prize-winning US poet who explored ‘the idea of a Jew,’ dies at 97

New Jersey’s first poet laureate wrote with spirited melancholy and earthly humor about childhood, death and the divisions between rich and poor and Jews and non-Jews in Pittsburgh

By Hillel Italie

Jerry Lee Lewis props his foot on the piano as he lays back and acknowledges the applause of fans during the fifth annual Rock 'n' Roll Revival at New York's Madison Square Garden on March 14, 1975. (AP Photo/Rene Perez, File)

October 28, 2022, 11:04 pm

Jerry Lee Lewis, rock ‘n’ roll’s outrageous pioneer, dies at 87

Lewis shot to prominence with hits like ‘Great Balls of Fire’ and ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,’ but career marred by controversy, including news he married a 13-year-old cousin

By Hillel Italie