A long and productive life...

'Fiddler on the Roof' writer Stein dies at 98: Playwright was suffering from complications of a fall, wife says

Playwright Joseph Stein, who turned a Yiddish short story into the classic Broadway musical "Fiddler on the Roof" and later wrote the screenplay for its successful movie adaptation, has died at age 98.

His wife, Elisa Stein, said he died at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan on Sunday from complications of a fall. He had been hospitalized for treatment for prostate cancer, his relatives said.

"He was, I think, the most ebullient, optimistic and happy man I've ever known," said a son, Harry Stein, reached by phone on Monday. "He was constantly good humored, even in difficult times."

Stein's wife said he was a "very funny man" who "kept people in the hospital in stitches."

Stein, who won a Tony Award for his work on "Fiddler," also supplied the book, or story, for nearly a dozen other musicals, including "Zorba," "Mr. Wonderful" and "Plain and Fancy." He also wrote for radio and for television during its early golden age, working for such performers as Henry Morgan, Sid Caesar and Phil Silvers.

But it was "Fiddler," based on Sholom Aleichem's "Tevye and His Daughters," that proved to be his biggest hit. Featuring a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins, the show opened on Broadway in September 1964 and ran for more than 3,200 performances.

He had a very long career in the theatre, and lived to be 98, which are both blessings. And his writing delighted millions. 'Fiddler on the Roof' is my second favourite Broadway musical (the first being Les Les Misérables). Prior to his work in the theatre, he was of all things a psychiatric social worker, although he wrote comedy on the side.

I wish him peace, and his family solace.