Zero Mostel

Samuel "Zero" Mostel (February 28 1915 – September 8 1977) was an American stage and film actor best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in The Producers. He was blacklisted during the 1950s, and his testimony before HUAC was well-publicized. He was a Tony Award and Obie Award winner. Mostel was born as Samuel Joel Mostel to Israel Mostel, an Eastern European Jew, and Cina (Celia), née Druchs, also from a Jewish family, who was born in Poland and raised in Vienna. The two immigrated to the United States (separately: Israel in 1898 and Cina in 1908), where they met and married. Israel already had four children from his first wife; he had four more children with Cina. Samuel, later known as Zero, was Israel's seventh child. Initially living in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn, the family moved to Moodus, Connecticut, where they bought a farm. The family’s... full article at wikipedia