Shmuel Rodensky

Shmuel Rodensky (Hebrew: שמואל רודנסקי; 10 December 1902 – 18 July 1989) was a Russian-born Israeli actor whose career in stage, film, and television spanned six decades across Israel, West Germany, and Switzerland. Born in Smorgon in the Russian Empire, he fled to Ukraine during World War I and was subsequently expelled during the Russian Revolution. He traveled to Poland, entered Hamburg on a forged Polish passport, and ultimately settled in Mandatory Palestine in 1924.

His early years in Mandatory Palestine were spent in manual labor, including draining swamps, field work, and construction. He pursued formal training at the drama studio of the Eretz Israel Theatre in Tel Aviv, where he met stage actress Raya Nura Shein; the two married in 1928. Between 1928 and 1948 Rodensky performed with several theatre companies, among them the Eretz Israel Theatre, Hakumkum (The Kettle), and Hamatate (The Broom). In 1949 he responded to a newspaper advertisement seeking performers at the Habima Theatre in Tel Aviv and went on to become one of its principal players, earning the informal distinction of being called "the Israeli Laurence Olivier."

At Habima, Rodensky took on a wide range of dramatic roles, including Iago in Othello and the cardinal in The Deputy, as well as satirical work such as Ephraim Kishon's 1953 play Yiddishpiel. He also formed several artistic partnerships during this period. With fellow Habima actor Shmuel Segal, he created a Yiddish-speaking comedic duo called The Shmuliks, later expanded into The Three Shmuliks when Habima actor Shmuel Atzmon joined them. The trio performed in Israel and abroad, including at the 35th-anniversary celebration of the Yiddish State Theater in Warsaw in 1985, as part of the Israeli delegation invited by the Polish government. With Segal and another Habima actor named Goldenberg, Rodensky was also a member of Die Kleine Mentshalach ("The Little People"), a Yiddish-language trio that performed dramatic readings of works by Sholem Aleichem. A third satirical trio, formed with Jacob Timen and Esther Gamlielit of Hamatate, rounded out his collaborative work during these years.

Rodensky appeared on Broadway in 1964 in two productions: the play The Dybbuk and Each Had Six Wings. These credits placed him among the international performers who brought Yiddish and Israeli theatrical traditions to American stages during that era.

His most celebrated stage role was Tevye the Dairyman in Fiddler on the Roof. In 1965 he replaced Bomba Tzur in the second year of the Israeli production staged at the Godik Theater, ultimately appearing in 350 performances. During a ten-week absence caused by illness, he was replaced by Chaim Topol, an episode that launched Topol's own career as Tevye on stage and screen. Rodensky also briefly performed the role in a Yiddish-language production of the musical. In 1968 he traveled to Hamburg to join the German-language production, titled Anatevka, which premiered on February 1 of that year. His portrayal of Tevye made him widely popular throughout West Germany, and he performed the role more than 1,400 times, also touring with a production in Switzerland. He appeared on the German-language recording of the Hamburg premiere. On September 4, 1972, the evening before a Palestinian terrorist group infiltrated the Israeli Olympic athletes' quarters during the Munich Olympics, the Israeli team attended a German-language performance of Fiddler on the Roof at the Deutsches Theater in Munich as guests of Rodensky. The Israelis received glasses of wine during the intermission and posed for photographs with him. The last production in which Rodensky acted was The Spine, which premiered on January 10, 1988 at the Habima Theatre, where he played the role of Dr. Willy. The production ran for only seven performances before closing in deference to his illness.

Rodensky's screen career began with the 1935 Israeli film Zot Hi Ha'aretz (This is the Land). He was cast as Reb Pinchas in Shnei Kuni Lemel (The Flying Matchmaker), the Israeli entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1966. He reprised the role of Tevye on screen in the 1968 Israeli film Tevye and His Seven Daughters. His international film work included the role of Simon Wiesenthal in the 1974 Anglo-German film The Odessa File and the role of Jethro in the 1974 BBC television miniseries Moses the Lawgiver. He also appeared in additional film and television productions in West Germany and Switzerland.

Among his recorded works are the 1968 album Anatevka (Deutsche Originalaufnahme), the 1968 album Shmuel Rodensky Singt Lieder Seiner Heimat In Deutscher Sprache, and the 1974 album Shmuel Rodensky Liest Satiren Von Ephraim Kishon. He also released the 1968 single Wenn Ich Einmal Reich Wär / Zum Wohl.

Rodensky received numerous honors in both Israel and West Germany. He was named a Worthy Citizen of Tel Aviv in 1982. In 1983 he received both the Federal Service Cross from the Federal Republic of Germany and the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement, as well as the Rudolf Küstermeier Prize in Tel Aviv, which recognized his contribution to the interpretation of Israeli culture in West Germany. He received the Meyer Margalit Prize in 1984. President of Germany Gustav Heinemann described Rodensky as "Israel's greatest ambassador of reconciliation." In 2001–2002 the Tel Aviv Municipality affixed a memorial plaque to his home at 1 Rachel Street as part of its effort to honor artists and intellectuals who had lived in the city. Rodensky died of a heart attack in Tel Aviv on 18 July 1989.