Did You Know?

To get the look he wanted for the film, director Norman Jewison told Director of Photography Oswald Morris, who was famous for shooting color films in unusual styles, to shoot the film in an earthy tone. Morris saw a woman wearing brown nylon hosiery, thought "That's the tone we want," asked the woman for the stockings on the spot, and shot the entire film with a stocking over the lens. The weave can be detected in some scenes. Morris also shot the musical number "Tevye's Dream" in sepia rather than in full color. He had previously filmed Moulin Rouge with a color style made to resemble Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings and Moby Dick in a color style made to resemble 19th century engravings of life at sea.

The title comes from a painting by Russian artist Marc Chagall called "The Dead Man" which depicts a funeral scene and shows a man playing a violin on a roof top. It is also used by Tevye in the story as a metaphor for trying to survive in a difficult, constantly changing world.

Director Norman Jewison made blue-eyed actor Paul Michael Glaser wear brown-eyed contacts, even though Mr. Glaser is of Jewish ancestry.

Paul Michael Glaser recorded a song called "Any Day Now" which did not appear in the stage version and was written especially for this film. However, it was cut in the interest of time and content.

Topol had already played the role of Tevye in the original London production of the stage musical.

Assi Dayan was cast in the part of Perchik but couldn't handle the English dialogue and was replaced by Paul Michael Glaser.

Zero Mostel, who created the role of Tevye on Broadway, was reportedly bitter that he did not play the role in the movie. Years later, when his son Josh Mostel received a phone call offering him the role of Blotto in the TV series Delta House, he reportedly yelled, "Tell them to ask Topol's son if he wants the job!"

According to the Casting Notes on the special edition DVD, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn and John Ritter all had appointments (probably for auditions, as character names were listed) for various roles including Motel, Perchik, and Fyedka. Also listed for probable auditions are Rob Reiner for Motel; Leland Palmer for Hodel and Tzeitel; Richard Thomas for Fyedka; Katey Sagal for an unspecified role; and Talia Shire (listed on the appointment sheet as Talia Coppola) for Hodel and Tzeitel. As the auditions were held in January 1970, most were very early in their careers.

The Broadway stage production of "Fiddler on the Roof" opened at the Imperial Theater in New York on September 22, 1964 and ran for 3,242 performances, setting a record for the longest running show on Broadway passing "Life With Father" that held the record for 25 years. In the original cast as Tevye was Zero Mostel. Bea Arthur, best known to audiences as Dorothy on TV's The Golden Girls, played Yente the Matchmaker. "Fiddler on the Roof" won the 1965 Tony Awards (New York City) for the Best Musical, Best Author and Best Score. The original Broadway production is the fourteenth longest running show ever.

During the record setting original Broadway run (3,242 performances) and the need to replace cast members from time to time, those who appeared in the original stage production include Bea Arthur, Adrienne Barbeau, Herschel Bernardi, Bert Convy, Leonard Frey, Maria Karnilova and Bette Midler.

It was only because President Tito of Yugoslavia was a huge movie fan that he allowed the film to be made in his country. His Russian counterparts were less pleased as the film is openly critical of the pogroms.

Every time Topol talks on camera to God, he's talking to a white ball on the end of a stick held out of camera range.

Jewison had Tutte Lemkow - the actor who plays the fiddler - try seven different instruments until he found the one that fit right.

Talia Shire auditioned for the role of Hodel.

The film was a surprise hit in Japan where its obvious love for crumbling tradition struck a chord with Japanese audiences.

The production design department scoured Europe looking for suitable locations, finding that most of the original villages had been destroyed by the Nazis during WWII. They eventually found what they required in rural Yugoslavia, in what is now Croatia.

Director Norman Jewison eshewed the levity of the stage production as he felt that the material deals with some fairly serious themes. This is why he adopted a more realistic approach to the material.

Topol was nominated for the 1991 Tony Award (New York City) for Actor in a Musical for "Fiddler on the Roof" for recreating his film role of Tevye and is still performing the role in regional theater (2009).