Zero Mostel

Also known as Samuel Joe Mostel, Sammy Mostel, Samuel Joel Mostel

American actor (1915-1977)

Person · Open Library

Born: 1915
Died: 1977
Works: 6

Top works

The producers
Fiddler on the roof
Fiddler on the roof
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum
A funny thing happened on the way to the forum

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Brooklyn, New York, USA

Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye onstage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus onstage and onscreen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version of The Producers. He was blacklisted during the 1950s, and his testimony…

Known for

Remembering Gene Wilder — Self (archive footage)2024
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped — Self (archive footage)2018
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise — Self (archive footage)2013
Hitler: The Comedy Years — Max Bialystock (archive footage) (uncredited)2007
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards — Pseudolus ("A Funny Thing Happened on the ...") (arch. foot.)

Article

Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. Mostel received several accolades including three Tony Awards and a Drama Desk Award as well as nominations for a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award. He is also a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame, inducted posthumously in 1979.

He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters including Tevye on stage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus on stage and on screen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version of Mel Brooks' The Producers (1967). Mostel was a student of Don Richardson and he used an acting technique based on muscle memory.