Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Zero Mostel
Sign in to saveAlso known as Samuel Joe Mostel, Sammy Mostel, Samuel Joel Mostel
American actor (1915-1977)
OverviewAI-generated
Zero Mostel (1915–1977) was an American film, stage, television, and voice actor. Born Samuel Joel Mostel in Brooklyn, he was a member of the American Jewish ethnic group. He received his education at the City College of New York, the Art Students League of New York, and New York University. Mostel served in the United States Army and began his professional work period in 1943.
His notable works include *The Producers*, *Fiddler on the Roof*, and *A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum*. He received Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play and Best Actor in a Musical, and was also nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. His works are held in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery.
Mostel died in Philadelphia from an aortic aneurysm. He was the father of Josh Mostel.
Synthesized by Vinony from 41 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Crossref, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
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.)2005
- Broadway's Lost Treasures — Tevye (segment "Fiddler On The Roof")2003
- The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years — Self (archive footage)1986
- Muppet Treasures — Self1985
- Best Boy — Self1979
- Watership Down — Kehaar (voice)1978
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1915
- Active to
- 1977
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 12,402
- Total plays
- 64,215
Tags
Early life Mostel was born as Samuel Joel Mostel to Israel Mostel, an Eastern European Jew, and Cina "Celia" 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. <a href="https://www.last.fm/music/Zero+Mostel"
Key facts
- Born
- Samuel Joel Mostel , ( 1915-02-28 ) February 28, 1915, Brooklyn , New York City, U.S.
- Died
- September 8, 1977 (1977-09-08) (aged 62), Philadelphia , Pennsylvania, U.S.
- Alma mater
- City College of New York , New York University
- Occupations
- Actor comedian singer
- Years active
- 1941–1977
- Spouses
- Clara Sverd ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1939 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1944 ) Kate Harkin ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1944 )
- Children
- 2, including Josh
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United States
- Place of birth
- Brooklyn
- Place of death
- Philadelphia
- Child
- Josh Mostel
- Occupation
- actor
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Student of
- Don Richardson
- Field of work
- acting
- Genre
- Western
- Military branch
- United States Army
- Image
- Zeromostel.jpg
Show 10 more facts
- Commons category
- Zero Mostel
- date of birth
- 1915-02-28
- date of death
- 1977-09-08
- nominated for
- Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
- cause of death
- aortic aneurysm
- start of work period
- 1943-00-00
- has works in the collection
- National Portrait Gallery
- ethnic group
- American Jews
- birth name
- Samuel Joel Mostel
- manner of death
- natural causes
Sources (10)
via Wikidata · CC0
~24 min read
Encyclopedic overview
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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Zero Mostel” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.