Tony- and Grammy Award-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick, best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof”, died on Friday at the age of 99, The Associated Press reported.
Harnick died in his sleep in New York City of natural causes, said Sean Katz, Harnick’s publicist.
Harnick was born April 30, 1924, to American Jewish parents and grew up in the Chicago neighborhood of Portage Park.
He began writing music while still in Carl Schurz High School in Chicago. After his Army service, he graduated from the Northwestern University School of Music with a Bachelor of Music degree, and worked with various orchestras in the Chicago area. He later moved to New York City and wrote for many musicals and revues.
Bock and Harnick first hit success for the music and lyrics to “Fiorello!,” which earned them each Tonys and a rare Pulitzer Prize in 1960. In addition, Harnick was nominated for Tonys in 1967 for “The Apple Tree,” in 1971 for “The Rothschilds” and in 1994 for “Cyrano &mdash The Musical.”
Their most well-known masterpiece was “Fiddler on the Roof”, which was based on Tevye and his Daughters, a series of stories by Sholem Aleichem written in Yiddish between 1894 and 1914.
The original Broadway production of “Fiddler on the Roof” launched in 1964 and starred Zero Mostel in the role of Tevye.
The original West End Production of the musical launched in 1967, and featured well-known Israeli actor Chaim Topol, who also played Tevye in the 1971 film adaptation.
Topol passed away in March at the age of 87. Bock died in 2010 at the age of 81.
Harnick and his wife, artist Margery Gray Harnick, had two children, Beth and Matthew, and four grandchildren. Harnick had an earlier marriage to actress Elaine May. He was a longtime member of the Dramatists Guild and Songwriters Guild.
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)