Playwright Joseph Stein, who turned a Yiddish short story into the classic Broadway musical "Fiddler on the Roof" and later wrote the screenplay for its successful movie adaptation, has died at age 98. Stein, who won a Tony Award for his work on "Fiddler," also supplied the book, or story, for nearly a dozen other musicals, including "Zorba," "Mr. Wonderful" and "Plain and Fancy." He also wrote for radio and for television during its early golden age, working for such performers as Henry Morgan, Sid Caesar and Phil Silvers. But it was "Fiddler," based on Sholom Aleichem's "Tevye and His Daughters," that proved to be his biggest hit. Featuring a score by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and direction and choreography by Jerome Robbins, the show opened on Broadway in September 1964 and ran for more than 3,200 performances.
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FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Wikipedia notes