‘Fiddler on the Roof’ writer Joseph Stein dies at 98

London (ANI): Playwright Joseph Stein has died in New York at the age of 98. Stein, who wrote hit Broadway musical 'Fiddler on the Roof", also penned the screenplay for the hugely successful 1971 film adaptation of the classic Yiddish story which starred Topol as Jewish peasant milkman Tevye.

Stein died at a medical centre from complications after a fall, his wife Elisa said, reports the BBC. The writer had been in hospital suffering from prostate cancer. Stein, who won a Tony Award for his work on Fiddler, wrote the story for nearly a dozen other musicals including Zorba and Mr Wonderful.

He also wrote for early radio and for television shows. Stein worked for a star"s including Sid Caesar and Phil Silvers but his biggest hit was 'Fiddler on the Roof", which opened in Broadway in 1964. He wrote many popular books for stage musicals, such as 'Zorba', 'Enter Laughing' and 'The Baker's Wife'.