Trivia

Born Philip Finkel, but adopted the Yiddish translation for Philip (Fyvush) for his career.

Fyvush appeared in the touring company of "Fiddler On The Roof" for 12 years. Initially he performed the role of the innkeeper, but ultimately assumed the lead role of Tevye.

Born in Brooklyn, the third of four sons of Jewish immigrant parents, Mary (Beda), a housewife from Minsk, Belarus (then part of Russia), and Harry Finkel, a tailor from Warsaw, Poland.

Fyvush is Yiddish for Philip, a name he used in school.

In 2007, the 85-year-old character actor appeared in David Ives' play, "New Jerusalem", at the Classic Stage Company in New York City. Finkel played a synagogue board member in the show, which focused on the 1656 banishment of philosopher Baruch de Spinoza from Amsterdam's Jewish community.

He played child roles on stage until he was a teenager. He attended a vocational high school to learn the fur industry, but he never worked in furs. He joined a Yiddish stock company, playing to Yiddish-speaking audiences in smaller cities and towns.

Has two sons: Ian Finkel, a musical arranger, and Elliot Finkel, a concert pianist.

Has three grandchildren and one great-grandchild.