Paul R. Lipson was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 stage actor. At the time of his death, he had played the role of Tevye

Tevye

Tevye the Dairyman is the protagonist of several of Sholem Aleichem's stories, originally written in Yiddish and first published in 1894. The character became best known from the fictional memoir Tevye and his Daughters , about a pious Jewish milkman in Tsarist Russia, and the troubles he has with...

 in Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof

Fiddler on the Roof is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in Tsarist Russia in 1905. It is based on Tevye and his Daughters by Sholem Aleichem...

 in more performances than any other actor, clocking over 2,000 performances as Zero Mostel

Zero Mostel

Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel was an American actor of stage and screen, best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as 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...

's Broadway understudy, and later performing the lead role in his own right.

Paul also was on Broadway in "Detective Story

Detective Story (play)

Detective Story is a 1949 play in three acts by American playwright Sidney Kingsley. The play opened on Broadway at the Hudson Theatre on March 23, 1949 where it played until the production moved to the Broadhurst Theatre on July 3, 1950. The production closed on August 12, 1950 after 581 ...

," "Remains to Be Seen," "Carnival in Flanders

Carnival in Flanders (musical)

Carnival in Flanders is a 1953 musical with a book by Preston Sturges, lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen.Based on the 1934 French comedy film La Kermesse Héroïque, it is set in 1616 in the small Flemish village of Flackenburg, where a Spanish duke and his entourage descend upon...

," "I've Got Sixpence," "The Vamp

The Vamp

The Vamp is a musical comedy with music by James Mundy; lyrics by John La Touche; and a musical book by La Touche and Sam Locke which is based on a story by La Touche. The musical opened on Broadway on November 10, 1955 at the Winter Garden Theatre where it ran for a total of 60 performances until...

", Fiorello!

Fiorello!

Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...

, and "Bells Are Ringing

Bells Are Ringing (musical)

Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The main character was based on Mary Printz, who worked for Green's answering...

".

Lipson grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield, Massachusetts

Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Its area code is 413. Its ZIP code is 01201...

 and attended The Ohio State University

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...

. His stage career spanned five decades, from his debut in 1942 in the play Lily of the Valley (credited as "Paul R. Lipson"), through the 1980s. He also made guest appearances on several television shows in the 1950s and 1960s.