54 Below Press Preview With Fyvush Finkel, Beth Leavel And Stew
Fyvush Finkel — who won his first Emmy at the age of 71 for his work on the CBS drama "Picket Fences" — has passed away at the age of 93. The Brooklyn native had spent most of his life working in the Yiddish theater of the Lower East Side of New York City before landing in a national production of "Fiddler on the Roof" in 1964. The late bloomer still didn't become a regular fixture on television until the 1980s!
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Celebrity Sightings In New York City – April 9, 2011
The actor quickly caught the eye of producer David E. Kelley, who cause him as public defender Douglas Wambaugh on the quirky crime drama "Picket Fences." After that late-career rally, Fyvush went on to a stint on the short-lived revival of "Fantasy Island" in 1998 before joining the cast of "Boston Public" as a teacher.
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Fyvush Finkel
"I don't care how much time they gave me," he said while accepting his Emmy. "I waited 51 years for this moment" — going on to give a long speech to an appreciative audience. Fyvush still refused to go Hollywood, saying: "I don't audition, because I don't like it." He never grabbed a trophy wife, either. Trudi Lieberman, his wife of 61 years, left him a widower in December 2008.
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