Zero Mostel

Acting

Zero Mostel

Born 1915-02-28 · Brooklyn, New York, USA

Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor. He was best known for his portrayal of comic characters such as Tevye onstage in Fiddler on the Roof, Pseudolus onstage and onscreen in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Max Bialystock in the original film version of The Producers. He was blacklisted during the 1950s, and his testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities was well-publicized. He was a Tony Award and Obie Award winner.

Acting credits

Watership Down poster
7.2

When the warren belonging to a community of rabbits is threatened, a brave group led by Fiver, Bigwig, Blackberry and Hazel leave their homeland in a search of a safe new haven.

Watership Down

1978

The Producers poster
7.1

A conniving Broadway producer and his meek accountant plan to profit from charming wealthy old biddies to invest in an overbudget production, and then put on a sure-fire disaster, so nobody will ask for their money back — and what's more disastrous than a tasteless musical celebrating Adolf Hitler.

The Producers

1968

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum poster
6.1

A wily slave must unite a virgin courtesan and his young smitten master to earn his freedom.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1966

The Front poster
7.0

A cashier poses as a writer for blacklisted talents to submit their work through, but the injustice around him pushes him to take a stand.

The Front

1976

The Enforcer poster
7.1

After years of investigation, Assistant District Attorney Martin Ferguson has managed to build a solid case against an elusive gangster whose top lieutenant is about to testify.

The Enforcer

1951

The Hot Rock poster
6.5

Dortmunder and his pals plan to steal a huge diamond from a museum. But this turns out to be only the first time they have to steal it...

The Hot Rock

1972

Sirocco poster
6.0

A mysterious American gets mixed up with gunrunners in Syria.

Sirocco

1951

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years poster
6.1

For the first time in their careers, all the Muppets (except the ones that couldn't make it, like the Doozers, Gorgs and most of the Fraggles) have gathered together in one place to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary and honor the one who brought them together: Kermit the Frog (and by doing so, Jim Henson).

The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years

1986

Red, White, and Zero poster
5.0

Composed of three shorts – Ride of the Valkyrie, The White Bus, and Red and Blue – from three of Britain’s most-celebrated directors - Lindsay Anderson, Peter Brook, and Tony Richardson. Comic legend Zero Mostel stars as an opera singer (in full costume) navigating the London transport network as he attempts to reach Covent Garden in 'Ride of the Valkyrie'. Scripted by Shelagh Delaney, 'The White Bus' blends realism, drama, and poetry as a despondent young woman travels home to the North of England. And Vanessa Redgrave stars in Tony Richardson’s romantic reverie and musical featurette 'Red and Blue'. Produced in 1967, but ultimately shelved.

Red, White, and Zero

1968

Panic in the Streets poster
6.9

A medical examiner discovers that an innocent shooting victim in a robbery died of bubonic plague. With only 48 hours to find the killer, who is now a ticking time bomb threatening the entire city, a grisly manhunt through the seamy underworld of the New Orleans Waterfront is underway.

Panic in the Streets

1950

Remembering Gene Wilder poster
7.3

This loving tribute to Gene Wilder celebrates his life and legacy as the comic genius behind an extraordinary string of film roles, from his first collaboration with Mel Brooks in 'The Producers', to the enigmatic title role in the original 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory', to his inspired on-screen partnership with Richard Pryor in movies like 'Silver Streak'.

Remembering Gene Wilder

2024

Carol + 2 poster
10.0

Carol + 2 was the title of the second of a multi-year series of television variety specials starring Carol Burnett which aired on the CBS Television network in the United States between 1962 and 1989. The first special was produced in 1962, featuring Burnett and Julie Andrews. Carol + 2 premiered on March 22, 1966, with Carol joined by actor Zero Mostel and the legendary Lucille Ball. The program was such a critical and ratings success that CBS rebroadcast it on January 15, 1967.

Carol + 2

1966

Fore Play poster
3.8

A three-part omnibus centered around sex and its discontents.

Fore Play

1975

Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards poster
7.2

Broadway royalty and Tony-winners Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Robert Goulet, and Harvey Fierstein are your hosts for this third compilation of great musical performances from the archives of the Tony Award® broadcasts. Legendary stars from legendary shows strut their stuff in 23 performances that have become part of Broadway history.

Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards

2005

Du Barry Was a Lady poster
6.5

Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with a poor dancer but wants to marry for money. When Louis wins the Irish Sweepstakes, he asks May to marry him and she accepts even though she doesn't love him. Soon after, Louis has an accident and gets knocked on the head, where he dreams that he's King Louis XV pursuing the infamous Madame Du Barry.

Du Barry Was a Lady

1943

Journey into Fear poster
6.0

U.S geologist discovers something about Oil that proves VERY threatening to the Turkish and Arab business people.

Journey into Fear

1975

Muppet Treasures poster
7.3

Fozzie and Kermit have come across a priceless collection of great moments in the career of the Muppets. This collection features many Muppet TV segments, including episodes of "Pigs in Space," and "Veterinarian's Hospital."

Muppet Treasures

1985

Broadway's Lost Treasures poster
6.4

The golden age of the annual Tony Awards ceremony lasted from 1967 to 1986 — the period during which Alexander H. Cohen and his wife, Hildy Parks, were the producers of the show. This film offers a compilation of performances from Tony Award broadcasts during those years. They are presented with color-corrected footage and digitally re-mastered sound.

Broadway's Lost Treasures

2003

The Great Bank Robbery poster
6.6

A motley group of phony church leaders attempts to rob a bank controlled by brothers in 1880's Texas.

The Great Bank Robbery

1969

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise poster
8.1

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise journeys through Brooks’ early years in the creative beginnings of live television — with Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows — to the film genres he so successfully satirized in Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, and Spaceballs — to the groundbreaking Broadway musical version of his first film, The Producers. The documentary also delves into his professional and personal ups and downs — his childhood, his first wife and subsequent 41-year marriage to Anne Bancroft — capturing a never-before-heard sense of reflection and confession.

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise

2013

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped poster
6.4

At the age of 91, Mel Brooks is unstoppable, with his musical "Young Frankenstein" opening to great critical acclaim in London in late 2017. Alan Yentob visits Mel at home in Hollywood, at work and at play.

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped

2018

Hitler: The Comedy Years poster
5.0

A documentary about the portrayal of Adolf Hitler in popular culture.

Hitler: The Comedy Years

2007

The Model and the Marriage Broker poster
6.5

A marriage broker can't resist meddling in the life of a model, with disastrous results.

The Model and the Marriage Broker

1951

Great Catherine poster
5.9

When British Capt. Charles Edstaston arrives at the court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia, he is stunned by the palace's disorderly condition. The severely intoxicated Prince Potemkin concludes that the handsome Edstaston would be a suitable lover for Catherine, and he coerces the bewildered visitor into her bedchamber. Edstaston manages to escape, but he is repeatedly recaptured and delivered to the mischievous Catherine.

Great Catherine

1968