Zero Mostel

Acting

Zero Mostel

Born — Died

1915-02-28 — 1977-08-08

Place of birth

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Known for

Acting

Credits

50 titles

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.

Known for

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson poster
7.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

The Merv Griffin Show poster
6.8

No synopsis available yet.

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

The Ed Sullivan Show poster
6.8

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948

The Electric Company poster
7.3

The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977. After it ceased production that year, the program continued in reruns from 1977 to 1985, the result of a decision made in 1975 to produce two final seasons for perpetual use. CTW produced the show at Teletape Studios Second Stage in Manhattan, the first home of Sesame Street. The Electric Company employed sketch comedy and other devices to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills. It was intended for children who had graduated from CTW's flagship program, Sesame Street. Appropriately, the humor was more mature than what was seen there.

The Electric Company

1971

Film credits

2010s · 2 titles

2000s · 3 titles

1970s · 15 titles

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 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

The Front poster
7.1

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

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

Marco poster
7.0

A combination of live action and animation chronicinge the great journey of Marco Polo to the mysterious Orient. Much of the story centers on Polo's relationship with the powerful Kublai Khan.

Marco

1973

The Little Drummer Boy: Book II poster
6.1

Aaron, the drummer boy, struggles to protect a bellmaker's great silver bells from seizure by Roman soldiers

The Little Drummer Boy: Book II

1976

Fore Play poster
3.8

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

Fore Play

1975

The Angel Levine poster
5.4

Morris Mishkin is a elderly religious Jew in New York. His wife Fanny is very ill. He's a tailor, but he can't work because his back has given out. He doesn't even have enough money for Fanny's medicine. Finally, a black fellow appears from nowhere in the Mishkin kitchen. He says he's an angel from God, sent to help Mishkin. The black angel is even Jewish, named Alex Levine? But will Morris believe in the angel? And can the angel perform the miracle that he promises?

The Angel Levine

1970

Saga of Sonora poster
9.0

A musical TV special with Vince Edwards as a hero who must stop gold-greedy villains, Jill St. John and Zero Mostel, and prove his love to his girl, Lesley Ann Warren.

Saga of Sonora

1973

Rhinoceros poster
5.6

A boozing young man in love with his co-worker finds that everyone around him, even his pompous and condescending best friend, is changing into a rhinoceros.

Rhinoceros

1974

Once Upon a Scoundrel poster
5.4

After falling for Alicia, greedy and powerful Mexican landowner Carlos has her fiancé thrown in prison on a bogus charge. To trick Carlos into releasing her man, Alicia teams up with her Aunt Delfina and tries to convince Carlos that he's a ghost.

Once Upon a Scoundrel

1974

Ride of the Valkyrie poster
6.3

An opera singer, dressed in full costume and dress, must navigate through the busy city streets to get to the theater in time for his performance. Filmed for the shelved portmanteau film 'Red, White and Zero' in 1967.

Ride of the Valkyrie

1977

Mastermind poster
4.8

Zero Mostel plays an inspector on the trail of criminals who have captured a robot called Chatze(sp?) played by Felix Silas. The inspector has delusions that he is a great Samurai warrior and the movie flashes back and forth between present day and ancient times.

Mastermind

1976

Old Faithful poster
NR

A forest ranger is asked by his boss to attract a record-breaking crowd to Yellowstone National Park. Various celebrities are enlisted to help.

Old Faithful

1973

Best Boy poster
6.6

In this documentary, the director follows the day-to-day activities of his intellectually disabled, middle-aged cousin Philly over a three-year period.

Best Boy

1979

1960s · 7 titles

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 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

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

Waiting for Godot poster
6.0

Two derelicts occupy themselves as they wait for 'Godot' to make an appearance on Pozzo's estate.

Waiting for Godot

1961

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

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

1950s · 7 titles

Sirocco poster
6.0

A mysterious American gets mixed up with gunrunners in Syria.

Sirocco

1951

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

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 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

The Guy Who Came Back poster
6.2

Former football star Harry Joplin is down on his luck, both in his career and in his married life. He seems convinced of his own unworthiness, but a chance to play in a charity football game helps him see his life in a new light.

The Guy Who Came Back

1951

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell poster
7.2

Posing as a man over 70, a lecturer (Clifton Webb) enters an old-folks home to prove age is a state of mind.

Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell

1951

The World of Sholom Aleichem poster
9.0

This omnibus release consists of three playlets filmed and aired during television's Golden Age, and starring some of the legends of film and television. The collection originally ran as a two-hour segment on December 14, 1959, on the anthology series The Play of the Week, broadcast locally in New York City via the independent radio station WNTA. Each "tale" in the anthology was adapted from a single tale by the inimitable Sholom Aleichem, regarded by many as the "Yiddish Mark Twain". Included are: "A Tale of Chelm" starring Zero Mostel and Nancy Walker in the story of a bookseller attempting to buy a goat; "Bontche Schweig" about a poor man (Jack Gilford) whose recent arrival in Heaven makes the angels cry; and "The High School" about a Jewish merchant (Morris Carnovsky) persuaded by his wife (Gertrude Berg) to let their son attend a particular high school despite the enforcement of quotas for Jewish students.

The World of Sholom Aleichem

1959

Series credits

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson poster
7.6

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

1962

The Merv Griffin Show poster
6.8

No synopsis available yet.

The Merv Griffin Show

1962

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

Tony Awards poster
NR

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.

Tony Awards

1956

The Ed Sullivan Show poster
6.8

The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The Ed Sullivan Show

1948

The Electric Company poster
7.3

The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977. After it ceased production that year, the program continued in reruns from 1977 to 1985, the result of a decision made in 1975 to produce two final seasons for perpetual use. CTW produced the show at Teletape Studios Second Stage in Manhattan, the first home of Sesame Street. The Electric Company employed sketch comedy and other devices to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills. It was intended for children who had graduated from CTW's flagship program, Sesame Street. Appropriately, the humor was more mature than what was seen there.

The Electric Company

1971

The Flip Wilson Show poster
5.1

The Flip Wilson Show is an hour long variety show that aired in the U.S. on NBC from September 17, 1970 to June 27, 1974. The show starred American comedian Flip Wilson; the program was one of the first American television programs starring a black person in the title role to become highly successful with a white audience. Specifically, it was the first successful network variety series starring an African American. During its first two seasons, its Nielsen ratings made it the nation's second most watched show. The show consisted of many skits over an hour. It also broke new ground in American television by using a 'Theatre-in-the-Round' stage format, with the audience seated on all sides of a circular performance area. Wilson was most famous for creating the role of Geraldine Jones, a sassy, modern woman who had a boyfriend named Killer. Flip also created the role of Reverend Leroy, who was the minister of the Church of What's Happening Now!. New parishioners were wary of coming to the church as it was hinted that Reverend Leroy was a con artist. Wilson popularized such catchphrases as "What you see is what you get", and "The devil made me do it!".

The Flip Wilson Show

1970

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In poster
6.8

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

1968

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In poster
6.8

An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

1968

The Muppet Show poster
8.0

Go behind the curtains as Kermit the Frog and his muppet friends struggle to put on a weekly variety show.

The Muppet Show

1976