Tony Winner Joseph Stein Dies at 98

Joseph Stein, the author of Fiddler on the Roof, died Sunday in New York at age 98. He died after fracturing his skull in a fall. Born in the Bronx, Stein worked as a social worker for several years before he met a comedian by chance and offered up some ideas. His writing career was born, and he went on to author a dozen plays and musicals. Fiddler, considered his masterpiece, opened in 1964 to rave reviews and eventually went on to win nine Tony awards. At the time of his death, Stein was working on a new musical called Heaven Can Wait with his stepdaughter Jenny Lyn Bader, a playwright.