Ron Moody, a British Jewish actor best known for playing a character historically considered an anti-Semitic stereotype, died on June 11. He was 91.
Moody, who played the Jewish criminal Fagin in the 1968 film “Oliver,” garnered an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe award as best actor.
The New York Times wrote in his obituary that Moody “steered clear of stereotype” in depicting the character Dickens termed a “merry old Jew.”
In a 2010 interview with the Jewish Chronicle of London, Moody, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, said, “I couldn’t possibly have played the role if it was seen as anti-Semitic.
“I knew in my Jewish bones he was a funny character who would get laughs because I played him anarchistically.”
The Chronicle reported that being Jewish was “a cornerstone” of Moody’s life and that the actor kept kosher most of his life. — jta