'Fiddler on the Roof' lyricist Sheldon Harnick passes away

Los Angeles [US], June 24 : Veteran lyricist Sheldon Harnick is no more.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Harnick died of natural causes at his apartment overlooking Central Park on the Upper West Side.

Harnick is best known for partnering with composer Jerry Bock to create the songs for some of Broadway's greatest musicals, including Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello! and She Loves Me, has died Friday. He was 99.

Fiddler on the Roof, with a book by Joseph Stein, debuted in September 1964 at the Imperial Theatre in New York. Based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, it tells the engaging story of Tevye, a poor milkman in 1905 struggling to keep hold of his Jewish traditions amid the impending danger brought about by Russian occupation.

In a 2014 interview with the Hartford Courant, Harnick revealed that it took several years for all the elements of the show to come together. With a preliminary score and book in place, the team was able to entice Hal Prince to sign on as producer and Jerome Robbins to come aboard as director and choreographer.