Evelyne Colton

Chevi Colton, who starred and appeared as an actor and singer in countless Broadway, Off-Broadway and television productions, passed away peacefully on Monday, June 24. She was 97 years old and for the last several years resided at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, NJ.

Chevi starred in three national tours of Fiddler on the Roof as Golde, playing opposite Theodore Bikel and Herschel Bernardi. Her most memorable performance, and the one she most enjoyed, was her featured role in the long-running musical review Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, which ran for more than four years at the Village Gate – including a stint in Paris where Chevi and her cast-mates received standing ovations for their English-language versions of Brel’s songs.

Broadway appearances include Cabaret, Over Here!, The Grand Tour, The Supporting Cast, Roza, and Prisoner of Second Avenue. She also played featured roles in the Broadway productions of Torch Song Trilogy and The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife. Off-Broadway, Chevi was featured in a number of productions including Big Projects, I Suppose, at Playwrights’ Horizons. Her last live run was the Off-Broadway musical Bingo! (2006.)

Chevi was born Evelyne Colton in New York City, the middle of five children of Lou and Josephine Colton, a NY City police lieutenant, and a homemaker, and grew up in East Elmhurst, Queens. From earliest childhood she was called “Chevi” – rhymes with “Evvy” – and from earliest childhood she dreamed of being on the stage. She studied at the Actors’ Studio, worked in summer stock, and performed Shakespeare and Gilbert & Sullivan. She got her first Broadway role in The Insect Comedy (1948) and from went on to a rich career. Chevi starred for several seasons on the popular soap opera “The Edge of Night.” Her other many television roles over the years include appearances on “Quincy,” “Law & Order,” and a regular featured role on the sit-com “Working It Out.”

Chevi was married to actor Joe Silver (1922-1989.) Together they were early on devoted to social causes, including such groups as SANE and the Women’s Strike for Peace in the 1960’s. They were involved in the actors’ unions during the blacklist, and were active in civil rights causes. After 9/11, Chevi spent several months as a volunteer counselor at St. Vincent’s Hospital, developing close relationships with a number of clients.

Though she traveled and performed across the country and around the world, Chevi’s favorite spot was the family summer home in Ocean Beach, Fire Island, where she loved to run away for a well-deserved rest. And though she worked tirelessly at her career, she was devoted to her family, caring for her husband during his final illness, and giving tremendously of herself to her grandchildren. Chevi was loved within the show business community, and her varied outside interests brought her in contact with many others whose lives she enriched. Still into her 90’s she studied drawing and painting, and her life-long love of literature kept her active in book clubs and in studying the works of Shakespeare. She leaves a son, Moshe, and a daughter, Jennifer, as well as eight grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.

The family plans a small intimate service and requests that, in lieu of flowers or other remembrances, donations be made to the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, NJ.