Dudu Topaz, the King of comedy, ends his life

August 20, 2009 - 8:48 AM by David

Dudu_TopazWaking up this morning to the news that disgraced entertainer Dudu Topaz had ended his life by hanging himself in his Ramle jail while awaiting trial was an inevitable end to his sorry saga.

Topaz was going to be tried for initiating a series of violent attacks on top Israeli TV executives who had spurned his ideas for TV vehicles for himself. It was a case of the worst of Israeli society, with Topaz hiring goons to bash in the execs. A judge at an initial hearing for the case today described Topaz as a public menace.

It was a huge fall from grace for the comic who dominated television in the 1990s when the Israeli cable industry was getting on its feet. His unsophisticated, often vulgar humor made him a ‘people’s’ entertainer, however he was never fully accepted by the the intelligentsia.

I remember soon after my aliya watching him host an Israeli version of The Dating Game. My wife and I would guffaw as Topaz blurted out non sequitors and insults – like a combination of Don Rickles and Howard Stern. But you could tell that there was something about his delivery that showed that it wasn’t all in good fun.

And his mean streak was noticeable long before attacks. In 1995 he publicly attacked a television critic and crushed his glasses following a bad review. In 2003 he was accused of sexual harassment and indecent acts, although the two cases collapsed for lack of evidence. That same year he bit a female Latin-American soap star on the arm for no apparent reason during a live broadcast.

Despite his knack for controversy, Topaz had all but disappeared from TV screens recently, as younger hosts and reality shows took over what was once his domain. I don’t know if there’s a uniquely Israeli angle to this story, as former celebrities missing the spotlight and resorting to crime can happen anywhere.

But because we’re such a small country, there’s a sense of familiarity here with celebrities – they’re not in some ivory tower – they still go to the same restaurants and makolets, and pay the same mortgages (albeit a little easier than the rest of us).

I don’t think any of the victim’s of Topaz’s unbalanced cruelty would have wanted to see this ending to the story. They would have preferred that he suffer in prison. However, now the country will be spared a long trial filled with gossipy details of the attacks and the personalities behind them. It may be the most compassionate thing Topaz ever did for his viewing audience.

Tags: , , , , • Category: A New Reality, Crime, General, Israeliness, Pop Culture 

Comments

2 Comments on Dudu Topaz, the King of comedy, ends his life

  1. Posts about sexual harassment (best posts combined for review) as of August 20, 2009 | Discrimination Law News on Thu, Aug 20th 2009 8:23 PM

    2. [...] ThePittsburghChannel.com Impact Wrestling News  - Baltimore Sun  - Examiner.com all 768 Dudu Topaz, the King of comedy, ends his life – israelity.com 08/20/2009 Topaz was going to be tried for initiating a series of violent [...]

  2. marcia ribeiro on Fri, Aug 21st 2009 8:01 AM

    3. Cynical… nonchalant and tasteless way to speak about some one. You needed to be better than he was for you to be able to entertain us.

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