Dudo Topaz (1946-2009) was an actor and entertainer. Like his father, actor Eliahu Goldenberg, Topaz too started out in theatre. In the 1980s, Topaz wrote and appeared in three successful one-man shows with the most acclaimed and memorable one being Plitat Pe (‘slip of the tongue’) in which he was able to redeem himself in the eyes of the same viewership he had offended back in 1981 at an Israeli Labour party election rally where he was heard using an ethnically derogatory slur (‘chakh’chakhim’) in reference to right wing voters of Middle Eastern origins. His two follow-up shows were called Bli Heshbon (‘no regard’) and Tzura Lanu (‘the state of us’).
On television, Topaz hosted the quiz show, Play It and Ze Ma Yesh (‘it is what it is’) and also starred in the children’s puppet programme, Dudu Mesaper Le’Gulu (‘Dudu telling tales to Gulu’). In the mid-1990s, Topaz started presenting the hugely popular The First in Entertainment (‘Ha’Rishon Ba’Bidur’) TV variety show. The programme enjoyed sky-high ratings which earned Topaz the (apt) moniker, ‘King of Ratings’. Highlights of his film acting credits include Tel Aviv Call Girls (Paul L. Smith, 1972), Goodbye, New York (Amos Kollek, 1985), and Tel Aviv-Los Angeles (Shmuel Imberman, 1988) for which Topaz also wrote the screenplay.
In 2009, Topaz died by suicide in a prison holding cell after confessing to having ordered a string of violent attacks against various media figures whom he had held a grudge against.
