Faded Israeli TV star Dudu Topaz kills himself

[Peikko 1,575]

A once-popular Israeli television entertainer hanged himself in jail early today after struggling to come to terms with his fading stardom.

Dudu Topaz, 62, killed himself in the shower of his cell at the Nitzan prison, officials said. Paramedics failed to revive him. It was the second time he had tried to kill himself in recent weeks.

Topaz was once known as the "ratings king" for his hugely popular television shows, but he was also a controversial figure. He was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of arranging attacks on three senior media executives who he blamed for dropping his shows. At first he denied the charges, but police said Topaz later confessed.

He blamed his three victims, a television producer, an actors' agent and the director of one of Israel's main television channels, for keeping him off the air. In the latest attack earlier this year, Shira Margalit, a senior producer, was badly beaten outside her home and had to be taken to hospital with broken bones in her face.

For many years, Topaz had appeared in comedy and variety shows, talk shows and popular satires that made the handsome and sometimes eccentric entertainer a long-running star. Once, in the 1990s, he convinced hundreds of thousands of Israelis to turn off their lights at home promising they would see aliens flying over the country. But five years ago he was dropped from his primetime slot; his shows replaced by increasingly popular reality television programmes. He pitched a comeback show last year to the three executives and after they turned him down arranged to have them attacked and beaten.

He was arrested in May and faced charges of conspiracy, assault and extortion in a case that enthralled the Israeli press. At first, Topaz denied any involvement in the brutal attacks. But then, sitting in the back of a police car, he confessed to a television reporter: "I don't know what got into me. I went crazy in the head."

Topaz had a controversial reputation. In 1995, he attacked a television critic and broke his glasses in anger over a bad review he gave of one of Topaz's shows. The critic sued Topaz, who was forced to pay $20,000 (£12,150) in compensation.

There were other incidents, including when he kissed an unwilling radio reporter, pinched the cheek of a television presenter and bit the arm of a soap star.

Topaz was an insulin-dependent diabetic and had tried to kill himself after his arrest by overdosing on insulin. He was taken to hospital and recovered, but his lawyer criticised the prison service for not protecting Topaz or recognising his mental state.

"I told them his life was in danger. I begged the judges from day one. They thought he would flee the country, that he would hurt more people. I tried to fight and keep him alive," his lawyer, Zion Amir, told Israel radio. He said he should have been held in a psychiatric ward.

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[Otto 83]

Never heard of him...but, he's (was) in jail and was worried about his stardom?...

Anywho - never good to hear things like this..

[Peikko 1,575]

Me either (heard of him that is) but this is an international message board and I just thought the story was interesting and yes, odd in so many ways.