Chaim Topol

Chaim Topol (Hebrew: חיים טופול‎, born September 9, 1935 died March 9, 2023), also spelled Haym Topol, mononymously known as Topol, is an Israeli actor, singer, comedian, voice artist, film producer, author, and illustrator. He is best known for his portrayal of Tevye the Dairyman, the lead role in the musical Fiddler on the Roof, on both stage and screen, having performed this role more than 3,500 times in shows and revivals from the late 1960s through 2009.

Topol began his acting career during his Israeli army service in the Nahal entertainment troupe, and later toured Israel with kibbutz theatre and satirical theatre companies. He was a co-founder of the Haifa Theatre. His breakthrough film role came in 1964 as the title character in Sallah Shabati, by Israeli writer Ephraim Kishon, for which he won a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer—Male. Topol went on to appear in more than 30 films in Israel and the United States, including Galileo (1975), Flash Gordon (1980) and For Your Eyes Only (1981). He was described as Israel's only internationally recognized entertainer from the 1960s through the 1980s. He won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his 1971 film portrayal of Tevye, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor for a 1991 Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof.

He is a founder of Variety Israel, an organization serving children with special needs, and Jordan River Village, a year-round camp for Arab and Jewish children with life-threatening illnesses, for which he serves as chairman of the board. In 2015 he was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement.

Contents Early life Topol was born on September 9, 1935, in Tel Aviv, in what was then Mandatory Palestine (now Israel). His father, Jacob Topol, was Russian and immigrated to Mandatory Palestine in the early 1930s where he worked as a plasterer; he also served in the Haganah paramilitary organization. His mother, Imrela "Rel" (née Goldman) Topol, was a seamstress.

Both of Topol's parents had been involved in the Betar Zionist youth movement before immigrating. His father had Hasidic roots, with a mother coming from a family of Gerrer Hasidim, while his father came from Aleksander Hasidim.

Chaim and his two younger sisters grew up in the South Tel Aviv working-class neighborhood of Florentin. As a young child, although he wanted to become a commercial artist, his elementary school teacher, the writer Yemima Avidar-Tchernovitz, saw a theatrical side to him, and encouraged him to act in school plays and read stories to the class.

At age 14 he began working as a printer at the Davar newspaper while pursuing his high school studies at night.[2] He graduated high school at age 17 and moved to Kibbutz Geva. A year later, he enlisted in the Israeli army and became a member of the Nahal entertainment troupe, singing and acting in traveling shows. He rose in rank to troupe commander.

Twenty-three days after being discharged from military service on October 2, 1956, and two days after marrying Galia Finkelstein, a fellow Nahal troupe member, Topol was called up for reserve duty in the Sinai Campaign. He performed for soldiers stationed in the desert. After the war, he and his wife settled in Kibbutz Mishmar David, where Topol worked as a garage mechanic. Topol assembled a kibbutz theatre company made up of friends from his Nahal troupe; the group toured four days a week, worked on their respective kibbutzim for two days a week, and had one day off. The theatre company was in existence from early 1957 to the mid-1960s. Topol both sang and acted with the group, doing both "loudly".

Between 1960 and 1964, Topol performed with the Batzal Yarok ("Green Onion") satirical theatre company, which also toured Israel. Other members of the group included Uri Zohar, Nechama Hendel, Zaharira Harifai, Arik Einstein, and Oded Kotler. In 1960, Topol co-founded the Haifa Municipal Theatre with Yosef Milo, serving as assistant to the director and acting in plays by Shakespeare, Ionesco, and Brecht. In 1965 he performed in the Cameri Theatre in Tel Aviv.

Early film career

Topol's sketch of himself as Sallah Shabati Haim Topol, then a young man and of Ashkenazi heritage, plays the old Sephardic manipulator with such consummate skill that even aged immigrants from Morocco and Tunisia were convinced that he was one of them. –Tom Tugend on Topol's portrayal of Sallah Shabati Topol's first film appearance was in the 1961 film I Like Mike, followed by the 1963 Israeli film El Dorado. His breakthrough role came as the lead character in the 1964 film Sallah Shabati. Adapted for the screen by Ephraim Kishon from his original play, the social satire depicts the hardships of a Sephardic immigrant family in the rough conditions of ma'abarot, immigrant absorption camps in Israel in the 1950s, satirizing "just about every pillar of Israeli society: the Ashkenazi establishment, the pedantic bureaucracy, corrupt political parties, rigid kibbutz ideologues and ... the Jewish National Fund's tree-planting program". Topol, who was 29 during the filming, was familiar playing the role of the family patriarch, having performed skits from the play with his Nahal entertainment troupe during his army years. He contributed his own ideas for the part, playing the character as a more universal Mizrahi Jew instead of specifically a Yemenite, Iraqi, or Moroccan Jew, and asking Kishon to change the character's first name from Saadia (a recognizably Yemenite name) to Sallah (a more general Mizrahi name).

The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and Topol won the 1964 Golden Gate Award for Best Actor at the San Francisco International Film Festival and the 1965 Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer—Male, alongside Harve Presnell and George Segal. Sallah Shabati was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, losing to the Italian-language Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.

In 1966, Topol made his English-language film debut as Abou Ibn Kaqden in the Mickey Marcus biopic Cast a Giant Shadow.

Tevye the Dairyman Topol came to greatest prominence in his portrayal of Tevye the Dairyman on stage and screen. He first played the lead role in the Israeli production of the musical Fiddler on the Roof in 1966, replacing Shmuel Rodensky for 10 weeks when Rodensky fell ill. Harold Prince, producer of the original Fiddler on the Roof that opened on Broadway in 1964, had seen Topol in Sallah Shabati and called him to audition for the role of the fifty-something Tevye in a new production scheduled to open at Her Majesty's Theatre in London on February 16, 1967. Not yet fluent in English, Topol memorized the score from listening to the original Broadway cast album and practiced the lyrics with a British native. When Topol arrived at the audition, Prince was surprised that this 30-year-old man had played Shabati, a character in his sixties. Topol explained, "A good actor can play an old man, a sad face, a happy man. Makeup is not an obstacle". Topol also surprised the producers with his familiarity with the staging, since he had already acted in the Israeli production, and was hired. He spent six months in London learning his part phonetically with vocal coach Cicely Berry. Jerome Robbins, director and choreographer of the 1964 Broadway show who came over to direct the London production, "re-directed" the character of Tevye for Topol and helped the actor deliver a less caricatured performance. Topol's performance received positive reviews.

A few months after the opening, Topol was called up for reserve duty in the Six-Day War and returned to Israel. He was assigned to an army entertainment troupe on the Golan Heights. Afterward he returned to the London production, appearing in a total of 430 performances.

It was during the London run that he began being known by his last name only, as the English producers were unable to pronounce the voiceless uvular fricative consonant Ḥet at the beginning of his first name, Chaim, instead calling him "Shame".

Chaim Topol breathed life into Tevye. –Norman Jewison, 2011 In casting the 1971 film version of Fiddler on the Roof, director Norman Jewison and his production team sought an actor other than Zero Mostel for the lead role. This decision was a controversial one, as Mostel had made the role famous in the long-running Broadway musical and wanted to star in the film. But Jewison and his team felt Mostel would eclipse the character with his larger-than-life personality. Jewison flew to London in February 1968 to see Topol perform as Tevye during his last week with the London production, and chose him over Danny Kaye, Herschel Bernardi, Rod Steiger, Danny Thomas, Walter Matthau, Richard Burton, and Frank Sinatra, who had also expressed interest in the part.

Then 36 years old, Topol was made to look 20 years older and 30 pounds (14 kg) heavier with makeup and costuming. As in his role as Shabati, Topol used the technique of "locking his muscles" to convincingly play an older character. He later explained:

As a young man, I had to make sure that I didn't break the illusion for the audience. You have to tame yourself. I'm now someone who is supposed to be 50, 60 years old. I cannot jump. I cannot suddenly be young. You produce a certain sound [in your voice] that is not young.

Topol in 2013 For his performance, Topol won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, the Sant Jordi Award for Best Performance in a Foreign Film, and the 1972 David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actor, sharing the latter with Elizabeth Taylor. He was also nominated for the 1971 Academy Award for Best Actor, losing to Gene Hackman in The French Connection.

In 1983 Topol reprised the role of Tevye in a revival of Fiddler on the Roof in West End theatre. In 1989, he played the role in a 30-city U.S. touring production. As he was by then the approximate age of the character, he commented, "I didn't have to spend the energy playing the age". In 1990–1991, he again starred as Tevye in a Broadway revival of Fiddler at the Gershwin Theatre. In 1991, he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, losing to Jonathan Pryce in Miss Saigon. Topol again played Tevye in a 1994 London revival, which became a touring production. In that production, the role of one of his daughters was played by his own daughter, Adi Topol Margalith.

Topol reprised the role of Tevye for a 1997–1998 touring production in Israel, as well as a 1998 show at the Regent Theatre in Melbourne. In September 2005 he returned to Australia for a Fiddler on the Roof revival at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney, followed by an April 2006 production at the Lyric Theatre in Brisbane and a June 2006 production at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne. In May 2007, he starred in a production in the Auckland Civic Theatre.

On January 20, 2009, Topol began a farewell tour of Fiddler on the Roof as Tevye, opening in Wilmington, Delaware. He was forced to withdraw from the tour in Boston owing to a shoulder injury, and was replaced by Theodore Bikel and Harvey Fierstein, both of whom had portrayed Tevye on Broadway. Topol estimated that he performed the role more than 3,500 times.

In 2014, he appeared in Raising the Roof, a 50th anniversary tribute to Fiddler at New York City's Town Hall produced by National Yiddish Theatre. The evening featured Chita Rivera, Joshua Bell, Sheldon Harnick, Andrea Martin, Jerry Zaks, and more, and was co-directed by Gary John La Rosa and Erik Liberman.

Other stage and film roles In 1976, Topol played the lead role of the baker, Amiable, in the new musical The Baker's Wife, but was fired after eight months by producer David Merrick. In her autobiography, Patti LuPone, his co-star in the production, claimed that Topol had behaved unprofessionally on stage and had a strained relationship with her off-stage. The show's composer, Stephen Schwartz, claimed that Topol's behavior greatly disturbed the cast and directors and resulted in the production not reaching Broadway as planned. In 1988, Topol starred in the title role in Ziegfeld at the London Palladium. He returned to the London stage in 2008 in the role of Honoré, from Maurice Chevalier's 1958 film Gigi.

Topol appeared in more than 30 films in Israel and abroad. Among his notable English-language appearances are the title role in Galileo (1975), Dr. Hans Zarkov in Flash Gordon (1980), and Milos Columbo in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only (1981). He was said to be Israel's "only internationally-recognized entertainer" in the 1960s through 1980s.

In Israel, Topol acted in and produced dozens of films and television series. As a voice artist, he dubbed the voice of Bagheera in the Hebrew-language versions of The Jungle Book and the 2003 sequel as well as Rubeus Hagrid in the first two films of the Harry Potter film series. He is also a playwright and screenwriter.

He was featured on two BBC One programs, the six-part series Topol's Israel (1985) and earlier It's Topol (1968). A Hebrew-language documentary of his life, Chaim Topol – Life as a Film, aired on Israel's Channel 1 in 2011, featuring interviews with his longtime actor friends in Israel and abroad.

Musical recordings A baritone, Topol recorded several singles and albums, including film soundtracks, children's songs, and Israeli war songs. His albums include Topol With Roger Webb And His Orchestra - Topol '68 (1967), Topol Sings Israeli Freedom Songs (1967), War Songs By Topol (1968), and Topol's Israel (1984). He appeared on the soundtrack album for the film production of Fiddler on the Roof (1971), the London cast album (1967); and the television production of The Going Up Of David Lev (2010).

Author and illustrator

Shimon Peres by Topol His autobiography, Topol by Topol, was published in London by Weindenfel and Nicholson (1981). He also authored To Life! (1994) and Topol's Treasury of Jewish Humor, Wit and Wisdom (1995).

Topol has illustrated approximately 25 books in both Hebrew and English. He has also produced drawings of Israeli national figures. His sketches of Israeli presidents were reproduced in a 2013 stamp series issued by the Israel Philatelic Federation, as was his self-portrait as Tevye for a 2014 commemorative stamp marking the 50th anniversary of the Broadway debut of Fiddler on the Roof.

Charitable work In 1967, Topol founded Variety Israel, an organization serving children with special needs.He is also a co-founder and chairman of the board of Jordan River Village, a year-round camp for Arab and Jewish children with life-threatening illnesses, which opened in 2012.

Other awards

Topol (center row, far right) and other winners of the Kinor David award in arts and entertainment, 1964 Topol was a recipient of Israel's Kinor David award in arts and entertainment in 1964. He received a Best Actor award from the San Sebastián International Film Festival for his performance in the 1972 film Follow Me! In 2008, he was named an Outstanding Member of the Israel Festival for his contribution to Israeli culture.

In 2014, the University of Haifa conferred upon Topol an honorary degree in recognition of his 50 years of activity in Israel's cultural and public life. In 2015, he received the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement
Personal life Topol married Galia Finkelstein in October 1956. They have one son and two daughters. The couple resides in Galia's childhood home in Tel Aviv. Topol's hobbies include sketching and sculpting.

Filmography

• 1961 I Like Mike - Mikha
• 1962 Etz O Palestina (The True Story of Palestine) - Narrator
• 1963 El Dorado - Benny Sherman, credited as Haim Topol
• 1964 Sallah Shabati - Sallah Shabati, Credited as Haym Topol. Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Male; San Francisco International Film Festival Award for Best Actor
• 1966 Cast a Giant Shadow - Abou Ibn Kader
• 1967 Ervinka - Ervinka Credited as Haim Topol. Also co-producer.
• 1968 Kol Mamzer Melekh (Every Bastard a King), Co-producer.
• 1968 Ha-Shehuna Shelanu (Fish, Football, and Girls), Co-producer.
• 1969 Before Winter Comes - Janovic
• 1969 A Talent for Loving - General Molina
• 1971 Fiddler on the Roof - Tevye; David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor; Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy; Sant Jordi Award for Best Performance in a Foreign Film; Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor.
• 1971 The Going Up of David Lev - Chaim.
• 1971 TV movie Hatarnegol (The Boys Will Never Believe It; The Rooster) - Gadi Zur. Also co-producer
• 1972 Follow Me! - Julian Cristoforou. San Sebastián International Film Festival award for Best Actor
• 1975 Galileo - Galileo Galilei
• 1979 The House on Garibaldi Street - Michael. TV movie
• 1980 Flash Gordon - Dr. Hans Zarkov
• 1981 For Your Eyes Only - Milos Columbo
• 1983 The Winds of War - Berel Jastrow. TV miniseries
• 1985 Roman Behemshechim (Again, Forever) - Effi Avidar
• 1987 Queenie - Dimitri Goldner. TV movie
• 1988 Tales of the Unexpected - Professor Max Kelada. Episode: Mr. Know-All
• 1988–89 War and Remembrance - Berel Jastrow. TV miniseries, 11 episodes
• 1993 SeaQuest DSV - Dr. Rafik Hassan. Episode: Treasure of the Mind
• 1998 Left Luggage - Mr. Apfelschnitt.
• 1998 Time Elevator - Shalem
• 2000 Inside; For Your Eyes Only. Documentary
• 2001 Fiddler on the Roof: 30 Years of Tradition. Documentary
• 2019 Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles. Documentary

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaim_Topol

Chaim Topol (Hebrew: חיים טופול‎; born September 9, 1935), often billed simply as Topol, is an Israeli theatrical and film performer, singer, actor, writer and producer. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and a Tony Award, and has won two Golden Globe Awards.

Contents [show] Early life[edit] Topol was born in Tel Aviv in 1935 in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine, to Rel (née Goldman) and Jacob Topol.[1] He first practised acting in amateur theatrical plays staged by the Israeli Army. Subsequently he established his own theatre troupe in Tel Aviv, and in 1961 he significantly contributed to the foundation of the Haifa Municipal Theatre.

Acting career[edit] Among Topol's earliest film appearances was the lead role in the 1964 film Sallah Shabati by Ephraim Kishon — a play, later adapted for film, depicting the hardships of a Mizrahi Jewish immigrant family in Israel of the early 1960s. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and earned the actor the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actor. In 1966, Topol made his first English-language screen appearance as Abou Ibn Kaqden in the big-budget Mickey Marcus biopic Cast a Giant Shadow.

He came to greatest prominence in the role of Tevye the milkman in the long-running musical show Fiddler on the Roof, at Her Majesty's Theatre.[2] After a major success on the West End stage, he later starred in the 1971 film version.

In 1972, Topol won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the film. He was on active service with the Israeli Army at the time, but was granted permission to attend the awards ceremonies.[3]

In 1976, Topol originated the leading role of the baker, Amiable, in the new musical The Baker's Wife, but was fired after eight months by producer David Merrick. In her autobiography, Patti LuPone: A Memoir, his co-star in the production relayed that Topol behaved unprofessionally in front of paying audiences, sometimes speaking gibberish instead of his lines, and other times responding to the director's instructions by grossly overacting on purpose. Her account was echoed by the show's composer, Stephen Schwartz, in the book Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, From Godspell to Wicked, in which he claimed that Topol's behavior greatly disturbed the cast and directors and resulted in the production not reaching Broadway as planned.

Some of Topol's other notable film appearances were the title role in Galileo (1975), Dr. Hans Zarkov in Flash Gordon (1980), and as Milos Columbo in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only (1981).[4]

In 1983, he reprised the role of Tevye in a London revival of Fiddler on the Roof. In the late 1980s, he played the role in a touring United States production. He was by then the approximate age of the character. Also, the actress playing his wife, Golde, in that production—Rosalind Harris—had played his eldest daughter, Tzeitel, in the film. In 1990, he again played the part in a Broadway revival of Fiddler, and was nominated in 1991 for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, losing to Jonathan Pryce. He played the part again in a 1994 London revival, which became a touring production. He has since played the part in various productions including stages in Europe, Australia and Japan. His most recent film roles were in Left Luggage (1998) in the role of Mr. Apfelschnitt, and Time Elevator (1998) as Shalem.

In November 2005, Topol had a two-month season once again playing Tevye in Fiddler On the Roof at Capitol Theatre in Sydney, Australia and in April 2007, played the role in Wellington, New Zealand. In September 2008, Topol played the part of Honore in Gigi at the Open Air Theatre in Regent's Park, London.

On January 20, 2009, Topol began a farewell tour of Fiddler on the Roof as Tevye, opening in Wilmington, Delaware, USA. He was forced to withdraw from the tour owing to a shoulder injury, and made his last appearance as Tevye in Boston, Massachusetts on November 15, 2009. (Theodore Bikel and Harvey Fierstein, both of whom have portrayed Tevye on Broadway, replaced him in scheduled appearances.) [5]

Author[edit] His autobiography, Chaim Topol on Topol, was published in London and Israel.

Topol is also an illustrator, responsible for drawings in several books, including A Treasury of Jewish Humour.

Charitable work[edit] Topol serves as chairman of the board of Jordan River Village.[6]

Filmography[edit] Year Title Role Notes 1961 I Like Mike Mikha 1963 El Dorado Benny Sherman (credited as Haim Topol) 1964 Sallah Shabbati Sallah Shabbati (credited as Haym Topol) Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer - Male San Francisco International Film Festival Award for Best Actor 1966 Cast a Giant Shadow Abou Ibn Kader 1967 Ervinka Ervinka (credited as Haim Topol) 1969 A Talent for Loving General Molina Before Winter Comes Janovic 1971 Fiddler on the Roof Tevye David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actor Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Sant Jordi Award for Best Performance in a Foreign Film Nominated-Academy Award for Best Actor 1972 Follow Me! Julian Cristoforou 1973 Boys Will Never Believe It Gadi Zur The Going Up of David Lev Chaim (TV movie) 1975 Galileo Galileo Galilei 1979 The House on Garibaldi Street Michael (TV movie) The New Media Bible: The Book of Genesis Abraham 1980 Flash Gordon Dr. Hans Zarkov 1981 For Your Eyes Only Milos Columbo 1983 The Winds of War Berel Jastrow (TV miniseries) 1985 Roman Behemshechim Effi Avidar 1987 Queenie Dimitri Goldner (TV movie) 1988 Tales of the Unexpected "Mr Knowall" Professor Max Kelada episode: Mr. Know-All 1988-1989 War and Remembrance Berel Jastrow (TV miniseries) 11 episodes 1993 SeaQuest DSV Dr. Rafik Hassan episode: Treasure of the Mind 1998 Left Luggage Mr. Apfelschnitt Source: "Topol". IMDb. Retrieved 4 April 2014.

חיים טופול (נולד: 9 בספטמבר 1935, י"א באלול ה'תרצ"ה תל אביב-יפו, פלשתינה (א"י), נפטר 9 במרץ 2023). היה שחקן, מנחה טלוויזיה ומפיק קולנוע ישראלי. היה מועמד לפרס אוסקר ולפרס טוני וזכה בשני פרסי גלובוס הזהב. היה פעיל גם כסופר, כמשורר, כצייר, כמדבב וכזמר. חתן פרס ישראל לשנת ה'תשע"ה (2015) על מפעל חיים - עבור תרומה מיוחדת לחברה ולמדינה.

ביוגרפיה

טופול נולד, גדל והתחנך בשכונת פלורנטין בתל אביב. בנעוריו עבד כשוליה בבית-הדפוס של העיתון דבר. את שירותו הצבאי עשה כחבר בלהקת הנח"ל במחזור השני של הלהקה. בלהקה הכיר את אשתו לעתיד גליה, ואת אורי זוהר שהיה שותפו להופעות במשך שנים רבות. בלהקת הנח"ל גילם טופול לראשונה את דמותו של "סאלח שבתי" במערכונים שכתב אפרים קישון, שהיוו כמה שנים מאוחר יותר בסיס לסרט הקולנוע "סאלח שבתי".

בשנת 1956 נישא טופול לחברתו גליה. בשנת 1957 הקים יחד עם אורי זוהר, גבי עמרני ועוד כמה מיוצאי להקת הנח"ל את להקת הבידור "בצל ירוק". הלהקה העלתה חמש תוכניות עד שהתפרקה ב-1961.

בשנת 1960 היה טופול בין המייסדים של "התיאטרון העירוני חיפה", והופיע כפטרוקיו ב"אילוף הסוררת" וז'אן ב"הקרנפים". ב-1962 גילם טופול את השופט אזדק ב"מעגל הגיר הקווקזי" לצדה של זהרירה חריפאי, הצגה שזכתה לשבחי הביקורת והועלתה בפסטיבל ונציה.

תפקידו הראשון בקולנוע היה בשנת 1960 בסרט "איי לייק מייק" שביים פיטר פריי. ב-1963 הופיע בסרט "אלדורדו" לצדה של גילה אלמגור.

בשנת 1964 שיחק באחד מתפקידיו המוכרים ביותר בישראל, התפקיד הראשי בסרט הקולנוע, "סאלח שבתי" של אפרים קישון, המתאר את קשייו של עולה יהודי מעדות המזרח ומשפחתו בישראל בשנות ה-50 המוקדמות. הסרט זכה להצלחה כבירה בישראל ושווק גם בארצות הברית. בשנת 1965 זכה טופול בפרס גלובוס הזהב על משחקו בקטגוריית "תגלית השנה", והסרט עצמו זכה ב"גלובוס הזהב" בקטגוריית "הסרט הזר הטוב ביותר" והיה אף מועמד לפרס האוסקר בקטגוריית "הסרט הזר הטוב ביותר". השיר "משיח הזקן" שטופול שר בסרט היה להיט גדול בישראל.

בשנת 1966 הופיע לראשונה בסרט דובר אנגלית, "הטל צל ענק" בכיכובו של קירק דאגלס, שעוסק בחייו של האלוף דוד מרכוס על רקע מלחמת העצמאות. בשנת 1967 החל להופיע בלונדון בתפקידו הנודע ביותר, טוביה החולב, במחזמר "כנר על הגג". בתפקיד זה כיכב במשך שנים רבות בתיאטראות ברודוויי ובווסט אנד. שירי המחזמר מוכרים אף הם בביצועו ובמיוחד השיר "לו הייתי רוטשילד" (בגרסה האנגלית: "If I Were A Rich Man").

בשנת 1967 כיכב טופול בדמות הפרחח שמצליח תמיד להסתדר, בסרט נוסף של אפרים קישון, "ארבינקא" (שצולם ב-1966).

בשנת 1971 יצאה הגרסה הקולנועית של "כנר על הגג" שגם בה שיחק טופול בתפקיד הראשי. על תפקידו זכה בפרס גלובוס הזהב בקטגוריית "השחקן הטוב ביותר בסרט מוזיקלי או קומי" והיה אף מועמד לפרס אוסקר לשחקן הטוב ביותר של שנת 1971. בעקבות הסרט טופול הפך לכוכב בינלאומי והמשיך להופיע בסרטי קולנוע רבים. הופעות חשובות נוספות שלו ביו היתר היו בתפקיד גלילאו גליליי בסרט "גליליאו" (1975), "פלאש גורדון" (1980), ובסרט מסדרת ג'יימס בונד - "לעינייך בלבד" (1981). ב-1985 הופיע בסרט הישראלי "רומן בהמשכים" לצד אשתו גליה ובתו ענת.

טופול כיכב בטלוויזיה האנגלית בסדרות של ה-BBC, בין היתר בסדרות "זה טופול" ו"ישראל על פי טופול". כמו כן הופיע במיני-סדרה "רוחות מלחמה" ו"מלחמה וזיכרון" על פי ספריו של הרמן ווק.

טופול דיבב את דמותו של בגירה הפנתר ב"ספר הג'ונגל" ובסרט ההמשך "ספר הג'ונגל 2". בנוסף דיבב את רובאוס האגריד בסרטים "הארי פוטר ואבן החכמים" ו-"הארי פוטר וחדר הסודות", והוחלף בתפקיד זה על ידי אריה צ'רנר.

בשנים 1993–1994 הגיש את התוכנית "חיים יסדר" שבה הגשים את חלומות הצופים. באותה השנה השתתף בקלטת לילדים בשם "מחר שבת" לצידה של חני נחמיאס.

ב-1998 גילם שוב את דמותו של טוביה החולב בהפקה ישראלית של "כנר על הגג", ובתו עדי גילמה את אחת מבנותיו של טוביה. ב-2001 שיחק בתיאטרון גשר במחזה "השטן במוסקבה".

אוטוביוגרפיה שלו, בשם "Topol by Topol", יצאה לאור בלונדון, ובישראל פורסמה בשם "חיים מספר על טופול". הוא אייר כ-20 ספרים, והוציא לאור את ספרו "אוצר ההומור היהודי".

חיים טופול הנחה בשנת 2008 (ה'תשס"ח) את טקס הענקת פרסי ישראל לצידה של מירב מילר.

ביוני 2008 (ה'תשס"ח) השתתף חיים טופול בהפקה לונדונית של המחזה ז'יז'י (Gigi), ובתחילת 2009 יצא לסיבוב הופעות בהפקה של "כנר על הגג" בארצות הברית, שנמשך עד למאי 2010.

טופול יזם, הקים ומשמש יו"ר מועצת המנהלים של "כפר נהר הירדן", כפר נופש לילדים החולים במחלות חשוכות מרפא הנמצא בגליל התחתון. טופול הוא גם צייר חובב. סדרת בולים, שעליהם ציורי דיוקנאות של נשיאי מדינת ישראל שצייר טופול, הונפקה על ידי השירות הבולאי בשנת 2013. גיליונות של הסדרה נמכרו כתרומה לכפר נהר הירדן.

הוקרה

• טופול זכה בשני פרסי גלובוס הזהב, על משחקו בסרטים "סאלח שבתי" ו"כנר על הגג".
• זכה בפרס כינור דוד לשנת 1964.
• במאי 2008 (ה'תשס"ח) קיבל את אות יקיר פסטיבל ישראל על תרומתו לתרבות הישראלית. האות הוענק לו במסגרת "הקול מן הסרטים" – מופע מחווה לשירי הסרטים הישראלים, שהתקיים בבריכת הסולטאן.
• בשנת 2014 קיבל תואר דוקטור לשם כבוד מאוניברסיטת חיפה ומאוניברסיטת בר-אילן.
• טופול הוא חתן פרס ישראל לשנת ה'תשע"ה (2015) על מפעל חיים - תרומה מיוחדת לחברה ולמדינה.
• בשנת 2016 הוענק לו אות יקיר העיר תל אביב יפו.

משפחתו

בעת שירותו בלהקת הנח"ל פגש טופול את גליה לבית פינקלשטיין. לאחר שיחרורם נישאו השניים. לזוג נולדו שלושה ילדים. בנותיו ענת ועדי טופול המשיכו את דרכו במשחק.

פילמוגרפיה חלקית

• איי לייק מייק (1961)
• עץ או פלסטיין (1962)
• אלדורדו (1963)
• סאלח שבתי (1964)
• הטל צל ענק (1966)
• ארבינקא (1967)
• (1969) A Talent for Loving
• לפני בוא החורף (1969) Before Winter Comes
• התרנגול (1971)
• (1971) The Going Up of David Lev
• כנר על הגג (1971)
• העין הציבורית (1972) The Public Eye
• (1972) !Follow Me
• גלילאו (סרט) (1975) Galileo
• הבית ברח' גריבלדי (1979) House On Garibaldi St. The New Media Bible: Book Of Genesis
• (1979) The New Media Bible: Book Of Genesis
• פלאש גורדון (1980)
• לעינייך בלבד (1981)
• רוחות מלחמה (1983)
• רומן בהמשכים (1985)
• קוויני (1987) Queenie
• מלחמה וזיכרון (1988) War And Remembrance
• האומנת (1998)
• (1998) Left Luggage
• (1998) Time Elevator
• (2003) Great People of the Bible

תקליטים

לאורך הקריירה הארוכה של טופול הוציא השחקן מספר אלבומים. חלקם הגדול הוקדש לסיפורי ילדים ("בימבו ובימבה", "יוסי וענת", "שוליית הקוסם") שהוקלטו ברשות השידור לתוכניות הרדיו השונות. לצד תקליטים אלה הוציא טופול כמה תקליטים ותקליטונים שכללו בתוכם שירים ישראליים, שירי המחזמר "כנר על הגג" ושירי מלחמה:

• "סאלח שבתי" - הכולל את השירים "לי ולך" ו"משיח הזקן".
• "ארבינקא" - הכולל את שיר הנושא ואת השיר "מי בנה את תל - אביב".
• טופול 68 - שירים עבריים שתורגמו כולם לאנגלית
• טופול שר שירי מלחמה - במתכונת דומה לטופול 68: שירי מלחמה משל חנוך לוין, ברכט, נעמי שמר ועוד.
• זהו טופול - מיטב השירים שביצע טופול בתוכניתו ב-BBC. Topol's Israel

https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%97%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D_%D7%98%D7%95...