Israel TV star found dead in cell
20 August 2009
The veteran Israeli entertainer Dudu Topaz has hanged himself in his prison cell, officials say. He was arrested in June and accused of plotting attacks on TV executives who had reportedly turned down his ideas. He denied any involvement.
The 62-year-old Topaz was a household name in Israel, but in recent years his career had been on the wane. A statement from the prison services said Topaz was found hanging in the shower of his cell. Paramedics were unable to revive him. Three other people were arrested in connection with the alleged attacks on TV executives earlier this year. It was not the first time Topaz had courted controversy. In 2003, on a TV show, he bit the arm of a Latin American soap opera star. And in 1995 he broke the glasses of a TV critic who had given his show a bad review. source: bbc.com