Tom Topor (born 1938) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

. Topor was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and was brought to London in 1939, where he remained until he came to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1949. He earned his bachelor's degree at Brooklyn College in 1961. Topor is the author of the 1979 play '' Nuts'' and the screenplay for the 1987 film, which became a starring vehicle for

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film, ''

The Accused Accused or The Accused may refer to: * A person suspected with committing a crime or offence; see Criminal charge ** Suspect, a known person suspected of committing a crime * The Accüsed, a 1980s Seattle crossover thrash band *''The Accused'', a ...

'', which starred

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the hono ...

. He won the Writers Guild of America Award for his screenplay for the 1990 made-for-television film, ''

Judgment Judgement (or US spelling judgment) is also known as ''adjudication'', which means the evaluation of evidence to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. The term has at least five distinct uses. Aristotle s ...

'', which he also directed. In 1996 he won the

Dilys Award The Dilys Award was presented every year from 1992 to 2014 by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association. It was given to the mystery title of the year which the member booksellers have most enjoyed selling. The Independent Mystery Bookseller ...

for his novel, ''The Codicil''. Topor's works tend to involve courtroom drama, psychological drama, docudrama, melodrama, social problems, crime, and/or

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assa ...

issues. Prior to his career as an author, he was a reporter for the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', covering stories in police stations, courtrooms, hospitals, and psychiatric wards."''Nuts''."
In ''The Films of Barbra Streisand'', by Christopher Nickens and Karen Swenson. Citadel Press, 2001. p. 174. He also did some reporting for the '' New York Daily News'' and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. His career as a playwright began in 1969 with a series of one-act plays staged

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

. This culminated in a run of his play ''Nuts'' on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

from April 28, 1980 into August of that year. Anne Twomey, in the lead role, received a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination for her performance. The play was published in 1981, and was made into a film of the same name starring

and Richard Dreyfuss in 1987, with Topor himself adapting it into a screenplay. Topor's other plays include ''Answers'', ''Romance: Here to Stay'', ''But Not For Me'', ''Coda'' (''L'Orchestre des ombres'' in French), ''Up the Hill'', and ''The Playpen''. His other novels include ''Tightrope Minor'' and ''Bloodstar''. His additional screenplays and teleplays include '' Word of Honor'' (co-writer) and ''

Perfect Murder, Perfect Town ''Perfect Murder, Perfect Town'' is a 2000 American television miniseries directed by Lawrence Schiller. The teleplay by Tom Topor is based on Schiller's book of the same title. Including historic news and talk show footage, it covers in great de ...

'' (from the book by

Lawrence Schiller Lawrence Julian Schiller (born December 28, 1936) is an American photojournalist, film producer, director and screenwriter. Career Schiller was born in 1936 in Brooklyn to Jewish parents and grew up outside of San Diego, California. After atten ...

Notes

External links

* *
Tom Topor
in ''The Great American Playwrights on the Screen'', by Jerry Roberts. (2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Topor, Tom American male screenwriters 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American film directors American male journalists American reporters and correspondents Living people 1938 births 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Brooklyn College alumni