Tom Topor (born 1938) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. Topor was born in Vienna, Austria, and he was brought to London in 1939, where he remained until he came to New York City in 1949. He earned his bachelor's degree at Brooklyn College in 1961. Topor is the author of the 1979 play ''

Nuts Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed * Nut (food), a dry and edible fruit or seed, including but not limited to true nuts * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut, NUT or Nuts may also refer to: A ...

'' 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, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1988 film '' The Accused'', which starred

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. Foster started her career as a child actor before establishing herself as leading actress in film. She has received List of awards and nominations re ...

. He won the

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

for his screenplay for the 1990 television film ''

Judgment Judgement (or judgment) is the evaluation of given circumstances to make a decision. Judgement is also the ability to make considered decisions. In an informal context, a judgement is opinion expressed as fact. In the context of a legal trial ...

'', 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 Booksell ...

for his novel ''The Codicil''. Topor's works tend to involve courtroom drama, psychological drama, docudrama, melodrama, social problems, crime, and/or issues of sexual abuse. Before his career as an author, he was a reporter for the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'', 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 The ''Daily News'' is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, New Jersey. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson in New York City as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Tabloid (newspaper format ...

'' and the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. 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 theatre, 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 commerc ...

. This culminated in a run of his play ''Nuts'' on Broadway 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 a 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 Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...

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 ...

'' (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 attend ...

Notes

External links

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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 Film directors from New York City 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