{"id":128863,"date":"2022-12-06T12:08:50","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T10:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.nli.org.il\/?p=128863"},"modified":"2024-08-04T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2024-08-04T13:49:51","slug":"hoi_topol_shabati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blognli2026.moonsite.co.il\/en\/hoi_topol_shabati\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaim Topol and the Giant Shadow of Sallah Shabati"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hearing the name Chaim Topol inevitably brings to mind either Sallah Shabati from the film of the same name, or Tevye the Milkman<\/a> from Fiddler on the Roof<\/em>. Indeed Sallah, the role that launched Topol\u2019s international career, has largely become synonymous with the well-known actor. It was therefore surprising to learn that it was this very role, which Topol performed so brilliantly, that almost became an obstacle on his path to a theater career. Can you imagine Chaim Topol being overlooked for major acting roles? That unimaginable scenario for Israel\u2019s first international film star did not come to pass for the simple reason that Topol did not believe for a moment that it could, and he also went on to prove why not.<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
Chaim Topol<\/a>, circa 1969. From the Dan Hadani Archive, the Pritzker Family National Photography Collection, the National Library of Israel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Our story begins with a Hebrew article<\/a> published in Maariv<\/em> in May 1964, about two weeks before the Israeli premiere of the film Sallah Shabati<\/em>. The article states that when Topol left the Batzal Yarok (“Green Onion”) performing troupe to set up the Haifa Theater, he was asked what he wanted with theater since the only role he knew how to play was the character of Sallah, a Mizrahi Jewish immigrant, newly arrived in Israel. To this Topol replied, \u201cI\u2019m not worried. . . I\u2019ve already proven to myself and to others that I\u2019m able to go beyond all of this Sallah business.\u201d It sounds absurd, looking back at his great international success, but just imagine how such criticism at the beginning of one\u2019s career can be an obstacle. Topol, it seems, took it all in stride.<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
“Sallah Shabati was the man who made Chaim Topol (as an actor), who embodied his whole stage presence and who embedded himself in his very bone marrow. But the same Sallah Shabati also threatened to destroy Topol (as an actor), when he moved from the small stage to the theater.” – \u00a0<\/em>From a promotional article for the film Sallah Shabati<\/em>, Maariv<\/em><\/a>, May 15, 1964<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Topol, like many Israeli entertainers of his generation, got his start in the IDF’s performance ensembles and theater troupes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTopol fell by accident into the Nahal troupe,\u201d says Galia Topol, his wife of 66 years who herself was part of the second-year class of the Israeli army’s Nahal performing troupe. \u201cHe was in the middle of an eight-month Nahal training course. At the time, he and a couple of friends performed together as entertainers and Chaim was the resident comedian. One evening, the first-year Nahal troupe, with Yossi Banai and Yona Atari [famous Israeli performers], came to perform for them, and everyone decided not to laugh for the entire show. And that’s how it was\u2014no one laughed the entire evening. Then the troupe asked Topol and his friends to come on stage and within minutes they had the whole audience rolling on the floor. That\u2019s how Chaim ended up being selected for the Nahal troupe.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1955, Ephraim Kishon, the famous Israeli author, director and satirist, collaborated with the Nahal troupe, composing a skit titled \u201cThe New Social Worker\u201d. This was the first appearance of the character Sallah Shabati. It turns out that Topol played a big part in the creation of the skit, even before inhabiting the written character. \u201cThe Nahal [troupe] decided to introduce some more serious material,\u201d says Galia. \u201cChaim thought to turn to Kishon. They didn\u2019t know each other, but before the army, Chaim had been a printer at the Davar<\/em> newspaper where Kishon worked, and he felt he could approach him. \u00a0Kishon wrote the character of Sallah for Chaim. Topol was actually opposed to the serious skit, and he wasn\u2019t alone. We all thought that a serious skit wasn\u2019t right for the troupe. But Kishon insisted and this was the army after all, so that\u2019s what was decided, and we all went along with it.\u201d Galia also participated in the skit, eventually playing the role of the social worker sergeant after Nechama Hendel left the troupe.<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
The Batzal Yarok (“Green Onion”) troupe in a publicity photo<\/a> for the Sallah Shabati skit. From left: Chaim Topol, Nechama Hendel, Avraham Mor and Uri Zohar (seated). Photographer unknown, from the Chaim Topol Archive, courtesy of the family and with the cooperation of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the National Library of Israel and the University of Haifa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Today it\u2019s likely that no one would think to cast the young Ashkenazi Topol as the older Mizrahi Sallah , but one cannot judge a nearly 60-year-old film by today’s standards. When the film came out, Israeli public opinion was firmly behind the idea of a societal melting pot, in the hope that within a generation or two the question of identity would become unimportant. Topol received quite a bit of criticism for portraying a character who at times appeared ridiculous and laughable, but as a professional actor he took the role extremely seriously, approaching it in the spirit of the times. He embodied Sallah regardless of the essential difference between himself the actor and the character.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did Topol do anything special to prepare for the role? In one interview he said that the director David Bergman used the Stanislavsky method and that preparing for the role was intense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cHe took his training for the role very seriously. He spent hours in m’aabarot<\/em><\/a> [transit camps for new immigrants to Israel], studying the language, the diction and just listening. He also got the idea for the hat from there and one time he came home especially to look for his beret from his own schooldays. Chaim immersed himself in the character, but he was also certain that it would not be appreciated by the audience, mainly because he thought the sketch was too serious and not suitable for the troupe. But Kishon insisted and it became a hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Topol and the rest of the troupe learned very quickly that they had been wrong, and the audience welcomed Sallah with open arms. \u201cThe skit was performed more than 500 times on stage,\u201d recalls Galia. \u201cAlready at the general rehearsal, the Nahal commander, the chief education officer and other senior officers sat in the front row, and when the Sallah skit came on they burst out laughing, even before anyone started speaking. As soon as Topol came on stage they started laughing. We looked at them and didn\u2019t understand what was so funny, but they burst out laughing\u2014this was largely Kishon\u2019s genius.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
Poster<\/a> for the film Sallah Shabati<\/em>, from the Abraham Deshe (Pashanel) Archive, available in digital format, courtesy of the family and in cooperation with the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the National Library of Israel and the University of Haifa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But even Kishon himself recognized that Sallah Shabbti\u2019s enormous success was due in no small part to Topol\u2019s genius. When asked about this once, Kishon said that \u201cthe secret of its success lay in the perfect union between actor and character, a rare stage phenomenon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt that Chaim completely embodied the role as well as grasped Kishon\u2019s critique,\u201d Galia says. \u201cHe conveyed it thrillingly on stage. It was that rare connection between Kishon\u2019s ability to provoke sympathetic laughter while revealing the [character\u2019s] soul and Chaim\u2019s acting ability. It was not for nothing that they were friends and partners for many years after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Topol continued to collaborate with Kishon, playing the character of Sallah for years. After his army service Topol played Sallah in the sketches \u201cZiggy and Habuba\u201d and \u201cCat in the Sack\u201d as part of the Batzal Yarok troupe that he founded with Uri Zohar, another major Israeli talent. In fact, Topol played Sallah Shabati on stage from 1954 to 1960, fleshing him out in form and spirit in five different skits to the delight of theater-goers.<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
The Batzal Yarok troupe<\/a> in rehearsals, from right: Galia Topol, Zahrira Harifai, Topol, Eliyahu Barkai and Avraham Mor. Photographer unknown, from the Chaim Topol Archive, courtesy of the family, and with the collaboration of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the National Library of Israel and the University of Haifa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Topol, it was time to move on to the next career stop\u2014the repertory theater, and thus, he found himself among the founders of the Haifa Theater, whose establishment was initiated by the mayor at the time, Abba Hushi. \u201cDuring the Haifa Theater period, there was no Sallah,\u201d says Galia. \u201cChaim was one of the first to join the troupe and the first thing he did there was The Taming of the Shrew<\/em>, directed by Yosef Milo, in which he played Petruchio. I remember he had to wear tights and he found it very embarrassing.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Did these six years in which he played and became identified with Sallah make people think that that was all he could do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, Sallah is a multi-layered character, so being identified with him is not a bad thing,\u201d replies Galia. \u201cBut I don\u2019t remember anything like that. Maybe people thought that, but Chaim didn\u2019t think so. He knew he was a serious actor and set himself goals and the fact is he was able to achieve them and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
Chaim Topol and Uri Zohar<\/a> during the Batzal Yarok period. Photo: Boris Carmi, the Meitar Collection, the Pritzker Family National Photography Collection, National Library of Israel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that Sallah eclipsed [Topol] at any point, but there is no doubt that he got under his skin in some sense,\u201d says Omer Topol, Galia and Chaim\u2019s son. \u201cHe also definitely brought him home, for example in the mannerism of throwing the backgammon dice,\u201d he says and they both laugh and demonstrate. \u201cIt isn\u2019t just idle talk about the connection between an actor and a character, because in this case there definitely was, only in this instance the actor was also much more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no doubt of Topol\u2019s acting abilities, but it seems that in the first years of his career, Sallah cast a shadow nevertheless. Topol\u2019s personal archive, which was scanned and made available on the National Library of Israel website, also sheds a different light on the subject. In an article published two weeks before the release of the movie Sallah Shabati<\/em>, Topol remarks that quite a few people raised an eyebrow when he moved to the repertory theater because they thought he was unable to play other characters. Although theater critics were unanimous about Topol\u2019s phenomenal success as Petruchio, it seems that even people who knew Topol\u2019s abilities initially shared this feeling that Chaim was Sallah and nothing else. An excerpt from Ma\u2019ariv<\/em> written after the opening of The Taming of the Shrew<\/em>, suggests that even Kishon didn\u2019t see Topol as a serious actor in the beginning. \u201cImagine Chaim Topol playing the part of an Italian nobleman,\u201d Kishon joked as he tried to demonstrate the concept of absurdist humor to the audience.<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
\u201cEphraim Kishon was speaking of absurdist humor, and wishing to bring forth a fitting example, he said: ‘Imagine Chaim Topol playing the part of an Italian nobleman<\/em>‘” – From Maariv<\/em>, October 10, 1961. Photo: the Chaim Topol Archive<\/a>, courtesy of the family and with the cooperation of the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage, the National Library of Israel and the University of Haifa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It seems that the 26-year-old Topol was determined to prove to everyone that he was much more than Sallah. In hindsight, after two Golden Globe Awards, an Oscar nomination, countless plays, including on the stages of the West End and Broadway, one James Bond film, and also the Israel Prize, the Kinor David Prize and a slew of international and other awards, it is clear that Topol certainly succeeded in his mission.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But then, in the early 1960s, after he had already proven himself on the theater stage, the idea of \u200b\u200ba film came up and essentially brought Topol back together with Sallah. Did Topol want to return to this character again?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cChaim and Kishon were partners,\u201d Galia says. \u201cIt was both of their dreams to expand the five Sallah sketches that had been performed up to that point into a movie,\u201d she says. \u201cProduction began when Menahem Golan entered the picture. Chaim as usual was skeptical. Kishon kept telling him that the film was good, but Chaim refused to believe it. However, he was completely committed to it and felt tremendous responsibility for its success. Since at the time he was still an actor with the Haifa Theater, he would finish performing the Brecht play The Caucasian Chalk Circle<\/em> at night, and go straight to Tel Aviv to film. He would drive like a madman and get to Tel Aviv in under an hour. He would film, then drive back to Haifa to rehearse, put on another show that evening and then sleep for the night, only to do it all over again the next day. While making the film, he appeared in several plays, also in Rashomon<\/em> and Karnafim<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

\"1\"<\/a>
Topol and Kishon with the Golden Globe, Maariv<\/a>, February 19, 1965<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Looking back, Topol had nothing to regret about agreeing to reprise the role that has become so identified with him. Sallah Shabati,<\/em> the first film directed by Ephraim Kishon, was an immediate massive hit, winning the Golden Globe and receiving Israel\u2019s first Oscar nomination. Sallah\u2019s international success was also the springboard for Topol\u2019s own international career. \u201cChaim was happy when the film received such a warm reception when it came out,\u201d concludes Galia. \u201cDespite the doubts, he was fully committed to Sallah Shabati and gave it his all. His ability to do it all is part of his inner drive. He proved that he can be Sallah, or Petruchio, or Azdak in The Caucasian Chalk Circle<\/em>.\u201d Topol has proven that he is an actor of diverse abilities and that no role can cast a shadow on his bright star.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sallah Shabati, the character that launched Chaim Topol’s acting career, also threatened to typecast him as a mere impressionist. But thanks to Topol\u2019s great talent and determination, what could have been an obstacle to a rich and varied career became the role of a lifetime. Topol\u2019s wife Galia and son Omer discuss the role that became the actor\u2019s ticket to the international stage and screen\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":282,"featured_media":127563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[1914,1232,2093],"tags2":[2804,2656,2676],"class_list":["post-128863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-land-of-israel","tag-hebrew","tag-history-of-israel","tag-israeli-culture"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nChaim Topol and the Giant Shadow of Sallah Shabati<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sallah Shabati, the character that launched Chaim Topol's acting career, also threatened to typecast him as a mere impressionist. But thanks to Topol\u2019s great talent and determination, what could have been an obstacle to a rich and varied career became the role of a lifetime. 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