Having joined the TNP company in 1955, he played under Jean Vilar's direction in Henri IV, Arturo Ui and Macbeth, and gave French dubbing one of its great voices. On the stone, the first name is not his: it is that of his sister Lise, an actress who died at twenty-five.
The story
Jean Topart shares his grave with his sister, and it is her name that comes first. Under the heading “FAMILLES TOPART-PICHEREAU” one reads “Lise TOPART 1927-1952”: an actress like him, she was twenty-five when her plane came down near Nice.
Born in Paris on 13 April 1922, Jean Topart began studying medicine before choosing the theatre, where he took classes with two sociétaires of the Comédie-Française, Berthe Bovy and Marie Ventura. His first success came in 1948 at the Théâtre Antoine: Pierre Fresnay, then one of the best-known actors in France, gave him his chance in L'Écurie Watson.
In 1955 he joined the company of the TNP — the Théâtre national populaire, which Jean Vilar had set out to give back to a wide audience. Vilar cast him in Henri IV, Ce fou de Platonov, La Résistible Ascension d'Arturo Ui; at Avignon, Le Prince de Hombourg, Macbeth in 1956, Le Songe d'une nuit d'été. His deep voice earned him a second career the public does not always connect to his face: dubbing.
He died at Le Port-Marly on 29 December 2012 and joined Division 57. Four names on the stone — Lise, their parents Pierre and Alice Topart, both dead in 1970, and himself — and not one profession for any of the four, though brother and sister had spent their lives on stage.
The grave
A family grave of four inscriptions, under the heading “FAMILLES TOPART-PICHEREAU”. The order speaks volumes: “Lise TOPART 1927-1952” comes first — the actress sister, dead at twenty-five —, then the parents, “Pierre TOPART 1894-1970” and “Alice TOPART née MOREL 1894-1970”, who died the same year, and finally “Jean TOPART 1922-2012”. No mention of a profession for any of the four.
On site, do not miss
Four names under the heading “FAMILLES TOPART-PICHEREAU”, his sister's first: “Lise TOPART 1927-1952”. No mention of a profession for any of the four.
Visitors' questions
Where is Jean Topart's grave?
In Division 57, avenue Neigre, first row, in a grave that gathers four names under the heading “FAMILLES TOPART-PICHEREAU”: his sister Lise, his parents and himself.
Pierre EmmanuelWho was his sister Lise Topart?
A young actress struck down by a tragic fate: born in 1927, she died in 1952, at twenty-five. Her name comes at the head of the family grave, before her brother's.
Silvia MonfortWhat did he play at the TNP?
He joined the company in 1955, and Jean Vilar gave him Henry IV, Platonov, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. At Avignon: The Prince of Homburg, Macbeth (1956), A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Roger PlanchonHow did he begin?
With medicine, which he gave up for the stage: he took the classes of Berthe Bovy and of Marie Ventura, and had his first success at the Théâtre Antoine, with Pierre Fresnay, in L'Écurie Watson (1948).
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