Jean Topart

Jean Topart (13 April 1922 – 29 December 2012) was a French actor born in Paris, recognized across multiple decades as one of the most prominent voices in French television and cinema. His career encompassed stage performance, live-action film, and an extensive body of voice and dubbing work. He is survived by two daughters and five grandchildren.

Topart began his theatrical career as a member of the Théâtre national populaire (TNP), a French theater troupe with which he was affiliated from 1950 to 1960. During this period he appeared on Broadway in 1958, performing in three productions: Don Juan, Lorenzaccio, and Marie Tudor. Following his decade with the TNP, he transitioned into film and television work.

His live-action film credits include Bernard Borderie's Angélique, Marquise des Anges in 1964 and Claude Chabrol's Chicken with Vinegar in 1985. His final on-screen film appearance came in the 2000 comedy Les Acteurs, directed by Bertrand Blier. A personal loss marked his earlier years when his sister, actress Lise Topart, died in a plane crash in Nice, France, on 3 March 1952.

Topart became particularly well known for his voice work in animation and dubbing. In 1973 he starred in the French science fiction animated film Fantastic Planet, directed by René Laloux. He co-starred in the 1981 Franco-Japanese animated television series Ulysses 31 and in The Mysterious Cities of Gold in 1982, and narrated the 2000 French animated series Argai: The Prophecy.

His dubbing work for foreign-language releases was extensive. He provided French-language voices for live-action films including The Elephant Man in 1980, Birdy in 1984, and Amadeus in 1984. For Disney, he was cast in the French version of DuckTales the Movie: Treasure of the Lost Lamp in 1990 and served as narrator for the French-language release of Treasure Planet in 2002, known in French as La Planète au trésor, un nouvel univers.

Topart died on 29 December 2012 in Le Port-Marly, in the Yvelines department of France, at the age of 90. Following his death, French Minister of Culture Aurélie Filippetti issued a statement describing him as one of the inimitable voices of French cinema.