Özel Türkbaş (September 1, 1938 – July 22, 2012) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

-born actress, model, singer and

belly dancer Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that originates in Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different f ...

, who helped popularize belly dancing in the US and recorded traditional music aimed at a western audience, including the successful 1969 album ''Bellydance with Özel Türkbaş: How to Make Your Husband a Sultan''.

Life and career

She was born in

Manisa Manisa (), historically known as Magnesia, is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province. Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port cit ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, and moved to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

as a child; her mother was a professional dancer. She was a member of the State Children's Theatre in Ankara, before starting a singing career with her sister in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. During the 1950s, she worked as a model, and also starred in 14 films in Turkey including ''Gunah Koprusu'' in 1955, where she met Ayhan Türkbaş who became her husband. She also represented Turkey at international film festivals. ''TADF Başsağlığı Mesajı - Özel Türkbaş'', 24 July 2012
Retrieved 20 February 2014 Jezibell Anat, "Özel Türkbas - Turkish Bellydance Trailblazer", GildedSerpent.com, 31 July 2012
Retrieved 20 February 2014 In 1959 she was invited to the US by a promoter, and began performing dance in clubs.

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...

then recruited her to play the role of La Orientale in his production of the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

'' Thais'', in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, with the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

. After the show closed, she continued to tour the country, often performing three 45-minute shows each night and helping to spark a nationwide craze for the style.

She would make her entrance wearing an elaborate cape. Because her agents had told her it was important to establish that she was Turkish or people wouldn't watch her, she began by singing in Turkish. Then she removed the cape. With her veil draped around her torso, she started her dance. She played finger cymbals throughout her set, including floor-work and drum solos. Sometimes she would invite a male audience member up for some humorous volunteer participation. As her English improved, she developed a monologue and told jokes as well. Usually her jokes involved sultans, harems and other aspects of Turkish culture, just as comics mine their own lives for their material.

She settled in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with her husband, and regularly appeared in clubs on Eighth Avenue and in the

Catskills The Catskill Mountains, also known as the Catskills, are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains, located in southeastern New York. As a cultural and geographic region, the Catskills are generally defined as those areas cl ...

. Türkbaş regularly worked with leading musicians, and in 1969 released the album ''How to Make Your Husband a Sultan'', on which she was accompanied by the leading Turkish

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

player Mustafa Kandıralı, together with violinist Cevdet Çağla, Ahmet Yatman ( kanun), Tarik Bulut (piano), Gerhard Rudolph (bass guitar), and Leszlo Kubinyi (drum). The record contained a complete 17-minute dance routine, together with other traditional songs, and sold an estimated 150,000 copies in the US, and reportedly one million in Turkey. ''How To Make Your Husband A Sultan'' at TraditionalCrossroads.com
Retrieved 20 February 2014 ''How To Make Your Husband A Sultan'' was included in the book ''1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die''. ''How To Make Your Husband A Sultan'' in ''1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die''
Retrieved 20 February 2014 She followed it up with several further albums including ''How to Belly Dance for Your Sultan'', ''Dance into Your Sultan's Heart'', ''Alla Turca'', and ''Kismet''. She also wrote two books, ''The Turkish Cookbook by Ozel'' and ''The BellyDancer in You''. After she retired from performing, she and her husband owned restaurants and invested in

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

, owning properties in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. She died in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

in 2012 at the age of 73.

References

External links

''How To Make Your Husband A Sultan'' at Allmusic.com

Interview with Özel Türkbas and others
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turkbas, Ozel 1938 births 2012 deaths People from Manisa Turkish emigrants to the United States Belly dancers