Fahrettin Cüreklibatır (8 September 1937 – 28 June 2022), better known by his stage name Cüneyt Arkın, was a Turkish film actor, director, producer and

martial artist Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

. Having starred in somewhere around 300 movies and TV series, he is widely considered one of the most prominent Turkish actors of all time. Arkın's films have ranged from well-received dramas to mockbusters throughout his career spanning four decades. Early in his career, Arkın became known for starring in historical dramas taking place during the first centuries of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

and

Anatolian Seljuks fa, سلجوقیان روم () , status = , government_type = Hereditary monarchyTriarchy (1249–1254) Diarchy (1257–1262) , year_start = 1077 , year_end = 1308 , p1 = B ...

, such as ''

Malkoçoğlu Cem Sultan ''Malkoçoğlu Cem Sultan'' ( tr, Malkoçoğlu Cem Sultan; fa, سرزمین دلاوران) is a Turkish historical action film by Remzi Aydın Jöntürk. It is one of the numerous collaborations between the famous actor Cüneyt Arkın and Jön ...

'' and '' Battal Gazi''. While gaining success with such action-based films, he also took part in political films in the late 1970s, the most famous of those being ''

The Adam Trilogy is a trilogy that is one of the best examples of Turkish Psychedelic Cinema of 1970s, directed by Remzi Aydın Jöntürk and starring Cüneyt Arkın as Çakır. The trilogy includes: # ''Yarınsız Adam'' (''Man Without Tomorrow'') # ''Satılmı ...

'' directed by

Remzi Aydın Jöntürk Remzi Aydın Jöntürk (September 15, 1936 – September 2, 1987) was a Turkish filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He directed more than 72 feature films in his long career. Jöntürk is credited for creating and directing some of t ...

. Arkın and Jöntürk continued their collaboration on many other films. Cüneyt Arkın and

Fatma Girik Fatma Girik (12 December 1942 – 24 January 2022) was a Turkish actress and politician. Together with Hülya Koçyiğit, Filiz Akın and Türkan Şoray, she was an icon for the golden age in Turkish cinematography and is regarded as one of the f ...

are one of the most famous partnerships of Yeşilçam Turkish cinema. In the 1980s, Arkın became known abroad for the film ''

Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam ''Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam'' (English: ''The Man Who Saved the World'') is a 1982 Turkish science fantasy martial arts superhero adventure film directed by Çetin Inanç, and starring actor/martial artist Cüneyt Arkın. It was first released in ...

'' (''The Man Who Saves The World'', also known as ''Turkish Star Wars''), a

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...

, tentatively famous for featuring bootlegged scenes from ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

''. Today, the

B movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...

has a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

Career

While he was doing his military service as a reserve officer in his hometown of Eskişehir, he caught the attention of director Halit Refiğ during the filming of ''Şafak Bekçileri'' (1963) starring

Göksel Arsoy Göksel Arsoy (born 15 March 1936) is a Turkish actor, singer and sportsmen. Biography When Arsoy was studying at Istanbul University's Economics faculty. He is nephew of musician, Yesari Asım Ersoy. He started working at the nearby Yeşilköy ...

. After completing his military service, he worked as a doctor in and around Adana. In 1963, he won the first prize in the Artist magazine. Seeking a job for a while, Cüneyt Arkın started acting in 1963 with the offer of Halit Refiğ and translated at least 30 films in two years. The fight scene in the end in film ''Gurbet Kuşları'' in 1964 was a breaking point in Arkın's career. After playing emotional and romantic young characters for a while, he turned to action films with the suggestion of Halit Refiğ. During this period, he studied acrobatics at the Medrano Circus in Istanbul for six months. By transferring what he learned here in the ''Malkoçoğlu'' and ''Battal Gazi Destanı'' series to the big screen, he brought a unique style to Turkish cinema. He soon became the most sought-after actor in adventure films. Although he started his film career with romantic young heroes, he continued with action films, but almost every character died. Throughout his career, he shot various genres from western to comedy, from adventure movies to social movies. Especially, ''Maden'' (1978) and ''Vatandaş Rıza'' (1979) occupy a special place in Cüneyt Arkın's career.

Personal life

Fahrettin Cüreklibatur was born on 8 September 1937, in the village of Gökçeoğlu in the

Alpu Alpu, also Alpıköy, is a town and district of Eskişehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental countr ...

district of

Eskişehir Province Eskişehir Province ( tr, ) is a province in northwestern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Bilecik to the northwest, Kütahya to the west, Afyon to the southwest, Konya to the south, Ankara to the east, and Bolu to the north. The provincial ...

, Turkey to a family of Crimean Tatar and Nogai origin. After graduation from the university as a physician, Cüreklibatır married his classmate Dr. Güler Mocan in 1964. In 1966, their daughter Filiz Cüreklibatır was born. The marriage did not last long due to Cüreklibatır's newly flourishing career as a film actor. In 1968, he took the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Cüneyt Arkın, and met Betül Işıl, the daughter of a wealthy family that owned a tile manufacturing company. Işıl, a graduate of a university in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

was working as a flight attendant at the time. They were engaged in 1969, married in 1970, and divorced in 1971. Soon afterwards, they remarried and Betül gave birth to two sons, Murat and Kaan Polat. Arkın's wife and sons have starred in several of his films. His grandchildren are called Defne and Zeynep. Cüneyt Arkın died at a hospital in Istanbul after suffering a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

at home on 28 June 2022. On June 30, he was interred at

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

. Following his death, the

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul, Turkey, located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and Şişli, on the west by Kağıthane and Şişli, on the south by Beyoğlu, and ...

municipal council voted to name the Artists' Park in Akatlar,

after him.

Awards

, - , 1963 , "First Prize" (''1.lik Ödülü"'') , , , - , 1969 , "Best Actor Award" (''"En İyi Erkek Oyuncu Ödülü"''), for ' , , , - , 1972 , "Best Actor Award" (''"En İyi Erkek Oyuncu Ödülü"''), for ' , , , - , 1976 , "Best Actor Award" (''"En İyi Erkek Oyuncu Ödülü"''), for '' , , , - , 1999 , "Lifetime Honor Award" (''"Yaşam Boyu Onur Ödülü"'') , , , - , rowspan="3" , 2013 , "Lifetime Profession and Honor Award" (''"Yaşam Boyu Meslek ve Onur Ödülü"'') , ''Engelsiz Yaşam Vakfı'' , , - , "Lifetime Honor Award" (''"Yaşam Boyu Onur Ödülü"'') , , , - , "Culture and Art Grand Prize" (''"Kültür ve Sanat Büyük Ödülü"'') , ''2013 Yılı Kültür ve Sanat Büyük Ödülü'' , , - , 2021 , "Culture and Art Grand Prize" (''"Kültür ve Sanat Büyük Ödülü"'') ,

Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Cumhurbaşkanlığı Kültür ve Sanat Büyük Ödülleri'') are the annual awards awarded by President of Turkey, Presidency of Turkey. List of awards 1995-1999 The foll ...

Filmography

References

External links

*
Official Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkin, Cuneyt 1937 births 2022 deaths Turkish male film actors Turkish film directors 20th-century Turkish physicians Istanbul University alumni People from Eskişehir Turkish expatriates in Iran Best Actor Golden Orange Award winners Best Actor Golden Boll Award winners Golden Orange Life Achievement Award winners Golden Butterfly Award winners Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine alumni Turkish martial artists Nogai people Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery