Gülruz Sururi (24 July 1929 – 31 December 2018) 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 ...

drama actress and author. She presented a TV

cooking show A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program (also spelled cooking programme in British English) is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Ty ...

and co-owned a theatre.

Biography

She was born in

İstanbul 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, ...

, Turkey on 24 July 1929. Her father Lütfullah was the founder of the first Turkish

Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and her mother Suzan was a

prima donna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pers ...

.Biography page:Gülruz Sururi
/ref> She studied acting and singing at the Municipal Conservatoire of Istanbul. In 1942, she began her drama career at the Children's Section of the City Theatre of Istanbul accepting the advise of the theatre director

Muhsin Ertuğrul Muhsin Ertuğrul (28 February 1892 – 29 April 1979), also known as Ertuğrul Muhsin Bey, was a Turkish actor and director. Muhsin Ertuğrul, who had important contributions to both Turkish theatre and Turkish cinema, was born in İstanbul ...

(1892–1979). In 1955, she took the stage at Muammer Karaca Theatre. Sururi transferred to

Haldun Dormen Ahmet Haldun Dormen (born 5 April 1928) is a Turkish theater, movie and TV series actor and film director. Dormen is of Turkish Cypriot descent. Biography His father Sait Ömer Bey was a Cypriot businessman, while his mother Nimet Rüştü Ha ...

Theatre in 1960. In 1962, she founded with

Engin Cezzar Hüsnü Engin Cezzar (25 March 1935 – 26 January 2017) was a Turkish director, and stage, movie and TV actor. Cezzar, who started acting in Istanbul City Theatres with the role of "Hamlet", had the title of the youngest actor ever to portray th ...

their own theatre bearing their names. She and Cezzar hosted

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer. He garnered acclaim across various media, including essays, novels, plays, and poems. His first novel, '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'', was published in 1953; de ...

in Istanbul. She was named "The Woman of the Year" by the Turkish Women's Association in 1966. On 18 September 1968, she married to Engin Cezzar.Biography page:Engiz Cezzar
/ref> In the 1990s, she presented five years long a

''A La Luna'' in the television channel

TRT The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

. In 1998, she was given the honorary title of

state artist State Artist ( tr, Devlet Sanatçısı, also sometimes translated as "National Artist") is an honorary title granted to prominent artists by the government of Turkey for their contributions to the Turkish culture. It was established in 1971 by the ...

by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

. She ended her acting career after the play ''Söyleyeceklerim Var'' in 1999. Sururi died from suffering digestive system problems on 31 December 2018. She was survived by her foster daughter, Zeynep Miraç Özkartal. According to her last will, her death was announced after a silent funeral service.

Theatre

Actor

Some of her performances were: *1997 ''Söyleyeceklerim Var'' (1999) – Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre *1983 ''Kaldırım Serçesi'' (by

Başar Sabuncu Başar Sabuncu (September 9, 1943 – June 17, 2015) was a Turkish film director, screenwriter, cinematographer and occasional actor. Early life Sabuncu started acting when he was a student at the St. Joseph High School. Filmography Refe ...

from

Edith Piaf Edith is a feminine given name derived from the Old English words ēad, meaning 'riches or blessed', and is in common usage in this form in English, German, many Scandinavian languages and Dutch. Its French form is Édith. Contractions and vari ...

's autobiography) – Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre *1980 '' Kabare'' (by

Joe Masteroff Joe Masteroff (December 11, 1919 – September 28, 2018) was an American playwright. Early life Masteroff was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Jewish parents Louis Masteroff from Korsun, Russia (now Ukraine) and to the former Rose Pogost f ...

) – Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre * ''Ferhat İle Şirin'' – Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre *1966 ''

Teneke ''Teneke'' is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Fabio Vacchi. Franco Marcoaldi adapted the Italian libretto from the eponymous novel by the Turkish author Yaşar Kemal published in 1955. The opera was premiered on September 22, 2007 ...

'' (by

Yaşar Kemal Yaşar Kemal (born Kemal Sadık Gökçeli; 6 October 1923 – 28 February 2015) was a Turkish writer and human rights activist and one of Turkey's leading writers. He received 38 awards during his lifetime and had been a candidate for the Nobel ...

) – Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre *1963 ''Keşanlı Ali Destanı'' (by

Haldun Taner Haldun Taner (March 16, 1915 – May 7, 1986) was a well-known Turkish playwright and short story writer. Biography He was born on March 16, 1915 in Istanbul. After graduating from the Galatasaray High School in 1935, he studied politics and ec ...

) – Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre *''Zilli Zarife'' – Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre *1961 '' Sokak Kızı İrma'' (by

Alexandre Breffort Alexandre Breffort (1901–1971) was a French screenwriter. Selected filmography * '' Follow That Man'' (1953) 1901 births 1971 deaths French male screenwriters 20th-century French screenwriters 20th-century French male writers { ...

Marguerite Monnot Marguerite Monnot (28 May 1903 – 12 October 1961) was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf ("Milord", "Hymne à l'amour") and for the music in the stage musical ''Irma La D ...

) – Dormen Theatre *1959 ''Sözde Melekler'' – Dormen Theatre

Director

She directed the following plays: *''Kısmet'' ("Chance") (play) – State Theatre of Adana *''Fosforlu Cevriye'' ("Cevriye the Luminous") (musical) – State Theatre of Ankara *''Biz Sıfırdan Başladık'' ("We Started from Scratch") – Konçinalar Company

Bibliography

Her books are: *''Kıldan İnce Kılıçtan Keskince'' ("Thinner than the Hair, Sharper than the Sword") (1978) (memoir) *''Biz Kadınlar'' ("We Women") (1987) (essay) *''Bir An Gelir'' ("The Moment Comes") (2003) (memoir) *''Girmediğim Sokaklarda'' ("In The Streets I've Never Been To") (2003) (story) *''Gülriz'in Mutfağından'' ("From Gülriz's Cuisine") (2003) (cook book) *''Seni Seviyorum'' ("I love You") (2004) (novel)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sururi, Gulriz 1929 births 2018 deaths Actresses from Istanbul Writers from Istanbul Turkish stage actresses Turkish theatre owners Turkish television presenters Turkish women writers Turkish autobiographers Women cookbook writers Turkish food writers Women autobiographers Turkish women television presenters