Irfan Mensur ( sr-cyr, Ирфан Менсур; born Irfan Kurić, sr-cyr, Ирфан Курић; 19 January 1952) is a Serbian theatre, television, and film actor of Bosnian descent.

Early life

Born to father Mensur Kurić from

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

whose family traces its origins to

Donji Vakuf Donji Vakuf ( sr-cyrl, Доњи Вакуф, ) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded by Malkoçoğlu İbrahim Bey in 1572 and wa ...

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and mother Nada Wasche from

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, Irfan grew up in Sarajevo's Dolac Malta neighbourhood. At the age of 15, as a result of his parents divorcing, young Irfan moved with his father to Niš. In Niš, Irfan's father married actress , so Irfan spent part of his teenage years with a stepmother. Encouraged by his stepmother, young Irfan pursued performing arts and successfully passed the audition to enroll at the Academy of Theatre, Film, Radio and Television in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. Soon after moving to Belgrade, he legally changed his last name to Mensur in honour of his father.

Cinematic career

After appearing in several supporting roles in different Yugoslav TV series and TV movies, in 1975, twenty-two-year-old Mensur landed the role of

Gavrilo Princip Gavrilo Princip ( sr-Cyrl, Гаврило Принцип, ; 25 July 189428 April 1918) was a Bosnian Serb student who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. Prin ...

in a high-budget Yugoslav-Czech-German co-production ''

The Day That Shook the World ''The Day That Shook the World'' ( sh, Sarajevski atentat, lit. ''The Sarajevo Assassination'') is a 1975 Czechoslovak-Yugoslav-German co-production film directed by Veljko Bulajić, starring Christopher Plummer and Florinda Bolkan. The film is ...

'' directed by

Veljko Bulajić Veljko Bulajić (born 22 March 1928) is a Montenegrins of Croatia, Montenegrin film director and UNESCO Kalinga Prize recipient. He has spent the majority of his life working in Croatia and is primarily known for directing World War II-themed movi ...

. Released in a number of countries, the film about the 1914

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of the Austro-Hungarian archduke

Franz Ferdinand Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria, (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. F ...

was met with lukewarm reviews and had limited box office success. For his part, in later interviews, Mensur talked about being extremely dissatisfied with his own performance in the high-profile movie that "marked me in the Yugoslav public consciousness to the point of forcing me to have to go around convincing different film and TV people n Yugoslaviathat I'm actually not a bad actor".

Selected filmography

Film

Personal life

In 1976, at the height of his ''

Beach Guard in Winter ''Beach Guard in Winter'' ( sh, Čuvar plaže u zimskom periodu) is a 1976 Yugoslav film directed by Goran Paskaljević. It was entered into the 26th Berlin International Film Festival. Cast * Irfan Mensur as Dragan Pasanović * Gordana Kosa ...

'' popularity in Yugoslavia, twenty-four-year-old Mensur married the twenty-three-year-old

Trebinje Trebinje ( sr-Cyrl, Требиње, ) is a city and municipality located in the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the southernmost city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and is situated on the banks of Trebišnjica river in the re ...

-born model Ljiljana Perović who had, much like him, also spent her childhood in Sarajevo before ending up in Belgrade in pursuit of a

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produc ...

career. The couple had a son, Filip, in 1983 before divorcing in 1984. In 1995, Mensur married Srna Lango who, like Mensur, already had a son from a previous marriage. Their son was born in 1999. In December 2010, Irfan and Srna appeared as contestants in popular reality show ''

Parovi ''Parovi'' (English title: ''Couples'') is a Serbian-based reality show created by Predrag Ranković. The show premiered on December 24, 2010 on Happy and immediately reached huge ratings. It also features a 24-hour YouTube live streaming. For ...

'' on the Serbian TV station

Happy TV Nacionalna Televizija Happy (often shortened to Happy) is a privately owned TV channel in Serbia. Happy has gained a strong reputation for its entertainment programming. The station offers a compilation of international and domestic movies, Ameri ...

. The couple divorced in 2012. In April 2013, sixty-one-year-old Mensur suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

while preparing a play at the Zoran Radmilović Theater in

Zaječar Zaječar ( sr-Cyrl, Зајечар, ; ro, Zaicear or ) is a city and the administrative center of the Zaječar District in eastern Serbia. According to the 2011 census, the city administrative area has a population of 59,461 inhabitants. Zaječar ...

. He was immediately rushed to a cardiovascular clinic in Belgrade where a

triple bypass surgery Coronary artery bypass surgery, also known as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG, pronounced "cabbage") is a surgical procedure to treat coronary artery disease (CAD), the buildup of plaques in the arteries of the heart. It can relieve chest p ...

was performed.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mensur, Irfan 1952 births Living people Male actors from Sarajevo Serbian male actors Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Serbia Parovi