İrma Felekyan, better known as Toto Karaca (18 March 1912 – 22 July 1992), was a Turkish stage actress. Of

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

descent, Felekyan was born on March 18, 1912 in the Ottoman Empire. Her mother was Mari Hranuş Felekyan. She learned

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancing in her childhood. During her performances in

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

s, she preferred the name İrma Toto. Her surname became Karaca when she married theatre actor

Mehmet Karaca Mehmet Karaca was the rector of Istanbul Technical University (ITU). He was born in Istanbul on 17 September 1957. He is a member of the Department of Geology and the Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences at İstanbul Technical University. He is als ...

in 1939, due to the legislation then in force. Their son

Cem Karaca Muhtar Cem Karaca (5 April 1945 – 8 February 2004) was a prominent Turkish rock musician and one of the most important figures in the Anatolian rock movement. He was a graduate of Robert College. He worked with various Turkish rock bands such ...

became a leading figure in Anatolian rock music. In the 1930s, she performed in Ömer Aydın's

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s. She was among the founders of the Istanbul Theatre in 1960. Toto Karaca died on 22 July 1992 in Istanbul, Turkey, and was buried in the family grave at the

Şişli Armenian Cemetery The Şişli Armenian Cemetery is an Armenian cemetery in the Şişli district of Istanbul, Turkey which is operated and served by the Armenian community of Turkey. Notable burials * Hovhannes Arsharouni – Armenian Patriarch of Constantin ...

References

External links

* 1912 births 1992 deaths Turkish people of Armenian descent Turkish stage actresses Actresses from Istanbul 20th-century Turkish actresses Burials at Şişli Armenian Cemetery {{Turkey-actor-stub