Erol Günaydın (16 April 1933 – 15 October 2012) was a Turkish theater and film actor, as well as a renowned showman famous particularly for his portrayal of

Nasreddin Hoca Nasreddin () or Nasreddin Hodja (variants include Mullah Nasreddin Hodja, Nasruddin Hodja, Mullah Nasruddin, Mullah Nasriddin, Khoja Nasriddin, Khaja Nasruddin) (1208–1285) is a character commonly found in the folklores of the Muslim world, ...

and his performances in the traditional Turkish meddah ( one-man shows).

Biography

Erol Günaydın started his professional acting career in 1955 with the play "The priest ran away", staged at Haldun Dormen Pocket Theater. Active in theater since 1955 and in cinema since 1960, he celebrated his

golden jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali language, ...

together with the fortieth anniversary of his marriage with spouse Güneş Günaydın, a native of

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

, in company of his children, one of whom married into an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

family. Erol Günaydın was born in

Akçaabat Akçaabat is a municipality and district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 375 km2, and its population is 129,290 (2022). It lies on the Black Sea coast, to the west of the city of Trabzon. Its elevation is . Akçaabat is a coastal tow ...

Trabzon Province Trabzon Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 4,628 km2, and its population is 818,023 (2022). Located in a strategic ...

, and became involved in theater while he was a student in

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...

. He played in a very varied range of plays and character roles in films since then and became nationally famous especially once he also started appearing in TV shows on a frequent basis, first as the Turkish voice of

Yogi Bear Yogi Bear is an anthropomorphic animal character who has appeared in numerous comic books, animated television shows, and films. He made his debut in 1958 as a supporting character in ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. He was created by Hanna- ...

, and then in his

and meddah shows, with also a leading role in the very successful TV serial "''Çiçek Taxi''". He is one of the best known faces in Turkey's world of performing arts. His memoirs, put in writing in the form of long interview with the journalist Emine Algan, were published in 2007. He also voiced Carl Fredericksen in the Turkish dub of the 2009

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

film Up.

Death

Erol Günaydın died on 15 October 2012 in a hospital in Istanbul. On 24 August he had been admitted to hospital with

dyspnea Shortness of breath (SOB), known as dyspnea (in AmE) or dyspnoea (in BrE), is an uncomfortable feeling of not being able to breathe well enough. The American Thoracic Society defines it as "a subjective experience of breathing discomfort that ...

, in an intensive care unit in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

. Being without consciousness, Günaydın was transferred to Istanbul by air ambulance on 22 September. Günaydın's death was announced by his daughter Günfer Günaydın in her Twitter feed. He was laid to rest at the

Feriköy Cemetery The Feriköy Cemetery () is a burial ground situated in Feriköy quarter of Şişli district in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, sport ...

, Istanbul.

References

* Who is Who database
''Biography of Erol Günaydın''

External links

* 1Turkish 1933 births 2012 deaths Turkish male stage actors Turkish male film actors People from Akçaabat Best Screenplay Golden Orange Award winners Best Supporting Actor Golden Orange Award winners Galatasaray High School alumni Burials at Feriköy Cemetery {{Turkey-actor-stub