Tamer Balcı (born Toma Valcis, 1 January 1917 – 10 April 1993), also known as Toma Balcı, was a Turkish sportsman and film actor of Greek descent. Balcı is considered to be the best

hammer throw The hammer throw (HT for short) is one of the four throwing events in regular outdoor track-and-field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and Javelin throw, javelin. The hammer used in this sport is not like any of the tools a ...

er of the country from 1940 to 1955 as he set the national record 11 times and was a 15-time national champion. He was a non-starter in the

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

and

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

while representing Turkey. He started his acting career in 1951 and appeared in 24 movies, including as

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, a feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer. Creat ...

in ''Tarzan İstanbul'da'' (''Tarzan in İstanbul'') (1952).

Early life and sports career

He was born as Toma Valcis in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Turkey, on 1 January 1917. He spent most of his life in

Heybeliada Heybeliada, or Heybeli Ada, () is the second largest of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, Turkey. It is officially a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Adalar, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its populatio ...

and was of Greek descent. He had his early education on the island and started sports at an early age, initially as a footballer and swimmer, and later as a

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

er. Following his secondary education, he moved to mainland

and became a member of the Galatasaray Sports Club. He was

conscripted Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

into the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

for his mandatory draft in 1940. Following his return from the army, he focused on

ing instead. Valcis, known by his Turkish name Tamer Balcı by now, was considered to be "the number one" in hammer throwing within Turkey of his time. From 1940 to 1951, he broke the Turkish national record 11 times in total, and won the national championship 15 times: from 1940–1953 and in 1955. While participating the 1950 Turkish Athletic Championships, he reached above for the first time, setting a result of . His final personal best, also the national record at the time, was set in October 1951 and was . He represented Turkey in hammer throwing during the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...

and

, though he was a non-starter on both instances.

Acting career

Throughout his acting career spanning from 1951 to 1976, Balcı played in 24 movies. His first acting performance was with ''

5 Fingers ''5 Fingers'', known also as ''Five Fingers'', is a 1952 American spy film noir directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by Otto Lang. The screenplay written by Michael Wilson was based on the 1950 book ''Operation Cicero'' (original Ge ...

'' (1952), where he had a minor role. His first title role came with the 1952 movie ''Tarzan İstanbul'da'' (''Tarzan in Istanbul''), directed by Orhan Atadeniz, where Balcı played

. More than half of the movie was made with scenes taken from '' Tarzan the Ape Man'' (1932); the rest of the movie was shot in

, mostly in the

Belgrad Forest Belgrad Forest () is a mixed deciduous forest lying adjacent to Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after the village next to the forest, settled by thousands of Serbs who were deported to the capital Constantinople from the city of Belgrade in 1521, w ...

. Balcı was cast for the role due to his height and body physique. In the movie, Balcı "mimmicks" former Olympic swimmer

Johnny Weissmuller Johnny Weissmuller ( ; born Johann Peter Weißmüller, ; June 2, 1904 – January 20, 1984) was a Hungarian-born German American Olympic swimmer, water polo player and actor. He was known for having one of the best competitive-swimming records o ...

, the actor of Tarzan in the 1932 movie. He was the

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian and American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Oliv ...

in the 1957 movie ''

''. Balcı's final appearances were the 1976 movies ''Sahte Kabadayı'' and ''Hınç'', starring

Kemal Sunal Kemal Sunal (11 November 1944 – 3 July 2000) was a Turkish actor and comedian. With '' Hababam Sınıfı'', '' Kapıcılar Kralı'' and '' Davaro'', Sunal gained large popularity amongst Turkish cinema goers and was famed for his characte ...

and

Cüneyt Arkın Fahrettin Cüreklibatır (7 September 1937 – 28 June 2022), better known by his stage name Cüneyt Arkın, was a Turkish film actor, director, producer and physician. Having starred in somewhere around 300 movies and TV series, he is widely co ...

respectively, where he played the

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.

Personal life and death

Balcı married Maria Balcı, and the couple had a daughter in 1965. Tamer Balcı died on 10 April 1993 and was buried at the Heybeliada Greek Orthodox Cemetery; his

gravestone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

uses his original Greek birth name.

Filmography

References

External links