Actor Münir Özkul laid to rest

ISTANBUL

Legendary Turkish actor Münir Özkul, who died on Jan. 5 at the age of 93, was laid to rest in Istanbul on Jan. 7.

A ceremony was held for the actor at Istanbul’s Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater, during which Özkul’s daughter, Güner Özkul, noted that she had come to the same stage for the first time 40 years ago. 

“I came here in 1978 to see my father. Later on I came to say goodbye to many of our elders on behalf of myself and my father. Now we are together here. He was the father of all of us and we are all a family,” she said. 

“He loved everything beautiful: Beautiful women and people with beautiful hands. But he came to dislike his own voice after he was given a respiratory device, so he tended to keep quiet [in his later years]. This accelerated his collapse,” she added. 

Istanbul Municipality City Theaters Art Director Süha Uygur noted that they recently adapted one of Özkul’s most unforgettable films, “Bizim Aile” (Our Family), into a play. 

“What a coincidence, we will stage the premiere of the play tomorrow night,” Uygur added. 

Following the ceremony, which also screened a number of short scenes from Özkul’s films and plays, his body was sent to the Teşvikiye Mosque and then buried in the Bakırköy Cemetery.