Turkey’s ‘Count Dracula’ Giovanni Scognamillo dies aged 87

ISTANBUL – Anadolu Agency

Veteran film critic Giovanni Scognamillo died on Oct. 8 at the age of 87 after a more than 60-year career documenting Turkish cinema.

Scognamillo - known as one of the more eccentric characters of Istanbul’s Beyoğlu district because of his obsession with vampires - died of respiratory failure in the city’s Başakşehir State Hospital, his assistant Nalan Söylemez said.      

A cinema historian, researcher, translator, actor and artist, Scognamillo was born in Istanbul in 1929 to an Italian Levantine family.    

With his tapered black fingernails and black cloak, Scognamillo dressed and described himself as a vampire and staged exhibitions of vampire paintings at his home.      

A documentary titled “Giovanni Scognamillo: A Levantine in Beyoğlu” was released in 2006.