Veteran Turkish actor dies at 79

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Veteran theater and cinema actor Erol Günaydın died on Oct. 15 at the age of 79 in Istanbul’s Kadıköy Acıbadem Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment for some time.

“Artist Erol Günaydın, who was being treated for pneumonia, renal failure and sepsis in the intensive care unit since April 12, died on Oct. 15at 2:45 p.m. from heart failure,” the hospital said earliar today in a written statement.

Günaydın was taken for treatment Sept. 6 in Bodrum because of respiratory insufficiency, circulation failure and renal failure caused by COPD inflammation. He was transferred to Istanbul on Sept. 22.

Born in 1933 in the Black Sea province of Trabzon, Günaydın was a theater and film actor, as well as a renowned showman particularly famous for his portrayal of Nasreddin Hoca and his performances in the traditional Turkish meddah (one man shows). He became involved in theater while he was a student at the Galatasaray High School. He performed in a range of plays and portrayed various characters in films since then, reaching national stardom once he also began appearing on TV shows on a frequent basis.

First he was the Turkish voice of Yogi Bear, and then in his Nasreddin Hoca and meddah shows, with also a leading role in the very successful TV serial “Çiçek Taxi.” His memoirs, put in writing in the form of a long interview with the journalist Emine Algan, were published in 2007.