Mavi Boncuk |
In Memoriam | Deniz Tanyeli (1939-Oct. 13, 2016)
Deniz Tanyeli [Efeminya Özmavridis] [1] was born in 1939. She is an actress, known for Yayla güzeli Gül Ayse (1956), Üç yetimin izdirabi (1956) and Yedi köyün Zeynebi (1956). Married to cinematographer Memduh Yükman (1925-1983).
[1] İstanbul-based Armenians were very active in the field of Turkish theater, including the period before the foundation of the Turkish Republic. A great many Armenians, including [stage actors and directors] Mınakyan Efendi and Güllü Agop[*], and [actresses] Eliza Binemeciyan and Toto Karaca, contributed to the art of theater [in Turkey].
The İstanbul-based Greeks [on the other hand] were mainly interested in the film industry of Turkey. Thus, from the owners and managers of the Sponeck Birahanesi [beerhouse] in the Galatasaray neighborhood, where the first public film screening took place in 1876, to cinema actresses such as Ayla Karaca [whose real name is Atina Miloharakti] and Deniz Tanyeli [Efeminya Özmavridis], İstanbul-based Greek movie professionals were very important, both in front of and behind the cameras in the Turkish film industry,”[*] Güllü Agop founded the Osmanli Dram Kumpanyasi (Ottoman Dram Company) and started to work at Gedikpasa Theater situated in the old city. Gullu Agop's theater was the first company presenting plays in Turkish language in continuum. He played a significant role in the emergence of Turkish theater in the Western style. Those years were marked by a public discussion over theater imitating the Western style versus traditional forms. The important theater critic of the era, Teodor Kasap strongly emphasized the need for creating an original Turkish theater based on traditional forms and brought forth severe criticisms to imitations of Western styles.