Veteran actor Münir Özkul died on Jan. 5 at the age of 93. Özkul had been suffering from a respiratory disease and dementia since 2003 and had been treated in his home in Istanbul for a long time. Speaking to press members, his daughter Güner Özkul said her father had been having health problems for a long time.
“We have been ready for this day due to a lot of fake news in the media,” she said.
Özkul said his funeral ceremony would be held on Jan. 7 or 8 at the Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage and his funeral would take place at the Teşvikiye Mosque.
Mavi Boncuk | Münir Özkul (15 August
1925 – 5 January 2018) was a Turkish cinema and theatre actor. He has been awarded the title of "State Artist of Turkey". In 1972, he won a Golden Orange Award for Best Actor for his performance in Sev Kardeşim.He completed his formal education at İstanbul Erkek Lisesi. Özkul starting his acting career at Bakırköy Halkevi theatre. Later he worked at Ankara State theatre and İstanbul Şehir theatre. He became famous after his role in Muhsin Ertuğrul's Fareler ve İnsanlar. From the 1950s onwards, he acted mostly in cinema. During the 1970s, he appeared in many films of the director Ertem Eğilmez like Hababam Sınıfı, Şabanoğlu Şaban, Mavi Boncuk, Banker Bilo, Namuslu.
Many of these films paired him with the actress Adile Naşit. Other films include Edi ile Büdü, Halıcı Kız, Kalbimin Şarkısı, Miras Uğruna, Balıkçı Güzeli, Neşeli Günler, Gülen Yüzler, Gırgıriye, Görgüsüzler, Mavi Boncuk, Bizim Aile, Aile Şerefi. In the 1980s, he acted in some television series such as Uzaylı Zekiye, Ana Kuzusu ve Şaban ile Şirin.
Özkul was awarded the honorary title “State Artist of Turkey” in 1998. In 2015, Özkul was one of the recipients of the Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards, which are distributed every year by the state to Turkish and foreign artists and institutions that contribute and honor Turkish culture and art.
In 1972, he received the Golden Orange Award, known as the Turkish Oscars, for Best Actor in his performance in the Turkish movie “Sev Kardeşim” (Love, My Brother). During the 1970s, he appeared in many films by Ertem Eğilmez.
He is best known in Turkey for his roles “Mahmut Hoca” in the cult comedy film series “Hababam Sınıfı” (The Chaos Class) and Yaşar Usta in the film “Bizim Aile” (Our Family), as well as many other films.
Özkul has married four times and he has three children. His second wife was actress Suna Selen. In 1998, he was awarded the title of "State Artist of Turkey" by the Turkish Ministry of Culture. He has suffered from dementia since 2003.