Veteran lover of Turkish theatre: Erol Günaydın

Master actor, screenwriter and director Erol Günaydın is commemorated on the 13th anniversary of his death.

Born in 1933 in the Akçabat district of Trabzon, the artist achieved significant fame by continuing the storyteller tradition after Kavuklu Hamdi and İsmail Dümbüllü.

Erol Günaydın started his education in Istanbul, where his father, Kazım Bey, came for his children's education.

The veteran actor, who studied at Galatasaray High School, made his theatrical debut with short plays satirizing his teachers. He later passed the entrance exam for the Istanbul City Theatres and began his theatrical career.

Günaydın, who began his professional acting career in 1955 with the play "The Priest Ran Away" at the Haldun Dormen Cep Theatre, expressed his feelings about the play with the following words in a statement:

"When the play ended, I was drenched in sweat. I didn't understand what was happening; everyone was kissing each other and all. I wiped my face and eyes. I took the ferry home to Beşiktaş, undressed, and went to bed. When I woke up in the morning, 60 years had passed... I've been in the theater for 60 years..."

The actor, who made his film debut in 1960 in the movie "Green Frogs", was remembered not only for his storytelling performances but also for the characters he portrayed and his voice-overs.

Günaydın married Güneş Hanım, whom he met during his Izmir tour, and they had three children named Ayşe, Fatoş and Günfer.

He was the manager of Akbank Children's Theatre and an actor in many plays at the Dormen Theatre. He founded the Genar Theatre with Tuncel Kurtiz, Suna Keskin, Erol Keskin and Cahit Irgat.

Erol Günaydın won the "Best Screenplay" and "Best Supporting Actor" awards at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival in 1967 with his film "For a Beautiful Day" directed by Haldun Dormen.

The famous actor, who has appeared in many films, theater plays and television series, also attracted great attention with his role in the TV series Çiçek Taksi, broadcast on TRT.

The artist, who voiced the characters of Bilbo Baggins in the movie "The Lord of the Rings", Carl Fredricksen in the animation "Up" and Abu Talib in the cartoon "Muhammad, the Last Prophet", in addition to Yogi Bear, also left a mark on people's memories with his voice.

The artist also appeared in the music videos for the Athena group's song "Arsız Gönül" and Emre Altuğ's "Aşk-ı Kıyamet".

Master artist Ferhan Şensoy made the following assessment of Erol Günaydın's artistry:

"Erol Abi doesn't care about whether the role is big or small. He plays the smallest role in such a way that you can't look at anyone while he's on stage. He's always the leading role anyway."

Emine Algan's interviews with the famous actress were published in the book "İki Kalas Bir Heves" in 2007.

Günaydın, who was being treated for kidney failure in an Istanbul hospital, died on October 15, 2012. Günaydın's funeral prayer was held at the Teşvikiye Mosque on October 17, and he was buried in the Feriköy Cemetery.

Erol Günaydın, who took part in 160 productions including voice-overs, appeared before the audience in different roles in more than 70 movies.

Günaydın took on roles in many theater plays, including "The Tired Matador", "The Fişne Pachçesu", "The Abstract Sultan", "The Heroic Grocer vs. the Supermarket", "The Fuss is Seventy", "The Age of Suleiman", "The Voice of the Heart", "The Seagull", "The Bear Tale", "The Golden Fist", "The Inspector", "The Medal of Victory", "Cleopatra's Tomb" and "The Priest Escaped".

The famous actor took part in the television series "Nine in the Morning", "As Long as People Live", "Doctors", "The Price of a Life", "Neighborhood Headmen", "Flower Taxi", "Sweet Nuts", "A Bunch of Local Films", "Paradise Neighborhood", "Akasya Stop" and "Balkan Wedding".

Some of the productions in which Günaydın took part are as follows:

"I Saw the Sun", "There", "Nekrut", "Destere", "That Woman", "White Angel", "It Might Be the Past Tense", "First Love", "Henna Lambs: The Price Was Paid in Çanakkale", "Violet Bay", "We Ended Everything", "Super Dad", "We Laughed When We Were Born", "Welcome Ramadan", "Partridge in the Bag", "Bitter Morsel", "Don't Come at Me", "Kiratl Süleyman", "Defense", "Two Billion Dollar Ticket", "This Mukhtar is a Different Mukhtar", "The Bewildered Bride", "The House on the Hill", "The Wedding", "The Oath of Revenge", "Eşrefpaşalı", "Two Ships Side by Side", "The Fierce Journalist", "The Green Frogs".