Ahmet Danyal Topatan

Ahmet Danyal Topatan — Biography

Danyal Topatan, whose real name was Ahmet Danyal Bayrı, was one of the most prolific character actors of Yeşilçam. An actor of Armenian descent, he came to cinema through set decoration and over roughly a quarter of a century appeared in hundreds of productions, mostly in supporting roles. He is still remembered for his part in the international production Topkapi and for the character Camoka in the Karaoğlan films.

He left school in the first year of middle school and turned to Yeşilçam. Entering film as a set-decoration assistant with his friend Sohban Koloğlu, he took his first big step in 1953 with Drakula İstanbul'da. In the following years he played in adventure, historical and dramatic productions: Çete, Tütün Zamanı, Belanın Kralı, Bir Teselli Ver and İpini Boynunda Bil are among them. In some productions he also took on art direction.

He worked in Atıf Yılmaz's films Mevlana, Kambur and Cemo, alongside Türkan Şoray in Cemo, and with Hulusi Kentmen in Delisin and Senede Bir Gün. He also appeared in films such as Tarkan: Gümüş Eyer, Malkoçoğlu Ölüm Fedaileri and Garip Kuş, and he turned up as Durali in Irmak and as Dede in Duvarların Ötesi. He died of lung cancer in İstanbul on 26 September 1975 and was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.