Ahmet Fehim

Ahmet Fehim — Biography

Ahmet Fehim was one of the first generation of actors in Turkish theater, spanning the late Ottoman era and the early Republic, and is named among the first performers to appear on the Turkish stage. He worked on provincial tours across Anatolia and on Istanbul stages, and after the First World War moved into film, directing in the first years of Turkish cinema. He began directing in 1919 with Mürebbiye.

His father placed him at the Tophane arsenal, from where he went to work as a lathe operator in a state factory; he then became foreman of a trade school workshop; his frequent trips to Gedikpaşa to watch plays drew him to the stage. He first performed at the Gedikpaşa Theatre in 1876, where his turn as the servant Bonafis got him noticed. In 1879 he went to Bursa and took part in a Molière adaptation staged by Ahmet Vefik Pasha, then toured Anatolia with Fasulyeciyan. Back in Istanbul he joined Mınakyan's Ottoman Drama Company and for a time taught in the comedy department of Darülbedayi.

After the war he made films on behalf of the Society of Disabled Veterans. He wrote, directed and starred in Mürebbiye, directed Binnaz the same year, and acted in Himmet Ağa'nın İzdivacı. His birth year is given as 1856 or 1857 depending on the source. He died in Istanbul on August 2, 1930; his son was Münif Fehim Özarman.