İsmet Ay

İsmet Ay — Biography

İsmet Ay (28 December 1924, Şile – 7 October 2004, Istanbul) was a Turkish stage, film and television actor. After graduating from the theatre department of the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory, he joined the City Theatres in 1948, beginning a stage career that would last there for thirty-two years until his retirement in 1980.

Alongside the theatre he appeared in numerous films and television productions, including Talihli Amele (1980), Aaahh Belinda (1986), Asılacak Kadın (1986), Afife Jale (1987), Seni Seviyorum Rosa (1992), İz (1995) and Kara Kentin Çocukları (2000). On television he won wide popularity as "Sermet" in the series Süper Baba. After retiring, he continued to perform as a guest artist at the theatre founded by Tolga Aşkıner and Ali Poyrazoğlu.

Despite poor health, he took a final role in the series Cennet Mahallesi. He died in Istanbul in 2004 and was buried in his hometown of Şile, where a stage bearing his name opened in 2024.