Muammer Karaca

Muammer Karaca — Biography

Born Mehmet Muammer Karaca, known personally as Muammer Ruşen, he was born on November 8, 1906, in İstanbul and turned to theatre after abandoning veterinary studies. He first went on stage in 1923 at Sahir Opereti, then joined Darülbedayi in 1924 for a role in Renkli Fener.

While on tour in İzmir he met and married Şükran Hanım, daughter of then-governor Kazım Dirik; her family opposed the match, so the marriage took the form of an elopement that made headlines. He worked briefly at the Turhal Şeker Fabrikası sugar plant before returning to the stage; the marriage ended in the early 1950s.

He became famous in 1933 performing with Safiye Ayla in Alabanda Revüsü, and made his film debut in Karım Beni Aldatırsa; in 1945 he founded his own Karaca Opereti and gained popularity with Etnan Bey Duymasın, a play satirizing Adnan Menderes. In 1955 he opened the Muammer Karaca Tiyatrosu in Beyoğlu and staged Cibali Karakolu, which ran more than three thousand times over sixteen years and was later adapted for film under director Hulki Saner.

He also appeared in 1940s films such as Akasya Palas, Kızılırmak and Köroğlu; deep in debt late in life, he sold his theatre to the municipality, died in İstanbul on April 28, 1978, and was buried in Zincirlikuyu.