Rana Cabbar

Rana Cabbar — Biography

Rana Cabbar, Rana Solakyan by birth, was a veteran actor who came out of the founding company of the Ankara Art Theatre, became known on screen for hard, often villainous characters, and reached a wide public as Süleyman Efendi in Aşk-ı Memnu. Of Armenian and Greek descent, he died in Istanbul on 20 April 2023, aged 78; that he was of Armenian origin became widely known only after his death.

His artistic life was shaped on stage. After finishing his education in Istanbul he moved to Ankara, took part in setting up the Ankara Art Theatre, and between 1964 and 1979 performed in nearly thirty plays there, directing two of them. He was remembered as the first actor to play the title role in Sakıncalı Piyade, adapted from Uğur Mumcu's book. In 1978 he won best actor at the Sanat Sevenler Derneği awards. In 1982 he moved to Istanbul and turned to cinema; his first film was Hakkari'de Bir Mevsim. He worked with directors including Erden Kıral, Ömer Kavur, Şerif Gören and Yavuz Turgul, and played Ali Dede in Şahmaran, Kahya in Akrebin Yolculuğu and Haco in Kabadayı.

From the 2000s he was a regular character actor on television, appearing in Beyaz Gelincik, Kara Duvak, Hayat Devam Ediyor, Aşk-ı Memnu, Kadın and Baraj. His Kadı Efendi in Vezir Parmağı earned him an award at the Sadri Alışık Awards. He was buried on 22 April at the Şişli Armenian Catholic Cemetery.