Sermet Erkin

Sermet Erkin — Biography

Sermet Erkin is an artist who in more than fifty years on stage has combined magic with theatre, journalism and television. He trained as a student of Zati Sungur and toured more than 250 Turkish provinces and districts as well as many countries from Europe to Central Asia, working in nightclubs and circuses abroad. He lives in his hometown of Karamürsel and still performs.

When his family moved to Istanbul he grew up in Sungur's neighbourhood and, at Istanbul University's Faculty of Letters, studied Turkish literature before graduating in the History of Philosophy. As a child he joined the Istanbul City Theatres and radio children's programmes, and he acted in the city theatre until 1977; Karagözcü ile Sihirbaz was the first children's play there to open with a gala. He then formed his own company and for three years appeared in the musical Kibritçi Kız at the Zorlu Children's Theatre. A professional magician from the 1970s, he worked for more than 18 years at Istanbul's Kervansaray nightclub.

He began as a journalist in 1976, preparing children's pages for Hürriyet, Milliyet, Sabah and Günaydın, became the last editor-in-chief of the children's magazine Bando and later wrote for Atlas Tarih. On television since 1965, he took part in programmes and prepared and presented his own, and he was a guest actor in Leyla ile Mecnun (2011). He owns one of Turkey's most extensive collections of Karagöz figures, plays and sound recordings, and the Cinema and Television Department of Bilkent University made a documentary about his life.