Süleyman Turan

Süleyman Turan — Biography

Süleyman Turan (19 November 1936, Istanbul – 10 September 2019, Istanbul) was a Turkish film and theatre actor, screenwriter and cartoonist. His real name was Recep Süleyman Başturan. He began his artistic career as a magazine illustrator and entered cinema through a competition run by a magazine.

He became one of the best-known character actors of the Yeşilçam era, loved especially for his loyal best-friend roles alongside leading men. He appeared in numerous films such as "Muhteşem Serseri" (1964), "Tatlı Meleğim" (1970), "Güllü" (1972), "Çöl Kartalı" (1972) and "Nereye Bakıyor Bu Adamlar" (1976), and is remembered as Teneke Koruadam in "Ayşecik ve Sihirli Cüceler Rüyalar Ülkesinde" (1971), the Turkish adaptation of The Wizard of Oz. He also wrote three film scripts and painted.

In later years he played police chief Kemal in the TV series "Yılan Hikayesi" (1999–2001) and appeared in productions such as "Kabadayı" (2007) and "Yahşi Batı" (2009). He died in Istanbul on 10 September 2019 and was buried in Karacaahmet Cemetery after a funeral service at Şakirin Mosque. He had a daughter, Beliz Turan.