Zafer Önen

Zafer Önen — Biography

Zafer Önen was an actor who moved from the operetta stage into theatre, cinema, television and dubbing, and is remembered among the veteran character actors of Yeşilçam. He is best known for his dubbing work, lending his voice to cartoon characters and to other actors, and he appeared on stage in plays such as Lüküs Hayat, Cibali Karakolu and Şöminedeki Ceset. He died in Istanbul on 13 December 2013.

His first phase was music and operetta. In 1941 he passed the entrance exam of the Ankara State Opera and Ballet and started at the conservatory; after a three-month suspension following a quarrel, he left the school and moved to Istanbul. He studied in the voice department and in 1942 made his stage debut at the Ses Theatre in Ekrem Reşit Rey's operetta Hava Cıva. He learned to play the accordion, piano and violin in this period, sang as a soloist with the Orhan Sezener Orchestra, played piano with İlham Gencer at Şişli Halkevi for seventeen years, and worked for a time as a magazine reporter.

In the second phase he worked at the Muammer Karaca, Mücap Ofluoğlu, Dormen and Tevhit Bilge theatres, and entered cinema when Lütfi Ömer Akad filmed Lüküs Hayat. He had roles in Lafını Balla Kestim (1965), Ayrılık Şarkısı (1966), Mirasyediler (1975), Korkusuz Korkak (1979) and Kuruntu Ailesi (1983), and dubbed actors such as Sami Hazinses, Baykal Kent and Kamer Sadık. His son Suat Önen also works as an actor and voice artist.