Engin Cezzar
Engin Cezzar (25 September 1935 – 28 January 2017) was a Turkish director, and stage, movie and TV actor. Cezzar, who started acting in Istanbul City Theatres with the role of "Hamlet", had the title of the youngest actor ever to portray this character in the world. He performed many plays in the theater community he founded with his wife Gülriz Sururi in 1962 and took the lead role in many of them. His name has become synonymous with the character of Keşanlı Ali in the musical "Keşanlı Ali Destanı" by Haldun Taner, in which Cezzar had the leading  role. He was one of the oldest friends of James Baldwin. Life. Cezzar was born in Istanbul in 1935. After finishing primary school, he continued his education at Robert College. Upon his interest in theater, which started at Robert College, he studied at the Theater department of Yale University in the US and at the Actors Studio Theater School. In 1958, he played the leading role in Franz Kafka's "The Warden of the Tomb", which premiered at the Piscator Workshop theater. He returned to Turkey in 1959 and began acting in the role of "Hamlet" at the Istanbul City  Theatre. Having gained a reputation with this performance, Cezzar became the youngest artist ever to play the role of Hamlet, and appeared in this role over 169 times. He later worked in Dormen Theatre, Devekuşu Cabaret, Istanbul State Theatre, and Antalya State Theatre. In 1968, he married stage actress Gülriz Sururi. Cezzar, who also appeared in movies and TV series, played in the series "Bay Alkolü Takdimimdir" for TRT in 1985. He also directed and produced the series "Kaldırım Serçesi" in 1989. For his role in "Kaldırım Serçesi", he won the Sedat Simavi Radio-Television Award. For his lifelong contributions  to theatre art, Cezzar and his wife Gülriz Sururi received the 2003 Muhsin Ertuğrul Special Award at the 7th Afife Theatre Awards. In 2008, he was honored at the International Istanbul Theatre Festival with an honorary award. Cezzar, who suffered a stroke in 2011, died on 28 January 2017. According to his will, he was buried in Çatalca following a private ceremony.