Fahrettin Cüreklibatır (7 September 1937 – 28 June 2022), better known by his stage name Cüneyt Arkın, was a Turkish film actor, director, producer and physician. Having starred in somewhere around 300 movies and TV series, he is widely considered one of the most prominent Turkish actors of all time. Arkın's films have ranged from well-received dramas to mockbusters throughout his career spanning four decades. With Fatma Girik, he played in Sevişmek Yasak, Kolsuz Kahraman, Köroğlu, Vatan ve Namık Kemal, Büyük Yemin, Satın Alınan Koca, Murat ile Nazlı, Gönülden yaralılar, Önce Vatan, Gelincik. Early in his career, Arkın became known for starring in historical dramas taking place during the first centuries of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and Anatolian Seljuks, such as '' Malkoçoğlu Cem Sultan'' and '' Battal Gazi''. While gaining success with such action-based films, he also took part in political films in the late 1970s, the most famous of those being '' The Adam Trilogy'' directed by Remzi Aydın Jöntürk. Arkın and Jöntürk continued their collaboration on many other films. Cüneyt Arkın and Fatma Girik are one of the most famous partnerships of Yeşilçam Turkish cinema. In the 1980s, Arkın became known abroad for the film ''

Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam ''Dünyayı Kurtaran Adam'' (English: ''The Man Who Saves The World'') is a 1982 Turkish science fantasy martial arts superhero adventure film directed by Çetin İnanç, and starring actor/martial artist Cüneyt Arkın. It was first released i ...

'' (''The Man Who Saves The World'', also known as ''Turkish Star Wars''), a

low-budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced o ...

science fantasy file:Warhammer40kcosplay.jpg, Cosplay of a character from the ''Warhammer 40,000'' tabletop game; one critic has characterized the game's setting as "action-oriented science-fantasy." Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction ...

martial arts film Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression a ...

, tentatively famous for featuring bootlegged scenes from ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

''. Today, the

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

has a

cult following A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, boo ...

Career

While he was doing his military service as a reserve officer in his hometown of Eskişehir, he caught the attention of director Halit Refiğ during the filming of "Şafak Bekçileri" (1963) about the airforce starring Göksel Arsoy. After completing his military service, he worked as a doctor in and around Adana. In 1963, he won the first prize in the Artist magazine. Seeking a job for a while, Cüneyt Arkın started acting in 1963 with the offer of Halit Refiğ and translated at least 30 films in two years. The fight scene in the end in film ''Gurbet Kuşları'' in 1964 was a breaking point in Arkın's career. After playing emotional and romantic young characters for a while, he turned to action films with the suggestion of Halit Refiğ. During this period, he studied acrobatics at the Medrano Circus in Istanbul for six months. By transferring what he learned here in the ''Malkoçoğlu'' and ''Battal Gazi Destanı'' series to the big screen, he brought a unique style to Turkish cinema. He soon became the most sought-after actor in adventure films. Although he started his film career with romantic young heroes, he continued with action films, but almost every character died. Throughout his career, he shot various genres from western to comedy, from adventure movies to social movies. Especially, ''Maden'' (1978) and ''Vatandaş Rıza'' (1979) occupy a special place in Cüneyt Arkın's career.

Personal life

Fahrettin Cüreklibatur was born on 7 September 1937, in the village of Gökçeoğlu in the Alpu district of

Eskişehir Province Eskişehir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in northwestern Turkey. Its area is 13,960 km2, and its population is 906,617 (2022). Its adjacent provinces are B ...

, Turkey to a family of Crimean Tatar and Nogai origin. After graduation from the university as a physician, Cüreklibatır married his classmate Dr. Güler Mocan in 1964. In 1966, their daughter Filiz Cüreklibatır was born. The marriage did not last long due to Cüreklibatır's newly flourishing career as a film actor. In 1968, he took the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Cüneyt Arkın, and met Betül Işıl, the daughter of a wealthy family that owned a tile manufacturing company. Işıl, a graduate of a university in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

was working as a flight attendant at the time. They were engaged in 1969, married in 1970, and divorced in 1971. Soon afterwards, they remarried and Betül gave birth to two sons, actor Murat Arkın and Kaan Polat. Arkın's wife and sons have starred in several of his films. His grandchildren are called Defne, Zeynep and Cemre. Cüneyt Arkın died at a hospital in Istanbul after suffering a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

at home on 28 June 2022. On June 30, he was interred at

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

. Following his death, the

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

municipal council voted to name the Artists' Park in Akatlar,

after him.

Awards

, - , 1963 , "First Prize" (''1.lik Ödülü"'') , , , - , 1969 , "Best Actor Award" (''"En İyi Erkek Oyuncu Ödülü"''), for ' , , , - , 1972 , "Best Actor Award" (''"En İyi Erkek Oyuncu Ödülü"''), for ' , , , - , 1976 , "Best Actor Award" (''"En İyi Erkek Oyuncu Ödülü"''), for '' , , , - , 1999 , "Lifetime Honor Award" (''"Yaşam Boyu Onur Ödülü"'') , , , - , rowspan="3" , 2013 , "Lifetime Profession and Honor Award" (''"Yaşam Boyu Meslek ve Onur Ödülü"'') , ''Engelsiz Yaşam Vakfı'' , , - , "Lifetime Honor Award" (''"Yaşam Boyu Onur Ödülü"'') , , , - , "Culture and Art Grand Prize" (''"Kültür ve Sanat Büyük Ödülü"'') , ''2013 Yılı Kültür ve Sanat Büyük Ödülü'' , , - , 2021 , "Culture and Art Grand Prize" (''"Kültür ve Sanat Büyük Ödülü"'') , Presidential Culture and Arts Grand Awards ,

Filmography

References

Kalpaklı, Fatma. “Alageyik Filmi ile Avcı Filmindeki Geyik İmgesine Karşılaştırmalı bir Bakış”, RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 2021. (Cilt, Sayı: 24), 1096–1112. DOI: 10.29000/rumelide.995493. 21.Eylül.2021.

External links

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Official Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkin, Cuneyt 1937 births 2022 deaths Turkish male film actors Turkish film directors 20th-century Turkish physicians Istanbul University alumni People from Eskişehir Turkish expatriates in Iran Best Actor Golden Orange Award winners Best Actor Golden Boll Award winners Golden Orange Life Achievement Award winners Golden Boll Life Achievement Award winners Golden Butterfly Award winners Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine alumni Turkish martial artists Nogai people Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery 20th-century Turkish male actors 21st-century Turkish male actors