Kemal Sunal

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Kemal Sunal (, M.A.) (1944 – 2000)
Born on November 11, 1944 , in Kucukpazar, Istanbul , Sunal is an all-time master of comedy in the Turkish history of cinema. Famed for his parts “Inek Saban” (Saban the Cow), “Salako”, “Doktor Civanim”, “Sut Kardes Saban” and “Kapicilar Krali”, Sunal earned himself a permanent throne in all the hearts of Turkish people.
EARLY LIFE
Kemal Sunal graduated from Vefa Lisesi (Vefa High School). He started pursuing what was to become a long and successful acting career, in minor roles in theatres. For a brief period, he worked in the Kenterler Theatre and took part in his first play “Zoraki Takip”. He was later transferred to the Devekusu Kabare Theatre where he continued acting until he made his choice to act in films.
CAREER
By 1973 he was recognized as a true talent, and started receiving offers for films with larger budgets and more famous casts. His first film was “Tatli Dillim” by Ertem Egilmez. In a matter of years, Sunal was co-starring with other actors from the old school, such as Halit Akcatepe, Sener Sen and Munir Ozkul.Perhaps the most famous of all his parts was “Inek Saban”. The simpleminded, artless and innocent member of Hababam Sinifi (The Outrageous Class), was a good laugh for many. Inek Saban was constantly bullied and humiliated by his friends, but this never kept him from thinking the unthinkable, like digging a tunnel to escape school grounds (which later, turned out to lead to the vice-principal’s office) or smoking in the school attic. The character was so pure and so fixed in the memories of the Turkish people, it was never replaced by another actor in the recent re-shootings of Hababam Sinifi, most probably as a sign of respect to Sunal.
His other parts such as Sut Kardes Saban, a dumb sailor; Kapicilar Krali, a foolish garbage man, who fell in love with a municipality officer’s fiancee; Doktor Civanim, a former hospital janitor pretending to be a doctor upon his return to his home village; and finally “Orta Direk Saban”, a naive man trying to become an athlete to impress his crush.Apart from the hilariousness of his movies, one of the reasons that they were so popular were because they addressed many of the problems faced by the urban poor in Turkey during the 70's and 80's. In almost all of his films, Kemal Sunal plays a poor man, trying to make something of himself.Sunal’s last film was Propoganda, which was directed by the famous director Sinan Çetin. Sunal, played a Customs officer-in-charge (presumably) on the Syrian Border. Being a drama, this film was a contrast to his other works. As the plot unfolded, Sunal’s character fell into desperacy, trying to survive the dilemma between his duties as an officer of the law and his duties as a friend. In public opinion, this film was not the best of jubilees for the master. In fact it hadn’t been meant to be a jubilee after all. Another significant fact about this film is that it also included Ali Sunal, Kemal Sunal’s son, in cast as a junior customs officer.
PERSONAL LIFE
Sunal lived a life of modesty. He kept himself and his family away from the media and rarely appeared in parties. People who knew him have commented on how serious he was in real life, in contrast to the hilarious characters he played in films. When he attended university, he went to school like a normal student and stated that “that was the way he liked it”.
Sunal’s dreams for higher-education had been disrupted in the 1980 period of military takeover. His attempts for earning a degree finally paid off in 1995, when he earned his bachelor’s degree in Radio Television and Cinema Studies from Marmara University. He then decided to pursue a master’s degree, which he earned in 1998 also from Marmara University. This incident was covered by the media with headlines like “Inek Saban Master Yapti” (Saban the Cow got a master’s degree) while his 'class-mates' from Hababam Sinifi made comments like "Profesorluk Bekliyoruz / We expect full professorship" At his graduation ceremony he made a speech where he joked that his path of first working and then attending university later in life was better as it allowed people to gain real life experience earlier.
Kemal Sunal passed away on July 3, 2000 as a result of a sudden heart attack aboard a flight to Trabzon just before take off. He was reported to be afraid of flying. His death caused an air of mourning that swept the entire nation and dominated news coverage for three days.
Kemal Sunal was married to Gül Sunal and he had two children, Ali and Ezo Sunal. He is the winner of the Altin Portakal (Golden Orange) 1977 (Best Actor) and the Lifetime Honorary Award (1998), both given by the Antalya Altin Portakal Film Festival jury.
Sunal is still recognized as the Turkish master of comedy. His films are still enjoyed no matter how many times they are watched or how old they are. His guileless look and naive beam are still causes for a sad but hearty smile. It is not an exageration to say that he was loved by everyone regardless of age, view and ethical background. His place in the hearts of Turks can be exemplified using quotes from Mr. Bülent Ecevit, who was Prime Minister when Sunal passed away and Mr. Serdar Erener, famed publicist :
“I am a Kemal Sunal fan. I was never tired of watching his films, nor will I ever be. He was a great artist.”
-BÃœLENT ECEVIT
“This is not my personal finding but if we were to ask : “What is our greatest common denominator in this country?” the answer would be “Kemal Sunal”.”
-SERDAR ERENER
AWARDS
1977: 14. Antalya Film Senligi (14th Antalya Film Festival), Best Actor, Kapicilar Krali
1998: 35. Antalya Film Senligi (35th Antalya Film Festival), Life time honorary award, Kapicilar Krali
1989: 2. Ankara Film Senligi (2nd Ankara Film Festival), Best Actor, Düttürü Dünyatd.text td.text table table td div