Türkiye bids farewell to screen legend Kadir İnanır
ISTANBUL
A profound sense of grief has swept across Türkiye with the loss of Kadir İnanır, a revered actor whose magnetic screen presence and enduring career shaped the very fabric of the nation’s golden cinematic era.
The acclaimed actor died at the age of 77 after weeks in intensive care.
A public memorial ceremony was held on June 28 at 1 p.m. at the Harbiye Muhsin Ertuğrul Stage in Istanbul. Following the ceremony, funeral prayers were performed at the Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa Mosque before İnanır was laid to rest at Ulus Cemetery.
The veteran actor had been hospitalized on May 14 after developing pneumonia. Shortly afterwards, he was transferred to intensive care as a lung infection worsened. His doctors initially sought to avoid intubation but ultimately placed him on mechanical ventilation on May 22 after his condition deteriorated.
His final illness followed years of serious health complications. In March 2024, İnanır suffered a blood clot in his brain and underwent a lengthy period of intensive care before being discharged. He had previously recovered from another cerebral blood clot in 2021 after falling ill during a holiday in the southwestern province of Muğla. Over the past two years, he underwent multiple operations and extensive physical rehabilitation before being readmitted to the hospital last month with respiratory distress.
Born on April 15, 1949, in the Black Sea district of Fatsa in Ordu province, İnanır entered the Turkish film industry in the early 1970s and went on to appear in more than 180 films. He became one of the most recognizable faces of Yeşilçam, Türkiye’s prolific classic cinema era, earning acclaim for his performances in landmark productions, including Selvi Boylum, Al Yazmalım, Yılanların Öcü, Bir Yudum Sevgi, Ah Güzel İstanbul and Tatar Ramazan. His nuanced portrayals of resilient, principled characters established him as one of Turkish cinema’s most enduring stars.
Throughout his distinguished career, İnanır received numerous honors, including Best Actor awards at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, the Adana Golden Boll Film Festival and the Ankara Film Festival. He was also presented with the Adana Golden Boll Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award and the special “Face of Our Cinema in the 100th Year of the Republic” distinction.
Messages of condolence poured in following news of his death. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he had learned of İnanır’s passing “with great sorrow,” offering condolences to the actor’s family, loved ones and the Turkish arts community.
Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu also expressed his condolences, while CHP’s ousted leader Özgür Özel said the actor had left “an indelible mark through both his art and his principles.”
A message shared on behalf of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu remembered him as “an honorable man who never bowed to injustice.”
With a career spanning more than five decades and over 180 films, Kadir İnanır leaves behind a cinematic legacy that shaped generations of Turkish audiences and secured his place among the most influential actors in the history of the country’s film
industry.