Born in Istanbul, Turkey, in 1944, Kemal Sunal was an actor and comedian from Turkey. During his life, he starred in 82 films, marking his name among cinema records.

Sunal acted in many famous movies, even though he commerce his performing profession within the theatre. 

1. His Education

While he reached the pinnacle of his profession, he was determined to complete college, which he had dropped out of due to his early profession. Despite his fame, he attended the college like a normal scholar.

Kemal Sunal’s academic history shows that he studied at Mimar Sinan Primary School and graduated from Vefa High School in Istanbul. He also worked at a factory during his education.

While at Vefa High School, his teacher introduced him to Musfic Kenter, a prominent actor at the time. This experience inspired him and led him to believe he had a shot at succeeding as a theatrical and film actor.

2. His Personal Life

Kemal Sunal’s family played a significant role in his life, shaping his upbringing and supporting his career. He was born to a modest family in Istanbul, Turkey, on November 11, 1944. His father, Mehmet Sunal, worked as a customs officer, and his mother, Saime Sunal, was a housewife.

Sunal grew up with his siblings in Istanbul, where he spent much of his early life. He had a close relationship with his family, and their experiences likely influenced his portrayal of everyday life in his films.

Kemal Sunal was married twice during his lifetime. His first marriage was to Gul Sunal, with whom he had two children: Ali Sunal, who followed in his father’s footsteps and became an actor in his own right and Ezo Sunal. After his divorce from Gul, he married Naazi Sunal, with whom he had another child, a daughter named Cemre Sunal.

Despite his fame, he maintained a low profile and was seldom regarded in public, maintaining himself and his circle of relatives far from the media spotlight. Those who knew him regularly remarked on his critical demeanour in actual lifestyles, contrasting with the comedic roles he portrayed on screen. 

3. Turning Point

His lifestyle was modified when Ertem Eglimez watched and preferred him at Devekusu Kabare Theater. He moved to the cinema, performing as a basketball participant because of his height for the film “Tatli Dillim” (Sweet Talker) 1972, directed by Ertem Egilmez. Sunal performed helping roles in some movies, including “Canim Kardesim ” (My Dear Brother), which has ended up as a cult movie because of its deeply determined storyline and pleasant mood.

“Canim Kardesim” is a movie about a few bad pals attempting to amuse a small infant with cancer. It is an exciting fact that, amongst all that tragedy, Sunal performs a small but pretty humorous role in the movie. His character is an employee from the provinces who attempts to visit Germany as an immigrant employee and is swindled by fraud.

Egilmez has a unique fashion in comedy movies as a director. First, he might make 3 or 4 actors and actresses proportion the main roles instead of giving the entire weight to one main character and actress. Second, he no longer supplies a lot of importance to the plot. Third, as a consequence, he emphasized atmosphere and setting. And fourth, he applied diverse strategies inclusive of improvisation. These 4 strategies are inclusive of improvisation.

Sunal endured to play in Egilmez’s comedies at some point in the seventies. He becomes some of the crowded castings of actual humorous movies such as “Salak Milyoner” (The Millionaire Fool), “Salako” (Our Fellow Fool) and “Mavi Boncuk” (Blue Bead).

4. Peak Of His Career

“Tousun Pasa” was a breaking point in Sunals’s ridiculous character. After that film, he generally played lower-class slyness against upper-class snot. This explains, to some extent, why we as a nation love his flicks so much.

1975 became a milestone in Turkish comedy because the first movie of the best-cherished comedy collection was released. “Hababam Sinifi” (The Chaos Class) modified the weather of Turkish comedy. The authentic movie is primarily based totally on a humorous, however sentimental notion.

“Hababam Sinifi” and “Inek Saban” have become phenomena within the seventies and feature by no means misplaced the eye of Turkish film and TV watchers. The movies have been proven on TV, too, with an endless range of repetitions.

Taking advantage of the educational amnesty issued in 1992, Sunal resumed his training in the Department of Radio-Television on the faculty of communication of Marmara University. He continued his research within the Department of Journalism and graduated at 51. Throughout his profession, he continued to contribute to Turkish cinema with memorable performances in many movies.

Although Sunal never made overtly political films, many of them have an inherent political element. His roles are always against powerful people, which made him a kind of working-class hero.

5. His Demise

Sunal had a lifelong fear of flying and had no longer been on a plane for many years. However, he was later persuaded to take an early morning flight from Istanbul to the Black Sea Town of Trabzon to shoot and film another movie.

Just before the take-off, Sunal suffered from a coronary heart attack. Fellow passengers stated it took 21 minutes for an ambulance to arrive as no doctor was available. The guy who spent his existence poking fun at life was eventually defeated as he left, leaving back a legacy that remains celebrated by fanatics of Turkish Cinema. He is not forgotten and is missed by the masses even today.

His movies are nonetheless extensively watched and cherished and still impact Turkish comedy. Sunal was considered a modest guy, who averted the limelight, however his funeral in Istanbul drew hundreds of people and was televised throughout Turkey. Mourners and visitors alike felt that they’d lost a cherished member of their family.

Last Updated on May 11, 2024 by Annanya Chakraborty