Django Asül

Django Asül — Biography

Django Asül, born Uğur Bağışlayıcı, came into the world on 19 April 1972 in Hengersberg and grew up near Deggendorf in Lower Bavaria. After finishing secondary school in 1992 he trained briefly as a bank clerk and tennis instructor before launching a one-man stage tour in 1997. Wanting to draw attention to the situation of Turks who had sought asylum in Germany, he adopted his current stage name around this time and began touring self-written shows through Bavarian and German towns. An appearance on the RTL program "7 Tage 7 Köpfe" brought him wider recognition across Germany.

He never sought German citizenship, preferring to be known as a Turkish performer, yet from 2004 to 2008 he served as an official representative and diplomat for the Bavarian state government. Alongside his stage work he wrote newspaper columns for outlets in Munich and Ingolstadt and for a sports paper, and in 2007 he produced a program for ZDF built around trips between Berlin and Istanbul. His book "Oh Abendland!" appeared in 1997, the same period in which he began releasing comedy albums. Over his career he has collected honors including a Bavarian cabaret award and the Ravensburger Kupferle.