Hayati Hamzaoğlu

Hayati Hamzaoğlu — Biography

Hayati Hamzaoğlu was born on April 3, 1933, in the Arsin district of Trabzon; his family moved to Istanbul in 1942, where he worked at various jobs including shoemaking, foundry work and goldsmithing. After being discovered on the street by a production manager, he entered film as a supporting actor in 1953, took his first lead role in 1961, and built a filmography of nearly two hundred films, becoming known for his suitably tough looks in villain roles.

He is best remembered for playing Abdurrahman Çavuş in Tatar Ramazan Sürgünde, and also appeared in historical adaptations such as Köroğlu, Malkoçoğlu Kurt Bey and Kerem İle Aslı, as well as action films like Karateci Kız; he produced Hesabı Kim Ödeyecek and Deli in 1972 and did the color work on Elmanın Alına Bak in 1976. He won Best Supporting Actor twice, for Kuyu and Bir Çirkin Adam, added a third such award in 1991 for Tatar Ramazan Sürgünde, and received the Golden Orange Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. His home was destroyed in the 1999 Gölcük earthquake, and he died of lung cancer at 67 in Antalya, where he was buried at Uncalı Cemetery; his son, Deniz Hamzaoğlu, also became an actor.