Ulvi Uraz

Ulvi Uraz — Biography

The son of Fevzi and Feriha Uraz, Ulvi Uraz graduated from the Ankara State Conservatory's theatre department in 1943 and appeared that same year in Julius Caesar; he drew notice in 1948 for his "Beybaba" in Köşebaşı. While performing at the Ankara State Theatre he also taught at the conservatory. In 1953 he and his wife, pianist Selçuk Uraz, were sent to France by the state; on their return they were tried for membership of the Turkish Communist Party and he was sentenced to five years in prison plus a year and eight months of exile in Konya, in a case that also included Ruhi Su and Mihri Belli. After his release he returned to the stage in 1958 with an André Roussin adaptation at the Dormen Theatre, winning the first of his İlhan İskender awards for it, and in 1959 moved to the Istanbul City Theatres to play Polonius in Muhsin Ertuğrul's Hamlet. He founded his own troupe, Dost Oyuncuları, in 1961, later renamed the Ulvi Uraz Theatre, and won a second İlhan İskender award in 1965 for "Vicdani" in a Haldun Taner play. He championed staging Turkish playwrights and was praised in both character and comic roles. On screen, Denize İnen Sokak (1960) brought him an İzmir municipal fair award and Yarın Bizimdir (1963) won him Best Supporting Actor at the 1st Golden Orange festival; he also appeared in films such as Dişi Kurt and Murtaza. He died on 25 May 1974 and was buried at Aşiyan Cemetery; his wife later established an annual theatre award in his name.