Yaman Okay

Yaman Okay — Biography

Mehmet Yaman Okay was born on 24 August 1951 in Giresun to a civil-servant family; after finishing school at Aksaray Özel Bilir College he attended the Şişli School of Political Sciences and entered amateur theatre with the play "Bir Yol." On the recommendation of actor Rutkay Aziz he joined the Ankara Sanat Tiyatrosu, where between 1973 and 1977 he took lead roles in plays including El Kapısı, 403 km, Leipzig Duruşması, Ana, Komün Günleri and Sakıncalı Piyade. He moved into film in 1978 with Sürü, written by Yılmaz Güney and directed by Zeki Ökten, quickly becoming one of the recognizable faces of Turkey's socially engaged cinema; his credits include Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde, At, Pehlivan, 40 Metrekare Almanya, Yoksul, Umuda Yolculuk and Piano Piano Bacaksız, and his performance in Bereketli Topraklar Üzerinde won him the Golden Orange award for best supporting actor in 1981. On television he appeared in Bizimkiler and Saygılar Bizden. In 1984 he married actress and screenwriter Meral Okay. He died of pancreatic cancer in Istanbul on 19 February 1993 at the age of 41 and was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.