Arif Erkin Güzelbeyoğlu

Arif Erkin Güzelbeyoğlu — Biography

Arif Erkin Güzelbeyoğlu was born on 11 September 1935 in Gaziantep and graduated from the architecture department of Istanbul Technical University, spending thirty years working within the bureaucracy of the Istanbul Municipality while also pursuing the arts. He began acting as an amateur in 1964 with the play "Direklerarası" at the Gülriz Sururi-Engin Cezzar Theatre, and in 1969 he was among the founders of Dostlar Theatre, where he both performed and composed music for numerous productions.

He carried his composing into cinema as well, writing scores for films such as "Umut", "Ağıt" and "Değirmen" along with the music for many television productions, while as an actor he became best known for his role in the series "İkinci Bahar" and for playing Memik Dede in "Yabancı Damat". He also appeared in productions such as "Muhteşem Yüzyıl", "Bizimkiler" and "Aile Arasında", and was honoured with the title of State Artist for his contributions.

Güzelbeyoğlu died in Istanbul on 16 October 2025, about a month after celebrating his 90th birthday; his death was announced by his son.