Kartal Tibet

Kartal Tibet — Biography

Kartal Tibet, the son of two teachers, was born on 27 March 1939 in Ankara, where as a child he appeared in a radio drama club and in children's parts within Ankara State Theatre productions. After studying physical education and law, he turned to theatre instead, graduating from the Ankara State Conservatory's theatre department in 1960 and taking the lead in Caligula at the State Theatre that same year. In 1961 he co-founded Ankara's first private theatre, Meydan Sahne, with Mahir Canova and Adalet Ağaoğlu; that same year he married Gündüz Sencer, with whom he had a son, Kanat, and a daughter, Kumru, becoming stepfather to actor Civan Canova. While serving as a reserve officer, his report of unrest in his barracks to his commander became part of the record of the 20 May 1963 uprising. Playing the lead in the Karaoğlan and Tarkan adventure film series made him one of Turkish cinema's most beloved leading men, opposite stars such as Türkan Şoray, Filiz Akın, Fatma Girik and Hülya Koçyiğit. In 1976 he gave up acting to assist Ertem Eğilmez as a director before launching his own directing career with Tosun Paşa, going on to make dozens of comedies, many starring Kemal Sunal, including Zübük and Şalvar Davası, and writing the screenplays for Davaro and Şabaniye. He won the Golden Orange Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002, the Yıldırım Önal Memorial Award in 2006, and the Sadri Alışık Cinema Honor Award in 2014. He died in Istanbul on 1 July 2021 at 82 after years with chronic lung disease, and was buried at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.