Kenan Pars

Kenan Pars — Biography

Turkish-Armenian actor and director Kenan Pars, born Kirkor Cezveciyan on 10 March 1920 in Istanbul, lived with his family for a time in Zonguldak before they settled in Bakırköy, where Pars spent the rest of his 84 years. During his military service in Balıkesir he was given a pickaxe instead of a rifle because he was not Muslim, and he later recalled working on the Akhisar-Sındırgı road as part of that duty. Across a career running from 1953 into the 2000s, he became one of Yeşilçam cinema's defining tough, villainous character actors in more than a hundred films, and alongside acting he directed six films, including Oğlum, Cinayet Gecesi and Aklın Durur, sometimes also writing or producing them. He was married to a Turkish woman from an Armenian family in Konya and had two daughters, Narin and Linda. He was also an enthusiast of Islamic calligraphy, and beaded artwork spelling the word "Allah" that he had made was displayed at his funeral. Pars died of lung cancer at his daughter's home on 10 March 2008, his own birthday, and was buried at the Armenian Cemetery in Bakırköy following a service at its Armenian church attended by fellow actors including Ediz Hun and Müjdat Gezen.