Necdet Tosun

Necdet Tosun — Biography

Necdet Tosun was a character actor who left his mark on the comedies of Turkish cinema's black-and-white era, winning audiences over with his portly, good-humoured screen manner. In many films he played a stout, warm-hearted cook, and he is said to have appeared in close to 400 productions. His sons Erdal and Gürdal Tosun later became actors as well.

Growing up in Burhaniye, he worked as a restaurateur, a roasted-chickpea seller and finally in a tailor's shop. When a film crew arrived in town to shoot, his appearance caught their attention, he was invited to Istanbul and so entered the cinema. He appeared on screen in Aşkın Gözyaşları and Abbas Yolcu at the end of the 1950s; in the 1960s he played neighbourhood shopkeepers, craftsmen and cooks in films such as Küçük Hanımın Şoförü, Serseri Aşık, Tamirci Parçası and Beyoğlu Esrarı. Later films included Cilveli Kız, Fadime, Kanlı Para, İtham Ediyorum and Acı Hayat, and he also produced from time to time. He married in 1960.

In 1975 he was injured in a car crash in Germany, where he had gone on business; he was brought back to Istanbul and died there on 10 May, thirteen days later. He was buried in Zincirlikuyu Cemetery, where his sons were later laid to rest beside him.