Turkey bids farewell to veteran actor Munir Ozkul

Renowned stage and screen actor died on Friday after protracted illness

By Hilal Ustuk and Burcu Arik

ISTANBUL (AA) - Fans, friends and family paid their last respects to veteran actor Munir Ozkul at his funeral on Sunday.

A distinguished actor of Turkey’s ‘Yesilcam’ movie industry, 93-year-old Ozkul passed away on Friday after prolonged illness.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, senior political figures, several screen and stage actors, and directors attended the funeral in Tesvikiye Mosque in Istanbul.

Ozkul, who started his acting career in the late 1940s, appeared in more than 200 films and was awarded the honorary title of "State Artist of Turkey" in 1998.

In 1972, he received the Golden Orange Award -- known as the Turkish Oscars -- for Best Actor for his performance in the Turkish movie Sev Kardesim ('Love My Brother').

One of Ozkul's most popular performances was in the 1975 comedy film Hababam Sinifi (The Chaos Class) where he played the role of a private school headmaster Mahmut Hoca.

Ozkul was also remembered during a ceremony at Istanbul's Harbiye Muhsin Ertugrul Stage. Ozkul's daughter Guner Ozkul attended the ceremony.

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