Who is Fikret Hakan?

Bumin Gaffar Çıtanak or with his stage name Fikret Hakan (born 23 April 1934, Balıkesir – died 11 July 2017, Istanbul) is a Turkish actor.

In 1950, he took his first step on the stage at the 'Ses Theater' with the play 'Three Pigeons'. In 1952, he made his way to the cinema with the movie 'Köprüaltı Çocukları'. He acted in 163 films and TV series and worked as a screenwriter, director and producer in the 1970s. He gained great fame with 'Three Friends' and 'Keşanlı Ali Epic'.

Fikret Hakan in Hollywood

When the famous director Peter Collinson came to Turkey for the movie Mercenaries (UK movie, 1970), starring Tony Curtis and Charles Bronson, the opportunity to step into Hollywood arose for Turkish film actors. Because Collinson was going to include Turkish actors in the movie he wanted to shoot in Turkey. When there was great interest in the film's actor acceptance interviews, an actor selection contest was held at the Şan Theater. Fikret Hakan, Salih Güney, Erol Keskin, Aytekin Akkaya and a few Turkish actors who were successful in this competition were included in the cast of the film.

Fikret Hakan gained an important place in the movie with his role as Colonel Ahmet Elçi. With his successful gestures and harmonious lip movements despite knowing little English, he won the admiration of director Peter Collinson. Fikret Hakan, who gave a comfortable performance as if he was working in Hollywood for many years, received offers for various productions after the movie. In the same period, after the movie was banned in Turkey for an unknown reason, the bond between Turkish actors and Hollywood officials weakened. In particular, the fact that some Turkish actors did not know any English prevented them from showing up outside the country despite their acting skills.

Despite the attractive offers, Fikret Hakan chose to stay in Turkey at the beginning of the 70s, when Turkish Cinema was in its most productive era. Salih Güney, who was the assistant officer of Colonel Ahmet Elçi, played by Fikret Hakan in the film, could not speak in this film and could not receive offers for other productions due to his illiteracy. Aytekin Akkaya, who played one of Tony Curtis's bouncers in the movie, won the producers' appreciation for his performance and hard work behind the camera, although he did not appear in the movie enough. He was offered to act in Hollywood movies in exchange for learning English. Akkaya, like other artists, stayed in Turkey as a result of not being able to spare time for English courses.

Fikret Hakan received the title of State Artist given by the Ministry of Culture in 1998 and taught at Istanbul Kultur University as a lecturer.

He received the title of honorary doctorate from Eskişehir Osmangazi University, Department of Comparative Literature on 13.11.2009. The actor died at the age of 11 on July 2017, 83 at Kartal Lütfi Kırdar Training and Research Hospital, where he had been treated for lung cancer for a while.

Theatrical plays 

• Bully: Nikos Kazantzakis
• Durand Boulevard (Armand Salcrou) – Ankara Art Theater – 1967
• We Will Always Be Children: Breakthrough Stage

Filmografi 

As a director 

• Coming from Exile – 1971
• Heaven's Gate – 1973
• Biggest Boss – 1975
• Hammal – 1976
• Exile – 1976

As a producer 

• Exile – 1976

As a screenwriter 

• Coming from Exile – 1971
• Heaven's Gate – 1973
• Biggest Boss – 1975
• Exile – 1976

As an actor 

plates 

• In the 1960s and 1970s, when Yeşilçam was at its most productive, dozens of film actors from Sadri Alışık to Fatma Girik, from Yılmaz Köksal to Hülya Koçyiğit had recorded music records. Fikret Hakan also participated in this record making frenzy and he filled several 45 records. These plaques are:

1. 1972 – Cemo / What They Say Is True – Radyofon Plak 001
2. 1974 – Dostun Gülü / Loberde – Yavuz Plaque 1558
3. 1975 – Howl of Love / Pain – Discoture 5199

Books 

Written by themselves 

• “Hamal's Servants” (story), Telos Publishing, Istanbul, 1997.
• “Imbikli Wall” (poem), Serander Publications, Trabzon, 2002.
• “Black Light (Collective Poems 1978-2008)”, Serander Publications, Trabzon, 2008.
• “Joe Brico is Innocent” (story), Umuttepe Publications, Istanbul, 2009.
• “Night Harbor (Wharf of Forbidden Unhappiness)” (novel), İnkılâp Bookstore, Istanbul, 2010.
• “Turkish Cinema History”, (memoir, cinema), İnkılâp Bookstore, Istanbul, 2010.

written about 

• “Fikret Hakan – Ageless Yeşilçamlı” (review), Nigar Pösteki, Umuttepe Publications, Istanbul, 2009.
• “I Have Never Forgotten”, Feyzan Ersinan Top, Dünya Publishing, Istanbul, 2006 (Fikret Hakan is discussed together with 5 other famous Turkish cinema artists in this review)

Receives awards 

• 1965 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Best Actor Award, Kesanlı Ali Epic
• 1968 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Best Actor Award, Death Field
• Izmir International Fair 1st Film Festival, 1965, Keşanlı Ali Epic, Best Actor
• 1971 Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival, Best Actor, Longing
• 30th Antalya Film Festival, 1993, Liar (TV), Best Supporting Actor
• 34th Antalya Film Festival, 1997, Liar (TV), Lifetime Honor Award
• 2009- He received the title of honorary doctorate from Eskişehir Osmangazi University.
• 2012-Accessible Life Foundation, Lifetime Profession and Honor Award

📩 03/08/2020 11:25