Turkish actor Tarik Akan passes away at 66

By Sibel Ugurlu

ISTANBUL

Towering Turkish actor Tarik Akan has died at age 66, the Nazim Hikmet Culture and Art Association announced Friday morning.

According to a statement by the group, Akan died at a hospital in Istanbul where he had been undergoing treatment for lung cancer.

According to imdb.com, Akan, the stage name of Tarik Uregul, acted in his first film in 1970, at the age of 21.

In the 1970s, Akan -- who measured 1.92 meters (6 feet, 3.5 inches) tall -- played the young male lead in romantic comedies.

He also took roles in political dramas and won awards such as Best Actor at the 1982 Cannes Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the 35th Berlin International Film Festival for his role in Pehlivan (The Wrestler).

One of Turkey’s leading actors in the ‘70s and ’80s, Akan appeared in over 100 movies, including Maden (1978), Kanal (1979), Suru (The Herd, 1979), Yol (The Road, 1982), Bir Avuc Cennet (A Handful of Heaven, 1985), Kan (Blood, 1986), Ses (The Voice, 1986), Berdel (1990), Karartma Geceleri (Blackout Nights, 1990), and Yolcu (The Passenger, 1993).

He also co-starred with famous Turkish actor and director Yilmaz Erdogan in Vizontele Tuuba (2004).

Recently he had been involved in documentaries and TV series.

In 2002, Akan also wrote his first book, the biographical Anne Kafamda Bit Var.

Born in Istanbul in 1949, Akan had been married to Yasemin Erkut, and they had two sons and a daughter.