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YESILCAM VETERAN 'NUBAR BABA' NEVER FORGOTTEN
Hurriyet
Dec 29 2009
Turkey
Berc Alyanakziya, the son of immortal actor of Turkish cinema,
Nubar Terziyan, who is known as 'Nubar Baba' and 'Tonton Amca,'
speaks about YeÅ~_ilcam, Turkey's Hollywood. 'YeÅ~_ilcam was a home,
and the audience was the family in it,' he says
Nubar Terziyan, known as "Nubar Baba" or "Tonton Amca," was an Armenian
actor in Turkish cinema. Even though most Armenian and Greek artists
changed their names to Turkish names for the screen upon request of
producers, he never considered it necessary.
He played in more than 500 films and won the endless love of Turkish
audiences. The actor, who died in 1994 at the age of 85, was bid
farewell in a way that was not possible for many Turkish artists. A
plaque was placed on his house on the shore of the Bosphorus.
The actor won the hearts of cinema lovers as well as the famous
artists of YeÅ~_ilcam. Named as "baba" (father) by Turkish cinema's
"Ugly King" Yılmaz Guney and the handsome actor Ayhan IÅ~_ık,
Terziyan fell into deep sorrow when these two actors, who he loved
like his sons, died at early ages.
Events that happened right after he placed a death notice for
IÅ~_ık in the daily Hurriyet made him more sorrowful. IÅ~_ık's
wife GulÅ~_en reacted negatively toward Terziyan, who wrote below the
notice "your father Nubar" as IÅ~_ık had called him. The reason was
that the real surname of IÅ~_ık was IÅ~_ıyan, which had been kept
a secret. Because the name IÅ~_ıyan reminds one of an Armenian name,
he changed it to IÅ~_ık.
Speaking to the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Terziyan's son
Berc Alyanakziya said the following about the reason for the wife's
reaction: "Everyone thought that Ayhan IÅ~_ık was Armenian because
of his real surname, IÅ~_ıyan. When my father placed this notice
and wrote 'your father Nubar,' people thought that they were close
relatives and IÅ~_ık was an Armenian, too."
Because of this reaction, Terziyan disclaimed the notice in the paper.
Guney aimed for the target
Alyanakziya said he had spent his childhood in YeÅ~_ilcam film sets
and mentioned one of his most interesting memories. "My father took
me to the film set one day. Guney told my father: 'Tonton baba, throw
the money in your hand to the air.' He pulled his gun from his belt,
targeted the money in the air and shot it."
He explained the reason why his surname was Alyanakziya even though
his father's was Terziyan. "One of the best known directors of Turkish
cinema was Armenian ArÅ~_avir Alyanakyan." He said his "father took
the surname of an Armenian artist from the Ottoman theater, Terziyan,"
so that people would not confuse them.
Alyanakziya said many artists who changed their surname over time
became known by their real names. "YeÅ~_ilcam was a home, and the
audience was the family in it. When they love you, they keep you in
the deepest of their heart, regardless of your religion or language,"
he said.
Terziyan on the silver screen with 'Efsuncu Baba'
Terziyan's cinema life started as a coincidence. Working for his
father's small drapery store in Istanbul, one day he met with Mike
Rafaelyan, famous director of photography for hundreds of films at
the time. He proposed for him to act in a film and introduced him to
director Aydın Arakon.
Arakon asked Terziyan to act in his film "Efsuncu Baba," and thus
he stepped into the film sector in the mid-1940s. "In my childhood,
my father used to prepare his clothes every night and took to the
roads early in the morning," said Alyanakziya. "YeÅ~_ilcam was not a
matter of money but heart. This is the reason why YeÅ~_ilcam movies
are still enjoyed by Turkish people."
Big copyright problem
Even though Turkish cinema has been popular in Turkey as well as
the international arena in recent years, Alyanakziya thinks that the
YeÅ~_ilcam could never be replaced. "It is not possible for anyone to
replace the immortal artists of YeÅ~_ilcam," said Alyanakziya. "Turkish
cinema should catch the soul of YeÅ~_ilcam again in order to become
successful. Success is not reached by losing essence and imitating
the West."
Speaking about copyright problems, Alyanakziya said lots of names
who served in Turkish cinema spent the last years of their life in
poverty. "My father's films are still shown on television but no one
asks about the copyrights," he said.
Hurriyet
Dec 29 2009
Turkey
Berc Alyanakziya, the son of immortal actor of Turkish cinema,
Nubar Terziyan, who is known as 'Nubar Baba' and 'Tonton Amca,'
speaks about YeÅ~_ilcam, Turkey's Hollywood. 'YeÅ~_ilcam was a home,
and the audience was the family in it,' he says
Nubar Terziyan, known as "Nubar Baba" or "Tonton Amca," was an Armenian
actor in Turkish cinema. Even though most Armenian and Greek artists
changed their names to Turkish names for the screen upon request of
producers, he never considered it necessary.
He played in more than 500 films and won the endless love of Turkish
audiences. The actor, who died in 1994 at the age of 85, was bid
farewell in a way that was not possible for many Turkish artists. A
plaque was placed on his house on the shore of the Bosphorus.
The actor won the hearts of cinema lovers as well as the famous
artists of YeÅ~_ilcam. Named as "baba" (father) by Turkish cinema's
"Ugly King" Yılmaz Guney and the handsome actor Ayhan IÅ~_ık,
Terziyan fell into deep sorrow when these two actors, who he loved
like his sons, died at early ages.
Events that happened right after he placed a death notice for
IÅ~_ık in the daily Hurriyet made him more sorrowful. IÅ~_ık's
wife GulÅ~_en reacted negatively toward Terziyan, who wrote below the
notice "your father Nubar" as IÅ~_ık had called him. The reason was
that the real surname of IÅ~_ık was IÅ~_ıyan, which had been kept
a secret. Because the name IÅ~_ıyan reminds one of an Armenian name,
he changed it to IÅ~_ık.
Speaking to the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review, Terziyan's son
Berc Alyanakziya said the following about the reason for the wife's
reaction: "Everyone thought that Ayhan IÅ~_ık was Armenian because
of his real surname, IÅ~_ıyan. When my father placed this notice
and wrote 'your father Nubar,' people thought that they were close
relatives and IÅ~_ık was an Armenian, too."
Because of this reaction, Terziyan disclaimed the notice in the paper.
Guney aimed for the target
Alyanakziya said he had spent his childhood in YeÅ~_ilcam film sets
and mentioned one of his most interesting memories. "My father took
me to the film set one day. Guney told my father: 'Tonton baba, throw
the money in your hand to the air.' He pulled his gun from his belt,
targeted the money in the air and shot it."
He explained the reason why his surname was Alyanakziya even though
his father's was Terziyan. "One of the best known directors of Turkish
cinema was Armenian ArÅ~_avir Alyanakyan." He said his "father took
the surname of an Armenian artist from the Ottoman theater, Terziyan,"
so that people would not confuse them.
Alyanakziya said many artists who changed their surname over time
became known by their real names. "YeÅ~_ilcam was a home, and the
audience was the family in it. When they love you, they keep you in
the deepest of their heart, regardless of your religion or language,"
he said.
Terziyan on the silver screen with 'Efsuncu Baba'
Terziyan's cinema life started as a coincidence. Working for his
father's small drapery store in Istanbul, one day he met with Mike
Rafaelyan, famous director of photography for hundreds of films at
the time. He proposed for him to act in a film and introduced him to
director Aydın Arakon.
Arakon asked Terziyan to act in his film "Efsuncu Baba," and thus
he stepped into the film sector in the mid-1940s. "In my childhood,
my father used to prepare his clothes every night and took to the
roads early in the morning," said Alyanakziya. "YeÅ~_ilcam was not a
matter of money but heart. This is the reason why YeÅ~_ilcam movies
are still enjoyed by Turkish people."
Big copyright problem
Even though Turkish cinema has been popular in Turkey as well as
the international arena in recent years, Alyanakziya thinks that the
YeÅ~_ilcam could never be replaced. "It is not possible for anyone to
replace the immortal artists of YeÅ~_ilcam," said Alyanakziya. "Turkish
cinema should catch the soul of YeÅ~_ilcam again in order to become
successful. Success is not reached by losing essence and imitating
the West."
Speaking about copyright problems, Alyanakziya said lots of names
who served in Turkish cinema spent the last years of their life in
poverty. "My father's films are still shown on television but no one
asks about the copyrights," he said.