Master actress Ayten Gökçer laid to rest
Ayten Gökçer, who starred in numerous films, television series, and plays including 'Taçsız Kral', 'Yılan Hikayesi', and 'Yedi Kocalı Hürmüz', has been laid to rest in Istanbul.
AA
The funeral prayer, held at Zincirlikuyu Mosque following the noon prayer, was attended by Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Ersoy, Istanbul Governor Davut Gül, General Director of State Theatres Tamer Karadağlı, actors Zerrin Tekindor, Gülenay Kalkan, and Ahmet Uğurlu, as well as her family and loved ones.
In his statement to the press, Minister Ersoy noted that it was a painful day for the art community, stating, "We have lost a very important value. Ayten Hanım was a person who dedicated herself to art from a young age. In fact, she was a very important artist who started with ballet and then moved on to theater. She produced very successful work not only as a theater actress but also on the silver screen and on stage.
She was also a very successful actress who received the title of State Artist and was deemed worthy of the Ministry of Culture Grand Award in 1992. I wish God's mercy upon her and offer my condolences to her loved ones."
Accepting condolences, the artist's daughter Aslı Gökçer Oba stated the following:
"My mother said, 'I always loved very much, and I was loved very much,' both in her professional and private life. 'That's why if something happens to me one day, please don't be sad. That would make me the saddest.' I ask all her loved ones not to be sad. Let us celebrate her beautiful days, her achievements, and the points where she touched all of our lives."
Actress Işıl Yücesoy also emphasized that it was difficult to describe her friend Gökçer, saying, "She remained at the peak for so many years, and for so many years, she dedicated her life solely and exclusively to the theater. All of that aside, she was a very good mother, a very good friend, and a very good companion. Condolences to Turkey."
"We were very close in Ankara. I watched her with admiration. She was an actress with tremendous stage presence. She was a very beautiful woman, but beyond that, she was an actress with a very different stage presence. She was a very talented, very witty, very intelligent, incredibly warm, and sympathetic woman. My teacher Cüneyt (Gökçer) was also a very special person. Now they have reunited. May they rest in light."
Following the ceremony, the artist Ayten Gökçer was buried next to her husband Cüneyt Gökçer at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery.
WHO IS AYTEN GÖKÇER?
The master actress, whose full name was Ayten Gökçer Kaçmaz, was born in Ankara on January 26, 1940.
The artist, whose parents separated when she was only two years old, spent her childhood in Ankara with her father and siblings.
Guided by her mother, who noticed her talent for theater, Gökçer began at the Ankara State Conservatory Ballet Department in 1952 and, upon the recommendation of Muhsin Ertuğrul, entered the Ankara State Theatres Children's Theater Department in 1957.
The artist, who took her first steps into acting with Mümtaz Zeki Taşkın's play "Oyuncakçı Dede", later took on the role of a nurse in Eleneor H. Porter's play "Pollyanna".
Ayten Gökçer succeeded in the exam she took and joined the State Theatres artist staff in 1958.
The artist, who first appeared in State Theatres in Reşat Nuri Güntekin's play "Bu Gece Başka Gece", left a mark on the audience with her characters Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady", Aldonza in "Don Quixote", Yelena Andreyevna in "Uncle Vanya", and Maria Callas in "Master Class".
In 1964, Gökçer married Cüneyt Gökçer, who was also an actor, director, and former General Director of State Theatres. The couple had a daughter named Aslı.
The artist, who began her cinema career with the 1965 film "Taçsız Kral" directed by Atıf Yılmaz, shared the lead role with Ajda Pekkan, Erol Taş, Gönül Yazar, and the famous Galatasaray player Metin Oktay.
The master actress later turned more toward theater than cinema and played the lead role of "Hürmüz" in the musical "Yedi Kocalı Hürmüz".
She appeared in more than 30 plays in State Theatres, including "Bu Gece Başka Gece", "Su Kızı", "Hafta Başı", "Aşk Acısı", "Klinik Bir Vaka", "Hortlaklar", "The House of Bernarda Alba", "Woyzeck", "Don Juan", "Kiss Me, Kate", "Andorra", "Twelfth Night", "Uncle Vanya", "Cactus Flower", "Henry IV", "The Crucible", and "Lysistrata".
The artist was awarded the title of "State Artist" in 1988.
Gökçer, who directed Arne Sokouen's play "Balerin" at the Ankara State Theatre in 1998, began acting in television series with "Yılan Hikayesi" in 1999.
The master actress moved from Ankara to Istanbul following the death of her husband Cüneyt Gökçer in 2009.
She acted alongside Tuba Büyüküstün, Halit Ergenç, and Mehmet Günsür in Ferzan Özpetek's 2016 film "Istanbul Red".
Ayten Gökçer was deemed worthy of numerous important awards, including the Art Lovers Association "Best Actress of the Year" award, the Journalists Association "Best Female Artist" award, the Tercüman newspaper "Artist of the Year" award, the Ses Magazine "Best Female Artist of the Year" award, the Turkish Press Association "Most Successful Female Artist of the Year" award, and the Ministry of Culture Grand Award.