Zeki Alasya
(1943-2015)

Zeki Alasya was born in Istanbul in 1943. After studying at Robert Kollege, he joined MTTB Theatre as an amateur actor. In 1964 he started acting at the Arena Theatre as a professional actor and took roles in many plays including “Mister Nato,” “Kargalar Okulu” and “Şampanya ve Viski.” In 1965 Alasya transfered to the Ulvi Uraz Theatre. He then founded the Devekuşu Kabare Theatre (Ostrich Cabaret Theatre) with Metin Akpınar, Haldun Taner and Ahmet Gülhan in 1967. Alasya acted in numerous films and theaters. He gained fame as a comedian with Metin Akpınar in various films such as: "Salak Milyoner," "Beş Milyoncuk Borç Verir misin," "Köyden İndim Şehire," "Güler misin Ağlar mısın," "Nerden Çıktı Bu Velet," "Nereye Bakıyor Bu Adamlar," "Hasip ile Nasip" and "Güle Güle." Alasya has also directed many films including "Aslan Bacanak," "Sivri Akıllılar," "Caferin Çilesi," "Petrol Kralları," "Doktor," "Köşe Kapmaca," "Vay Başımıza Gelenler" and "Elveda Dostum." He received several awards such as Lifetime Honorary Award in the Golden Orange Film Festival (2010) and Cinema Honorary Award in the 30th Istanbul Film Festival (2011). In 2015 Zeki Alasya passed away in Istanbul.

Reference: wikipedia.org; images.google.com.tr; sinematurk.com; sinemalar.com