Actor and presenter Kenan Ishq has passed away after being in a coma for 10 years.
Who is Kenan Ishq?
The unforgettable presenter of the “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” contest…
Born in Malatya Yesilyurt in 1947, Kenan İşik developed an interest in theatre from his elementary school performances. He began amateur theatre performances at the Malatya Community Centre during his secondary education and enrolled in Meydan Sahanesi during his high school education.
Işık became a professional theater actor at the age of 17, graduated from the Department of Public Administration at the Faculty of Economics and Public Administration at Gazi University, and took an external examination to become a State Theater Artist in 1973, where he worked as an actor. He has been the director and playwright at the institution for many years.
The actor was first married to Gülgün Ok in 1973 but divorced in 1980. His second marriage was to Beril İşik. From this marriage, he has two children named Mehmet and Ahmet.
He has written and performed in dozens of plays, and has won more than 30 awards as an actor, screenwriter, director and voice actor.
In 1996, he was appointed “General Artistic Director of Istanbul Municipal Theater”. The famous artist wrote many plays during his career. He retired from the State Theater in 2000.
He studied theatre in America, Germany, Poland and other countries. He was a member of the board of directors of the International Theatre Association and the Turkish Playwrights Association. He wrote articles on culture and art for various newspapers and magazines and was also a columnist for many newspapers.
İşık has written chapters on “Culture and Arts” in various books. He has been a moderator and speaker in various national and international conferences and meetings. He was a lecturer at a private university in Istanbul from 2002 to 2005.
In addition to the plays Behçet Bey’s Fedora, Baby’s Sleep, The Non-Existent Woman and Love Sickness, he also wrote a children’s play called Keloran ve Zulfsar.
He has adapted and staged Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s “Peace,” Karen Birksen’s “The Immortal Story,” and Turhan Selçuk’s comic book “Abdırkammaz.”
He won the Ministry of Culture’s Best Playwright Award and the International Theatre Institute Europe Award for the plays “Baby Sleep” and “No Woman”, the İşbank Drama Competition for “Behçet Bey’s Fedora” and the Turkish Grand National Assembly Children’s Drama Award for the play “Keloğlan ve Zülfüsarı” for which he received an honorary award in the competition.
Kenan İşik starred in the TV series ‘Dadu’, in which he played the lead role alongside Gülben Ergen and Haldun Dolmen.
He worked as a news presenter on the channel on April 4, 2005. He quit presenting on August 20 to move into his familiar role of acting.
Formerly known as “Who’s Going for 500 Million?”, he became known to a wider audience as a presenter on the competition program.
In addition to being a playwright, he was also considered worthy of many awards as a director.
On November 2, 2009, GYTE (Gebze Technical University) Turkish Community received the “Beautiful and Effective Use of Turkey Award”.
He has books and poetry tapes with titles such as “Purgatory Writings,” “Slipping Through the Eyelashes,” “Adapted Plays” and “Plays.”
Isik worked as a consultant at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2007. He left this position a year later. To date, he has served as an arts consultant for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and on the board of directors of a television channel.
The famous actor fell ill, lost his balance and suffered a brain hemorrhage after taking a sauna bath after working out on March 21, 2014. He was quickly operated on but later fell into a coma.
Ishq, who was taken to Germany by his wife Beryl Ishq in August 2014 to continue his treatment, responded positively to the treatment: he could follow his surroundings with his eyes, communicate with his eyes, and at times was able to stand and fully support himself.
At the opening ceremony of the 53rd International Antalya Film Festival in 2016, Mehmet Aslantug presented the Yildirim Önal Memorial Award to his son Mehmet İşik on behalf of Kenan İşik.
The award was awarded in the name of Kenan Işık in 2017
Kenan Işık was also deemed worthy of the award at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism Special Award Ceremony in 2017. His wife, Beril Işık, received the award from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
President Erdogan said at the ceremony:
“Kenan Ishq is one of the world-class names that our country has produced in the field of theater. Our artist has shown that his success is not an accident of the awards he has received. The way he takes care of his wife, Beryl Hanim, is something that cannot be defined as a kind wife.”
