Müjdat Gezen

• Name — Müjdat Gezen • Born — 29 October 1943 • Birthplace — Fatih, Istanbul, Turkey • Spouse — * Gün İrk (1968–1980) • Occupation — Actor, writer, poet • Years Active — 1963–present

He was born on October 1943 in Istanbul. He studied in Vefa High School where he met Uğur Dündar and Kemal Sunal, who became lifelong friends. After graduation in 1960, he continued in the theatre section of İstanbul Municipality Conservatory. He is married and father of Elif Gezen.

He was interested in poetry and theatre during his high school years. In 1960 he chose theatre as his profession in İstanbul Municipality theatre. In the following years he served in various private theatres. In 1962 he performed in his first film. He played in hit gypsy comedy films "Gırgıriye" and spin off series "Cennet Mahallesi". He wrote his first book in 1975. In the aftermath of the Turkish military coup of 1980, he was in prison for about twenty days and his book about the poet Nazim Hikmet was banned in Turkey. In 1982 he founded a publishing company. Between 1986-88 he wrote in Cumhuriyet newspaper as a columnist. In 1991 he founded an art company named after him; Müjdat Gezen Sanat Merkezi (MSM for short) which offers training in various stage arts such as theatre and music. He founded the Müjdat Gezen theatre company in 1998. In 1987, Gezen created the film Homoti, a low-budget LGBTQ+ version of E.T. the Extraterrestrial, which has since become a cult film. In 2007 he was appointed as the UNICEF Goodwill ambassador in Turkey. In 2011 together with Uğur Dündar he founded a Television School.

He was being prosecuted for insulting the president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for saying "know your place" referring to Erdoğan during a TV Show moderated by Uğur Dündar in 2018. He defended himself mentioning it couldn't be an insult, because the words are the same Erdogan used, while "know your place" is not listed as an insult in a dictionary as well.

The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Institutional cataloguing adds that müjdat Gezen is recorded with the gender male. Institutional cataloguing adds that müjdat Gezen was born on 29 October 1943. The register further records that müjdat Gezen is recorded as human. It is also recorded that müjdat Gezen is recorded with the occupation actor. Recorded with the occupation writer. Institutional cataloguing adds that müjdat Gezen is recorded with the occupation film director.