Özkan Uğur

Raif Özkan Uğur (17 October 1953 – 8 July 2023) was a Turkish pop and rock musician, member of the renowned band MFÖ and actor. After starting his career in 1970, he became a founding member of Kurtalan Ekspres in 1972, which included Barış Manço. After switching several bands for the next few years, Uğur formed MFÖ together with Mazhar Alanson and Fuat Güner in 1980.

Özkan Uğur
Uğur in 2018
Background information
Birth nameRaif Özkan Uğur
Born(1953-10-17)17 October 1953
Istanbul, Turkey
Died8 July 2023(2023-07-08) (aged 69)
Istanbul, Turkey
GenresPop, rock
Occupation(s)Musician, actor
Instrument(s)Bass guitar
Years active1970–2023

Uğur started acting in 1983 in theatrical plays of Ferhan Şensoy, later acting in movies and TV series as well, most notably in Cennet Mahallesi, Poyraz Karayel and films of Cem Yılmaz. Uğur died in 2023 of complications of lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with in 2013.

Early life

Raif Özkan Uğur was born on 17 October 1953 in Istanbul, Turkey.[1] He was the fifth child of the family. Uğur started playing the mandolin in primary school. While attending the Fenerbahçe High School, he founded an amateur band named Atomikler.[2]

Music career

Early years

Özkan Uğur started his professional career in 1970 with the Şerif Yüzbaşıoğlu Orchestra as a bass guitarist. In 1971, he met Mazhar Alanson and Fuat Güner, and joined their band named Kaygısızlar. When the group dissolved in 1972, he joined Barış Manço in the Anatolian rock band Kurtalan Ekspres as a founding member. When the group temporarily dissolved when Manço left to complete his mandatory military service, Uğur formed Ter together with two others. Erkin Koray later joined the group. He came back to Kurtalan Ekspres from 1973 to 1974 after Manço returned from the military.[2]

In 1974, Uğur appeared in one of the albums of the Alanson and Güner duo. In the same year, he joined Dostlar Orkestrası, but left it due to disagreements within the group and switched to Ersen ve Dadaşlar. The band collaborated with Selda Bağcan for one album. He joined Alanson and Güner again in 1975 in İpucu Beşlisi. Uğur briefly returned to Kurtalan Ekspres in 1976, but later formed Grup Karma in 1978.[2]

MFÖ
Özkan Uğur (left) with MFÖ in 2012

Uğur returned to working with Alanson and Güner for a fourth time in 1980. The trio formed the band Mazhar Fuat Özkan, which was later shortened to MFÖ. The band released their first album in 1984.[2] Together with MFÖ, Uğur represented Turkey in the Eurovision Song Contest twice: in 1985 with "Didai didai dai" where they finished 14th, and in 1988 with "Sufi" when they placed 15th.[3] In 2017, the group released their first album in 5 years.[4] Uğur was the only member of the band to not have released a solo album.[2]

Acting

Özkan Uğur starred in several theatrical plays, movies and TV series after starting his music career.[2]

Uğur started acting for the first time in 1983 together with Fuat Güner, when they composed songs for and played in two theatrical plays of Ferhan Şensoy.[2] Uğur starred in his first movie, Arkadaşım Şeytan, in 1988.[1] He is known for playing the character Beter Ali in Cennet Mahallesi.[5] In 2015, Uğur joined the Poyraz Karayel cast, starring as İsmail Karayel, the father of the main character.[6] Additionally, he played in Cem Yılmaz' movies G.O.R.A., A.R.O.G and Arif V 216 in 2004, 2008 and 2018 respectively.[2]

Personal life and death

Özkan Uğur married dancing instructor Aysun Aslan in 1989. They had a son together.[7]

In 2013, Özkan Uğur was diagnosed with lymphoma. In July 2020, Uğur defeated cancer for a second time.[2] Due to his illness, he had to visit the doctor every 6 months for a check-up.[8] In April 2022, he announced that he was diagnosed with cancer for a third time,[9] which was successfully treated again, but harmed his organs.[2] In 2020 and 2023, during the times when his condition worsened, misinformation was spread on social media claiming that Uğur had died.[1][10] In late June 2023, it was announced that Uğur was intubated and placed in an intensive care unit.[11] On 8 July 2023, he died at a hospital in Istanbul, at the age of 69.[12] On 11 July 2023, he was interred at Karacaahmet Cemetery in Istanbul.[13]

Discography
Barış Manço & Kurtalan Ekspres
  • 1972: Ölüm Allah'ın Emri / Gamzedeyim Deva Bulmam
  • 1973:
    • Gönül Dağı / Hey Koca Topçu
    • Nazar Eyle / Gülme Ha Gülme
Erkin Koray & Ter
  • 1972: Hor Görme Garibi / Züleyha
Mazhar-Fuat
  • 1974: Türküz Türkü Çağırırız (LP)
Edip Akbayram & Dostlar Orkestrası
  • 1974: Garip / Kaşların Karasına
Ersen & Dadaşlar
  • 1975:
    • Dostlar Merhaba / Ne Sevdiğin Belli Ne Sevmediğin
    • Gafil Gezme Şaşkın / Güzele Bak Güzele
  • 1976: Ekmek Parası / Zalim
Selda & Dadaşlar
  • 1976: Türkülerimiz (LP)
Seyhan Karabay & Kardaşlar
  • 1976: Kan Davası / Dam Üstünde Çul Serer
İpucu Beşlisi
  • 1976: Heyecanlı / Hop Otur Hop Kalk
Grup Karma
  • 1978: İmkansız / Mutlu Mu Gülenler
MFÖ
Further information: MFÖ § Discography

Source:[14]

Filmography

Television series
Year Title[lower-alpha 1] Role Ref.
1998–2000 Second Spring Şecahattin Dürüst [15]
2004 Cennet Mahallesi Beter Ali
2010 Türk Malı [16]
2011 Bir Ömür Yetmez Kemal Sertel [15]
2012 Şubat Samim Akça
2015–2016 Poyraz Karayel İsmail Karayel [6]

Film
Year Title Role Ref.
1988 Arkadaşım Şeytan Okan [15]
1996 The Bandit Sedat
2000 Commissar Shakespeare [17]
2004 G.O.R.A. Garavel [15]
2006 Kısık Ateşte 15 Dakika Fazıl
2008 A.R.O.G Dimi
2009 Yahşi Batı Kızılkayalar
2014 Coming Soon Ejder Kahraman
2018 Arif V 216 Garavel
2019 Karakomik Filmler İbrahim
2020 Karakomik Filmler 2

Notes
  1. Excludes guest appearances.

References

Citations
  1. "Özkan Uğur: Beni yine öldürdüler". BirGün (in Turkish). 23 May 2020. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  2. "Sanatçı Özkan Uğur hayatını kaybetti". TRT Haber (in Turkish). 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  3. "Üç neslin efsanesi: MFÖ". Akşam (in Turkish). 27 August 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  4. "Özkan Uğur: Genç yaşta meşhur olsaydık..." Sözcü (in Turkish). 17 October 2017. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  5. "Cennet Mahallesinin Beter Ali'si MFÖ'nün star'ı Özkan Uğur vefat etti". Takvim (in Turkish). 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  6. Büşra Bozok Aytek (27 October 2017). "Özkan Uğur, Poyraz Karayel'in hastasıyım". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  7. "Özkan Uğur'un eşi Aysun Aslan kimdir?". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 12 October 2019. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  8. Behlül Aydın (23 June 2021). "Özkan Uğur: Yakında kavuşacağız". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  9. "Özkan Uğur'dan sağlık durumu hakkında yeni açıklama: Sahnelere dönüyor". NTV (in Turkish). 8 July 2022. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  10. "Özkan Uğur'un eşi: Şerefsizler sizi bulacağım görüşeceğiz!". Sabah (in Turkish). 27 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  11. "Fahrettin Koca'dan Özkan Uğur'un sağlık durumuyla ilgili açıklama". NTV (in Turkish). 25 June 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  12. "Özkan Uğur yaşamını yitirdi!". Habertürk (in Turkish). 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  13. "MFÖ'nün usta ismi Özkan Uğur'a veda! Özkan Uğur son yolculuğuna uğurlandı". NTV.com.tr (in Turkish). 11 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  14. "Özkan Uğur hangi film ve dizilerde oynadı?". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  15. "Özkan Uğur filmografi". Beyazperde (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  16. "Türk sinemasında derin izler bıraktı..." Akşam (in Turkish). 8 July 2023. Archived from the original on 9 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  17. "Komser Şekspir". Box Office Turkey (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
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