Kent died early Monday morning in the intensive care unit of the Bursa Public Hospital, where had been receiving treatment since Jan. 24 for heart failure, the Anatolia news agency reported. He was 69.
Kent is best remembered for his comedic roles on both the silver screen and onstage, particularly for his work with veteran thespian Ferhan Şensoy, with whom he worked for some 25 years.
Born in İstanbul in 1943, Kent started his acting career as an extra in Yeşilçam movies when he was 16. He turned to theater at the age of 26. During his 54-year career, Kent played in more than 35 movies, a majority of which were comedies, as well as numerous roles in TV shows and had a 25-year stint with Şensoy’s İstanbul-based theater company, Ortaoyuncular.
Kent significantly cut down his silver screen work after 1987, and with the ‘90s boom in privately run television stations in Turkey, he started appearing in numerous comedy shows.
He relocated to Bursa a few years ago, where he had been living in a retirement home, and taught theater classes at the local Yıldırım Municipality’s theater school.
Kent will be buried in a funeral in İstanbul on Tuesday, the Cihan news agency reported.
