Menderes Utku is a Turkish actor and businessman born on May 5, 1963. Wide audiences know him as the child hero in the Menace movies shot in the early 1970s; In the following years, he made his name known through movie theater management and various initiatives.
Child acting years
Menderes Utku, the son of รmit Utku, one of the producers, directors and screenwriters of Yeลilรงam, appeared in front of the camera at a very young age. After appearing in the films ฤฐftira and Yara in 1968 and Sabฤฑrtaลฤฑ in 1969, he gave life to the character that gave his name to the series with Afacan, shot in 1970.
The sequels of the series, Afacan Little Tramp and Afacan Wonder Child, won him the best child actor award twice at the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival. He continued his acting with productions such as Gariban (1974) and Parasฤฑzlar (1975), then moved away from cinema.
business life
Utku competed on behalf of Tรผrkiye with Bรผlent รzler in the Camel Trophy, a challenging off-road race held between Tanzania and Burundi in 1991, and the team finished first in the competition. In 2001, he founded Mars Entertainment Group in partnership with Muzaffer Yฤฑldฤฑrฤฑm. The company, which carries out film production, distribution and screening together, became one of the important players of the period when movie theaters were moved to shopping malls in Tรผrkiye.
While the main shareholders of the company sold Mars to South Korean CJ CGV in 2016, minority partners Yฤฑldฤฑrฤฑm and Utku also transferred their shares.
In the following years, Utku became known for the ClubHouse sports and social facility in Bebek, Istanbul. In 2020, it acquired the coffee brand Kronotrop.
Menderes Utku is known as one of the Yeลilรงam names who turned the fame he gained at a young age into a long-term business career.
