Kaya Yanar
Encyclopedia
Kaya Yanar is a German comedian best known for his comedy show Was guckst du?! (Whaddaya lookin' at?!).
He was born to Turkish
immigrants from Antakya
. While at school he once told his teacher that he wanted to be a comedian, which made the teacher laugh. In an interview with German talkshow host Johannes B. Kerner
Yanar described his childhood as a more liberal one and stated that despite his Turkish nationality, he doesn't have a perfect grasp of the Turkish language
. After graduating from Heinrich-von-Gagern-Gymnasium (a school in Frankfurt
) he studied phonetics, American studies and philosophy but left university prior to graduation.
In his one-man comedy show Was guckst du?! the distinctly mediterranean-looking Yanar toys with well-known cultural stereotypes both as host and main performer. For one of his best known sketches about an East Indian, Ranjid and his pet cow (and substitute best friend) Benita, he practised pidgin-English for months, which he learned from some Indian friends of his from university.
Yanar's show has advanced the acceptance of multicultural humour in Germany.
In 2006 he ended his comedy show to pursue a film project. No details or release dates are known as of January 2008.
2008: Made in Germany Live
2008: Dekker & Adi - Wer bremst verliert!
2008: Was guckst du?! – Season 5–8
2009: Live und unzensiert (Live and uncensored)
He was born to Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
immigrants from Antakya
Antakya
Antakya is the seat of the Hatay Province in southern Turkey, near the border with Syria. The mayor is Lütfü Savaş.Known as Antioch in ancient times, the city has historical significance for Christianity, as it was the place where the followers of Jesus Christ were called Christians for the first...
. While at school he once told his teacher that he wanted to be a comedian, which made the teacher laugh. In an interview with German talkshow host Johannes B. Kerner
Johannes B. Kerner
Johannes Baptist Kerner is a German TV personality best known as a sportscaster.Kerner was raised in Hersel, Germany in a Catholic household...
Yanar described his childhood as a more liberal one and stated that despite his Turkish nationality, he doesn't have a perfect grasp of the Turkish language
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
. After graduating from Heinrich-von-Gagern-Gymnasium (a school in Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
) he studied phonetics, American studies and philosophy but left university prior to graduation.
In his one-man comedy show Was guckst du?! the distinctly mediterranean-looking Yanar toys with well-known cultural stereotypes both as host and main performer. For one of his best known sketches about an East Indian, Ranjid and his pet cow (and substitute best friend) Benita, he practised pidgin-English for months, which he learned from some Indian friends of his from university.
Yanar's show has advanced the acceptance of multicultural humour in Germany.
In 2006 he ended his comedy show to pursue a film project. No details or release dates are known as of January 2008.
Selected filmography
2004: Was guckst du?! – Season 1–42008: Made in Germany Live
2008: Dekker & Adi - Wer bremst verliert!
2008: Was guckst du?! – Season 5–8
2009: Live und unzensiert (Live and uncensored)