Yıldo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

**Yıldo**
Yıldo in television
Born:	October 18, 1945 Konya, Turkey
Occupation:	Showman(talk show host)
Children:	Alihan Benayyat

Yıldo, real name Ahmet Yıldırım Benayyat (b.18 October 1945), is a famous Turkish showman(talk show host), actor, retired football and volleyball player.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 After 1980
2 Career
3 Notes
4 Photo Gallery

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Yıldo was born in Konya, Turkey. He studied high school in several different cities of Turkey due to his father's job. He completed his university education in Istanbul Academy of Economic and Commercial Sciences(Marmara University), economics department in 1973.

Sport audiences first heard his name when he broke the record for the 400 meter hurdles in a Turkish youth atletic championship in 1963^[1]. When still a student in high school, he transferred to the Turkish sports club Boluspor as a football player in 1965. Then he transferred to the famous Istanbul sport club Galatasaray as a volleyball player in 1967. His nickname (Yıldo, a diminutive of his name Yıldırım) was bestowed on him by his friend and teammate Yavuz Işılay. Yıldo once more returned to professional football, playing for Şekerspor, Galatasaray ^[2], Istanbulspor, Sarıyer and Gaziantepspor.

[edit] After 1980

Following his football career, he worked in the plastic bag production sector. He was one of the protagonists at plastic bag sector in Turkey in 80's. In 1993, he entered the media sector with a show on Star TV in which he was the host of a quiz show called "Süper Turnike". He then started to produce shows on various Turkish television channels. He became Turkey's first showman of nighttime television.

He captured the attention of Turkish TV audiences and was known for coining the catchphrase "Kafadan Koparma" (breaking off your head), a condition of hysterical overexcitement. The phrase became a common Turkish idiom. He is also famous for his striking laugh.

Yıldo has acted in several soap-operas and films. His most recent television appearance has been participation in a 2007 celebrity ice skating competition "Buzda Dans" (Dancing on Ice).