START HERE · THE FAMILY’S PICK4:10
From the performance archive · silent excerpts
Iranian actor · comedian · writer · painter
NOZAR AZADI.
نوذر آزادی
- Born
- Kermanshah, Iran
- Died
- Bremen, Germany
Scroll to explore his life ↓
یادش زنده است
Dedicated to Nozar Azadi, Iranian actor, comedian and painter. Explore his performances, paintings, photographs, tributes and memories in this archive.
خنده و خاطره
THE HUMOUR. THE TIMING. THE MAN.
Let him make you laugh.
A joke told in his own voice. A stage shared with Ramesh. A moment among his fans. Three films chosen by his family.
On stage with Ramesh
7:16Original video ↗
Among his fans
1:00Original video ↗
01 / The many faces
You may know the face. There is more to the story.
Nozar Azadi was an Iranian actor, comedian, writer, director and painter. His work belongs to the story of Iranian theatre and television—and to a visual world all his own. Follow his performances, words and paintings.
Photographs, newspaper cuttings, recordings and paintings come together here. Every object opens into the archive; every account keeps a link to its evidence.
12
A face, revisited.
Twelve portraits, a lifetime of expressions. Move from the youngest-looking portrait to the later years. This visual sequence is approximate; the photographs are undated.
02 / A life performed
THEATRE / TELEVISION / FILMIn the room. On the screen.
A gesture can outlive the moment.
The surviving photographs hold performances in suspension. Programmes and newspaper reports help bring the names, places and collaborations back into view.
1971
SHIRAZ / PERSEPOLIS
Orghast
A place in an international theatre experiment. The Peter Brook archive names Nozar Azadi among the cast of Orghast, created for the Shiraz–Persepolis Arts Festival.
Peter Brook’s production archive ↗Italia,
Italia.
The familiar face of Ghatebeh. The newspaper record also reveals the writer and director behind the character.
03 / The paper remembers
Read between the folds.
A newspaper cutting is more than an illustration. It is a voice from the time: a credit, a review, a question, a record of how the work was received.
NA–022 / ITALIA, ITALIA
«این مجموعه را نوذر آزادی نوشته و کارگردانی کرده است و خود نیز نقش اصلی آن را بعهده دارد…»
“The series was written and directed by Nozar Azadi, who also plays its leading role…”
Visually checked excerpt · working English translation. This is an extract, not the complete article.
Beyond performance
The written voice.
Signed essays connected to Bamdad Gallery reveal a writer looking closely at other artists and their work. They open a different chapter: criticism, literature and the act of seeing.
زندگی و یادها
The life behind the performances
His life. His art. His legacy.
From Kermanshah to theatre and television, and later to a world of paintings. The film chosen for his original website brings his story into this archive.
Watch the family’s life-and-work montage beside the timeline ↓Another chapter, in colour.
After his years on stage and television, painting became another public chapter of his work. In 2010, his Rainbows exhibition at Seyhoun Gallery in Los Angeles brought audiences together around his paintings.
Visit the exhibition chapter ↓ · VOA ↗04 / Threads of a life
A life and work montage
FROM THE FAMILY FILM ARCHIVE · 7 MIN 44 SEC
Music by Alejandro Piñero Amerio from Pixabay.
Photographs and memories, brought together in a film preserved by the family.
Open the film on its own ↗Kermanshah & radio
In a later interview, Nozar recalled beginning radio work while still at school. The recollection belongs beside the surviving early material.
Orghast
The official Peter Brook production archive records his participation.
↗Italia, Italia
Contemporary print credits the writer, director and leading performer. Dates are retained as printed until calendar verification.
Rainbows
An invitation, gallery photographs, recordings and contemporary reporting bring an exhibition back together.
The work continues to speak
The family website records his death on 26 February 2021. The archive carries his work forward.
↗05 / The screening room
Watch. Listen. Return.Presence, in motion.
Performance & gallery
28 min 19 sec · Mixed programme · NA–114
Transcript drafts are research aids. Captions and speaker identifications await listening review.
قابهای خاطره
Life beyond the stage.
Portraits, celebrations and encounters. Photographs gathered by his family, each holding another moment of his life.
View all photographs
The complete public photo collection: portraits, family moments, performances and exhibitions. Select any image to open it in full.
Back to Life beyond the stage ↑Explore 5 more photographs +
More moments, newly discovered.
Explore 5 more newly added photographs +
Select any photograph to see the full image and its archive note. Dates are unverified unless confirmed in the archive note; original credits remain on the images.
به یاد نوذر
Remembrance · 2021
Tributes & remembrances
With gratitude to the artists, writers, broadcasters and friends who have remembered Nozar and shared his story. Three featured films, followed by more voices from his tribute archive.
Explore all the other tributes ↓From the original homepage
A tribute to Nozar
20 min 27 sec · External film. Captions are unavailable at the source; this film has not been fully transcribed or editorially verified.
Loads YouTube only when selected.
Open at source ↗BBC PERSIAN · 06:29
Mahmoud Dowlatabadi remembers Nozar
A writer’s remembrance.
Watch at BBC / read the article ↗FEATURED TRIBUTE · PARVIZ SAYYAD · 5:07
Parviz Sayyad remembers Nozar
The renowned actor and director pays tribute to Nozar Azadi in an episode of PS Show Online.
With thanks to Parviz Sayyad for sharing this remembrance.
Visit Parviz Sayyad’s official YouTube channel ↗
MORE VOICES, ONE LASTING MEMORY
Other tributes
Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak, write and share a memory of Nozar. Each contribution below is credited and linked to its publisher.
VIDEO · IRAN INTERNATIONAL · 6:41
Changiz Sanei
The translator and film historian discusses Nozar’s artistic career in this broadcaster’s remembrance.
Watch the remembrance ↗Visit Iran International’s channel ↗AUDIO · RADIO FARDA · 5:58
Amir Pouria
A report on Nozar’s career and artistic life, beginning with the voice of Ghatebeh. Preserved from the original News collection.
Listen at Radio Farda ↗VIDEO · RADIO PARVAZ · 24:31
Radio Parvaz — Dafineh
Episode 10, dedicated to Nozar Azadi. With thanks to Radio Parvaz for sharing this programme about his life and work.
Watch the programme ↗Visit Radio Parvaz’s channel ↗VIDEO · IRANEFARDA TV · 3:00
Iranefarda TV — Mandegaran
A short programme remembering Nozar Azadi from the Mandegaran series. With thanks to Iranefarda TV for keeping his memory alive.
Watch the remembrance ↗Visit Iranefarda TV’s channel ↗VIDEO · HONARMANDAN75
Remembering Nozar’s many talents
A remembrance from HONARMANDAN75, reflecting on Nozar’s work across the arts and his memorable role as Ghatebeh. With thanks to the channel for sharing it.
Watch the remembrance ↗Visit HONARMANDAN75’s channel ↗VIDEO · ZAND.LOTFALIKHAN · 4:49
In remembrance of Nozar Azadi
A remembrance of Nozar shared by Zand.Lotfalikhan. With thanks to the channel for helping keep his memory alive.
Watch the remembrance ↗Visit Zand.Lotfalikhan’s channel ↗Remembered by fellow artists
RADIO FARDA · 2021
Enayat Bakhshi
Actor · 1:26
Listen at source ↗RADIO FARDA · 2021Mohammad Rahmanian
Playwright & director · 3:09
Listen at source ↗RADIO FARDA · 2021Behrouz Behnejad
Actor · 2:35
Listen at source ↗Recorded remembrances published by Radio Farda, reported by Babak Ghafoori-Azar.
Further video & written remembrances
VOA PERSIANVIDEO · NIMA TAMASHA
From theatre to Ghatebeh
The obituary linked from his old website, tracing performance and his return to painting.
Read the article ↗Nima Tamasha remembers Ghatebeh
A video remembrance retained from the original tribute collection. With thanks to Nima Tamasha for sharing it.
Watch on YouTube ↗Visit Nima Tamasha’s channel ↗In the press
DW PERSIAN · 28 FEBRUARY 2021
Read the memories left by his audience ↓Remembering a much-loved artist
A Persian-language obituary tracing his early radio and theatre work in Kermanshah, his television career and his painting in later life.
Read the Persian article at DW ↗WRITTEN REMEMBRANCE
Akhbar Rooz
Listed in the original tribute collection. The publisher’s original article is currently unavailable; its reference is retained here.
Original article link (unavailable) ↗دوستداران قاطبه
GHATEBEH FAN CLUB · NEW YORK
A place in their hearts.
In New York, his fan club honoured him with this plaque. Their words belong here, beside the memories his audience continues to share. With special thanks to Mehran Bassali and Sharokh Bassal.
آثار هنری شما برای همیشه در قلب ما
و فرهنگ ایران زمین جاودان خواهد ماند.“Your artistic works will remain forever in our hearts and in the culture of Iran.”
06 / The painting room
Colour refuses to stand still.
Enter his world. Let your eye wander.
Paintings by Nozar Azadi · All rights reserved. Images are shown as limited-resolution previews. Please contact the site administrator for reproduction permission.
Display previews only. Original photographs are preserved privately.
Choose your next encounter.
33 works from family images · 4 historical website images
Descriptive titles remain provisional. Every image opens in the archive at its full proportions.
07 / A room full of colour
LOS ANGELES / 2010Rainbowsرنگینکمانها
28.08 — 09.09
2010
SEYHOUN GALLERY
The archive invitation establishes the dates. Contemporary reporting records the exhibition’s opening and the return to painting. Nazy Kaviani / Iranian.com ↗
The research archive
Photographs · Papers · Paintings · RecordingsEvery object. Another way in.
Search the working catalogue, compare photographs, read the paper trail and play the recordings. Repeated copies are brought together in one entry.
No objects match this search. Try another word or clear the filters.
An archive kept by his family
This is an archive dedicated to Nozar Azadi, the Iranian actor, comedian, writer, director and painter. Created by his son, Payam Azadi, it brings together family photographs, paintings, performances and memories in English and Persian.
Remembered for Ghatebeh and Italia, Italia, his work belongs to the history of Iranian comedy, classic Iranian television and theatre. He was born in Kermanshah, Iran, on 18 February 1939 and died in Bremen, Germany, on 26 February 2021. These dates are provided by his family.
Family material is presented alongside credited outside sources. Historical guestbook messages retain their original words; uncertain dates are identified rather than guessed. The tribute film by Mojdeh Habibi and the remembrances of Mahmoud Dowlatabadi and Parviz Sayyad offer further perspectives on his life.
Original names, dates and words from the historical guestbook. Replies remain with their conversations.
در تماس باشید
Contact us
Have a memory, photograph or information about Nozar? Share it with the site administrator.
NOZAR AZADIنوذر آزادی
Dedicated to Nozar Azadi, Iranian actor, comedian and painter. Explore his performances, paintings, photographs, tributes and memories in this archive.
Created by Payam Azadi, in loving memory of his father, Nozar Azadi, and dedicated to preserving his life, art and legacy.
Back to the beginning ↑