He attended primary school at Istanbul 12th Elementary School. When his parents separated, he had to move to Ankara when he was in the 5th grade. Gruda grew up with his father, who was engaged in trade. He attended middle school in Ankara and dropped out of Ankara Commercial High School in the second grade to work as a bank clerk. Later, he worked as an accountant at Yeni Sabah Newspaper in Istanbul.
In 1954, he resigned from the newspaper and performed at Tiyatro Derneği Cep Tiyatrosu for two seasons between 1955-1956.
Gruda performed in various theater groups such as Küçük Sahne, Dormen Theatre, Ankara State Theatre, Ankara Square Theatre, Ulvi Uraz, Nisa Serezli-Tolga Aşkıner, and also directed Muammer Karaca Theatre.
In the 1950s, his poems began to be published in various magazines. Besides theater acting, he also worked in television, cabaret, film, radio acting, general art management, teaching, theater direction, directing, journalism, writing, research, and advertising copywriting.
In 1957, he married ballerina Tolga Tiğin. The couple divorced in 1963 and had one child from this marriage.
Gruda was one of the poets who created the "Mavi Hareket" (Blue Movement) along with Atilla İlhan.
In his works, Yılmaz Gruda heavily incorporated traditional Turkish theater and Anton Chekhov influences.
His first poem "Memoya Mektup" was published and well-received in a magazine, and he continued to have his poems published in newspapers and magazines.
He directed Radio Theatres at Istanbul and Ankara Radios. In 1959, he performed "Çağdaş Meddah" which brought Meddah and Orta Oyunu (Traditional Turkish Improvisational Comedy Theater) to television. He hosted the program "Nasreddin Hoca/ Bir Dakika Medya Konuğu" on a national channel for 7 years.
In 1965, he married Ayşen Gruda, and they had a daughter named Elvan Gruda from this marriage.
He turned to the cinema with the film "Dokuz Dağın Efesi" in 1959 and achieved success.
He compiled his socially realistic poems in his books "Çarmıhtaki Yeni Mehmet" and "Kuyumcular". Gruda also worked as a columnist for a magazine.
In 1985, he married the actress Türkan Gruda. Türkan Gruda passed away on September 24, 2014.
Throughout his acting career, Yılmaz Gruda received numerous awards and performed on stage at the age of 90 in Anton Chekhov's "Evliliğin Halleri" at the Harbiye Cemil Topuzlu Open-Air Theatre on October 25, 2020.
The esteemed actor was hospitalized in Istanbul on March 13, 2023, due to kidney failure.
