Death of Omar Sharif: farewell, Doctor Zhivago! – Point

Its role in David Lean’s epic saga, Lawrence of Arabia , Omar Sharif had made a film legend, alongside Peter O’Toole. A performance that earned him two Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination

Another important role for the actor. Participation in Doctor Zhivago Born in Egypt, sound. real name was Michel Chalhoub. “He died this afternoon of a heart attack in Cairo. He was in a hospital specialized for Alzheimer’s patients, “said his agent, Steve Kenis, from London.

This illness forced him to move away trays in 2012 after a last appearance in Rock the Casbah , Laila Marrakchi, closing a rich career of over 70 films. Former Egyptian Minister of Antiquities and renowned Egyptologist Zahi Hawass, who was part of his close friends, confirmed the death of the legendary actor in an upscale clinic in Cairo, where he had been admitted a month ago , claiming that the funeral could take place Sunday. “His mental state had deteriorated, he stopped eating and not drinking,” said Zahi Hawass.

Born April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, to a family of traders in precious wood of origin Syria-Lebanon, Omar Sharif is higher in the Melkite Greek Catholic rite. After the Victoria College in Alexandria, where he discovered theater, it makes math and physical education at the University of Cairo and agrees to work with his father five years. The young man was noticed by Youssef Chahine who in 1954 turned the Heaven hell , with the Egyptian star Faten Hamama. Married a year later after converting to Islam Omar, they will have a son, Tarek.

choleric Character

With his wife as a partner, he will play his first role Western La Chatelaine Lebanon Richard Pottier in 1956. They will separate thereafter. International star after Lawrence of Arabia (1962), which earned him the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor, Omar moved to the United States. In 1965, Omar Sharif found David Lean Doctor Zhivago, where interpretation will be rewarded with the Golden Globe for best actor.

He will play both Genghis Khan and Che Guevara will play in films as different as Mayerling (1968) Terence Young, Funny Girl William Wyler, with Barbra Streisand (1968), or The Possessed Andrzej Wajda (1988).

After a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 2003 for his entire career, he won the 2004 César for best actor for Monsieur Ibrahim and the Flowers of the Koran by François Dupeyron. It interprets an old Arab grocer who befriends a young Jewish boy.

His choleric character led him to justice, particularly in 2003 to a whim given to a police officer Casino of Enghien-les-Bains (Paris) and in 2007 for assaulting Los Angeles valet who refused his ticket 20 euros and dollars demanded. Bridge Champion, owner of a large stable of race horses, accustomed casinos, he will say in 2006 have stopped playing “to no longer be a slave of passion”, with the exception of cinema.

A polyglot, Omar Sharif has lived mainly in France, the US and Italy. But the actor, whose humor was as thin as a shady character, preferred to lead a life of “nomad”. “I am the only actor in the world that is alien everywhere. I had my suitcase, I was in hotels “luxury, as” guest, “he recounted. On the evening of his life, suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, he had approached his family in Cairo. In January 2011, the actor had demanded the resignation of President Mubarak while saying fear the Muslim Brotherhood.