Omar Sharif dies aged 83 Friday July 10,2015

 

Omar Sharif, best known for his roles in Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, has died at the age of 83.

Egypt-born Omar Sharif won two Golden Globe awards and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean's 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, and a further Golden Globe three years later for Doctor Zhivago.

Omar Sheriff's agent confirmed he died in a Cairo hospital on Friday, after suffering a heart attack. Earlier this year, his agent confirmed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease


About Omar Sheriff(April 10,1932 - July 10,2015)

Born as Michel Shalhoub on April 10, 1932, to a wealthy family in Alexandria, Egypt, Sharif grew interested in acting while studying mathematics and physics at university in Cairo.

Omar Sheriff worked in his father's timber business for several years before realising his dream with a role in an Egyptian movie, "The Blazing Sun," in 1954 opposite the Middle East's biggest female star, Faten Hamama

Raised as a Roman Catholic, Sharif converted to Islam and married Hamama in 1955, taking on his new name. They had a son, Tarek, who played Yuri in "Doctor Zhivago" at age 8, but the couple divorced in 1974.
Despite Omar Sharif's image as a eligible bachelor, he did not remarry, saying he never fell in love with another woman

After "The Blazing Sun," Sharif had appeared in several other Egyptian films before starring in 1958 in the French love story "Goha," which was seen in many English-speaking countries.
With more Egyptian movies to his credit, he was picked by director David Lean to play Sherif Ali in the 1962 epic "Lawrence of Arabia" alongside O'Toole, Alec Guinness and Anthony Quinn.

Omar Sharif was one of the few Arab actors to make it big in Hollywood. He won international fame and an Oscar-nomination for best supporting actor for his role in the 1962 film "Lawrence of Arabia" with Peter O'Toole

After "Lawrence of Arabia," Sharif played Sophia Loren's Armenian husband in "The Fall of the Roman Empire," a Spanish priest in "Behold a Pale Horse," Ingrid Bergman's Yugoslav lover in "The Yellow Rolls-Royce," all in 1964, and the title character in "Genghis Khan" in 1965.

 

 

Then came the title role in "Doctor Zhivago," the story of a physician and poet caught up in the Russian revolution. Despite criticism, the film and Sharif were a hit

In later years, Sharif appeared in TV mini-series and a steady string of films. For his 2003 role as an elderly Muslim shopkeeper in the French film "Monsieur Ibrahim," he won the best actor award at the Venice Film Festival.

Reportedly fluent in Arabic, English, Greek and French, Sharif became known for his passion for bridge and thoroughbred race horses. He wrote many books and newspaper columns about bridge and licensed his name to a computer game called "Omar Sharif Bridge".
"I'd rather be playing bridge than making a bad movie," he was once quoted as saying.
But in 2006, Sharif said he had given it up