Omar Sharif

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Omar Sharif (Arabic): Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [om eg f]; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub [mi l.hu] (born 10 April 1932 – July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally known as one of Egypt's top male film actors. He began his career in the 1950s, but he is best known for his appearances in British, American, French, and Italian films. His career spanned 50 years, winning numerous awards, including three Golden Globe Awards and a César Award for Best Actor.

Sharif portrayed Sherif Ali in the David Lean epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962), earning him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and actor in Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965), earning him the Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama. In films like Funny Girl (1968) and The Tamarind Seed (1974), as well as historical figures like the eponymous characters in Genghis Khan (1965) and Che!, he continued to act romantic leads. (1969): A.k.a. His acting career continued well into old age, with a well-received role as a Muslim immigrant in the French film Monsieur Ibrahim (2003). He made his last film appearance in 2015, the year of his death.

Sharif spoke five languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian, and Spanish. He was bridled by travel restrictions levied by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's government, which culminated in self-exile in Europe. He was a lifelong horse racing enthusiast and at one time ranked among the world's best contract bridge players. He has been the recipient of numerous international awards, including the Egyptian Order of Merit and the French Legion of Honour. He was one of only 25 recipients of the UNESCO Sergei Eisenstein Prize in recognition of his contributions to world cinema and cultural diversity.

Early life

After converting to Islam, Sharif's adopted surname means "noble" or "nobleman" in Arabic, he and his family members were of the Antiochian Greek Christian minority (also known as R.m).

Yusef Chalhoub, a precious woods merchant, and his mother, Mariah Chalhoub, arrived in Alexandria in the early 20th century from Zahle in Lebanon. Sharif was born in Alexandria later this year. When he was four years old, his family moved to Cairo. Claire Saada, his mother, was a well-known society hostess, and Egypt's King Farouk was a frequent visitor prior to his deposition in 1952.

Sharif attended Victoria College, Alexandria, where he displayed a natural gift for languages in his youth. He earned a degree in mathematics and physics from Cairo University. Before beginning his acting career in Egypt, he worked for a while in his father's highly prized wood industry. He adopted the stage name "Omar Sharif" in 1955. Faten Hamama, a fellow Egyptian actress, was married by him.

Sharif studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, according to numerous, but the academy informed Al Jazeera that this was not true.

Personal life

Sharif lived in Egypt from his birth to his move to Europe in 1965. In 1932, he said, "not a wealthy man" was his father, but "earned quite a lot." King Farouk travelled Sharif's household before the Egyptian Revolution in 1952, becoming a friend and card-game partner of Sharif's mother. His mother, who was all too delighted with the association because it gave her the privilege of "consorting only with the elite" of Egyptian society. Sharif also reported that his father's timber company was thriving during that time, but in ways that Sharif describes as dishonest or immoral. By contrast, Sharif's wealth increased hands in Egypt under Nasser's nationalization policies, and his father's business "took a beating."

Sharif appeared in the film Struggle in the Valley with Faten Hamama, who revealed a kiss with him although she had previously refused to kiss on film. The two women fell in love; Sharif converted to Islam, changed his name, and married her. They had one son, Tarek Sharif, who appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri at the age of eight, and they had one son, Tarek Sharif. The couple divorced in 1974 after they separated in 1966 and their marriage ended in divorce. Sharif never remarried; he said after his separation, he never fell in love with another woman. Sharif dated actresses Pat Sheehan and Dodie Marshall before their divorce.

Sharif was also one of Egypt's ambassadors for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but the 2010 FIFA World Cup didn't win out to South Africa.

The Nasser government placed travel restrictions in the form of "exit visas," so Sharif's participation in international films was occasionally hindered, something he found to be intolerable. Sharif's decision to remain in Europe between his film shoots was influenced by these limitations, even though the couple were friends. It was a major crossroad in Sharif's life that changed him from an established family man to a committed bachelor living in European hotels, and it was a dramatic crossroad. "It gave me honor, but it gave me loneliness as well," Sharif said of his celebrity and life in Hollywood. A lot of people are missing my own property, my own people, and my own country are among the many "mistakes" on our planet. Egyptian citizenship was virtually withheld by the Egyptian government as a result of Streisand's being a committed supporter of Israel and a state of war with Egypt when Sharif's affair with Streisand was announced in the Egyptian press.

During the construction of Lawrence of Arabia, Sharif became friends with Peter O'Toole. They appeared in many other films together and remained close friends. He was also good friends with Egyptologist Zahi Hawass. In an interview for BBC Radio's Test Match Special 19 July 2008, actor and friend Tom Courtenay revealed that Sharif admired Hull City Association Football Club, and that in the 1970s, he'd call their automated scoreline from his house in Paris for score updates. Sharif received an honorary degree from the University of Hull in 2010, and he met Hull City football player Ken Wagstaff on the occasion. Sharif has also been involved in horse racing for more than 50 years. He was often seen at French racecourses, with Deauville-La Touques Racecourse being his favourite. Sharif's horses won a number of key races, and he had his best times with Don Bosco, who won the Prix Gontaut-Biron, Prix Perth, and Prix du Muguet. He has also written for a French horse racing journal.

Sharif and his family mainly lived in Cairo in later life. Omar (born 1983 in Montreal) and Karim, in addition to his son, had two grandsons. Omar Sharif, the younger version of the film, is also an actor. Andréa Ferréol, a French actress, was his last love.

Sharif was a fan of the 2011 Youth Revolution in his home country and called for Hosni Mubarak's resignation, saying: "Given that the whole Egyptian people don't want him and he's been in office for 30 years, that's enough."

Sharif underwent a triple heart bypass surgery in 1992 and sustained a mild heart attack in 1994. Sharif used to smoke 25 cigarettes per day before his bypass. After the operation, he stopped smoking.

Sharif was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, according to an article published in May 2015. Tarek Sharif (who portrayed his father's character as a child in Doctor Zhivago) said that his father was getting confused when recalling some of his best-known films, Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, and often forgetting where they were shot.

Sharif died after suffering a heart attack at a hospital in Cairo on July 10, less than six months after his former wife's death at the same age.

Sharif's funeral was held at the Grand Mosque of Mushir Tantawi in eastern Cairo on July 12, 2015. A group of Sharif's relatives, acquaintances, and Egyptian actors, his coffin was draped in the Egyptian flag and a black shroud, attended his funeral. His coffin was later discovered in the El-Sayeda Nafisa cemetery in southern Cairo, where he was buried.

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Acting career

Sharif began his acting career in Egypt in 1954, in the Valley of Struggle (Sira' Fi al-Wadi), a tribute to the country's youth. He was also in Shaytan Al-Sahra (1954) ("Devil of the Desert").

He shot to fame in Our Beautiful Days (1954) (a French film) and Struggle on the Nile (1958) A Rumor of Love ("Nahr El-Hob") of Ezz El-Dine Zulficar (1960), a narcotic story set in New York City (1955), Our Beautiful Days (1956), According to our founder, He appeared in Our Beautiful Days (1959), Arumor of Love (1956) (a French film). In several films as romantic leads, he and his wife appeared together. Sharif made a name for herself through films such as A Rumor of Love (1959), and A Man in Our House (1961), making him a major competitor to Salah Zulfikar, Shoukry Sarhan, and Rushdy Abaza, Egypt's current cinema giants.

Sharif's first English-language role was in David Lean's historic epic Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. Sharif was given the opportunity when Dilip Kumar resigned, but Horst Buchholz was unable, and Maurice Ronet could not use the contact lenses that were needed to obscure his eyes.

Casting Sharif in what is now considered one of Hollywood's most "most demanding supporting roles" was both difficult and risky, considering he was virtually unknown outside Egypt at the time. However, Lean insisted on using ethnic actors when possible to make the film authentic, as historian Steven Charles Caton notes. Sharif's ambiguous ethnicity would later be used in other films: "I spoke French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and even Arabic," he said. Sharif's accent enabled him to "play the part of a foreigner without anyone knowing where I came from," a job he described as "driving."

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Sharif had to commit to Columbia at $50,000 a film to get the role.

Lawrence was a box office and a sensation. Sharif's work earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture – as well as a shared Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Actor.

Sharif went on to star in Anthony Mann's The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), where he appeared in another Hollywood film in which he played Sohaemus of Armenia.

Sharif was third-billed in Columbia's Behold a Pale Horse (1964), when he appeared as a priest in the Spanish Civil War alongside Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn. Fred Zinnemann, the director of Sharif, said he preferred the Sharif partially on the suggestion of David Lean. "He said he was an absolutely marvellous actor, so take a look at him." Sharif gave a "truly moving appearance," including Richard Schickel, who appeared in Lawrence of Arabia's completely different roles: "It's difficult to believe that the priest and the sheik are played by the same man." Like the Fall of the Roman Empire, the film was a commercial disappointment.

Sharif was one of many stars in MGM's The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), portraying a Yugoslav wartime patriot; the film was a hit.

When he first appeared in a Hollywood film as a lead character in Genghis Khan (1965), Sharif had his first lead role. The $4.5 million epic, directed by Henry Levin for Columbia, was a box office disappointment. He appeared in a French Marco Polo biopic, Marco the Magnificent (1965), starring Buchholz and Quinn.

Sharif learned that Lean was making Doctor Zhivago (1965), which was an adaptation of Boris Pasternak's 1957 novel. Sharif was a fan of the book and lobbied for one of the supporting roles, but Lean decided to place him in the role as Yuri Zhivago, a writer and physician.

Lean intended the film to be a poetic representation of the period, with wide vistas of countryside juxtaposed with a moving score by Maurice Jarre, according to film historian Constantine Santas. Sharif's job is "passive," according to him, "real" becomes "the mirror of reality we ourselves see."

Sharif's description of Lean's style of directing as being similar to a general commanding an army in a commentary on the DVD (2001 edition). xxviii The film was a huge success. Sharif was named best actor in a motion picture drama for his role. After adjusting for inflation, Doctor Zhivago remains one of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time.

Sharif continued it with a cameo in The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966). In The Night of the Generals (1967), he, O'Toole, and Lawrence producer Sam Spiegel were reunited. Sharif played a German officer in World War II, his fourth film for Columbia. Despite starring Sophia Loren as co-star, the film was not a success nor was the French fairytale More Than A Miracle (1967).

Sharif was also praised for his portrayal of Nicky Arnstein in 'British Girl (1968) for Columbia photos. In her first film role, Barbra Streisand played Fanny Brice's husband. His decision to work with Steffisand angered Egypt's government because she was a vocal proponent of Israel, and the country condemned the film. In several Arab countries, it was also "immediately banned." "You think Cairo was mad," the 48-year-old recalled. You should've seen the letter I received from Aunt Rose!" During the filming, Sharif and Streisand became romantically involved.

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He confessed later that he did not find Streisand attractive at first, but her beauty soon overwhelmed him: "I was madly in love with her" he recalled a week from the time he first noticed her. I thought she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen in my life, and I started lusting after her.

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In Mayerling (1968), Sharif co-starred with Catherine Deneuve (1968), and the following year, she and Gregory Peck appeared in The Guns of Navarone (1961), an unsuccessful attempt to duplicate the success of the Guns of Navarone (1961). He appeared in Che Guevara in the twentieth century Fox. The box office's attempt failed, but it was not profitable.

The Appointment (1969) teamed Sharif with Anouk Aimée and director Sidney Lumet, but it was not a success. Despite co-starring Michael Caine, James Clavell's The Last Valley (1971) was a huge disappointment.

The Horsemen (1971), directed by John Frankenheimer and the last film under Columbia's ownership, failed at the box office.

"What killed my career was being seen in a sequence of films you wouldn't turn down," Sharif said later. They were directed by good writers but they were bad films." He specifically referred to Behold a Pale Horse, The Appointment, and The Horsemen.

The Burglars (1971), a French crime film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Dyan Cannon, was a big success in France but not so well known in the English speaking world.

In an adaptation of Mysterious Island (1973), Sharif played Captain Nemo for European television.

Sharif appeared in The Tamarind Seed (1974), a romantic drama starring Julie Andrews, Blake Edwards (1974), the box office was thriving, and critics gave good feedback.

In a tense thriller, Juggernaut (1974), Richard Harris and David Hemmings were aided by him.

In the sequel to Funny Girl, Funny Lady, Sharif reprised Nick Arnstein's role. He appeared in Crime and Passion (1976) in West Germany and made a cameo in Edwards' The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976).

Sharif played a small part in Ashanti (1979), starring Caine and a larger one in Bloodline (1979).

Later, he said, "I lost money on gambling, buying horses, and other stuff like this." "I made those movies that I didn't like" — the author said. I'd call my agent and warn him not to take any part, just to bail myself out."

Sharif appeared in a spy spoof S*H*E (1980) and was second-billed (after James Coburn) in The Baltimore Bullet (1980). Oh, he had supporting parts in a Chevy Chase comedies. Heavenly Dog (1981) and a Ryan O'Neal thriller Green Ice (1981) (which was made in the 1970s) and a small role in the comedy Top Secret! (1984): It was in 1984.

In 1983, he appeared on stage in a production of The Sleeping Prince, saying he "appeared in the bad films of great directors."

Sharif continued to appear on television, including appearances in Pleasure Palace (1981), Peter the Great (1986), and Anastasia: The Mysterious Anna (1986) (as Nicholas II of Russia). He appeared in Grand Larceny (1987) and The Possessed (1988). Mountains of the Moon (1990), his first notable role in a while, but Sharif's contribution was small.

In 1989, he was told by Michael Aspel outside his Paris apartment.

Sharif was reunited with O'Toole for the third time in The Rainbow Thief (1990). He went to Egypt for war (1991) and France (1991), together with Claudia Cardinale, an autobiographical story for Henri Verneuil. The former was good enough for a sequel, 588 rue paradis (1992).

Sharif may have been seen in Memories of Midnight (1991), Beyond Justice (1992), Catherine the Great (as Alexei Razumovsky), Gulliver's Travels (1996), Heaven Before I Die (1997), and Mysteries of Egypt (1998).

Sharif appeared in the documentary Lebanon...Imprisoned Splendour, a 1996 film. Daizy Gedeon, a Lebanese-Australian filmmaker who approached Sharif for the project because she wanted someone'remarkable' to help her tell the true tale of Lebanon, a nation that was still shrouded in the midst of the Civil War's fog. Sharif recounts personal experiences of his upbringing in a Lebanese family, as well as the poetry of Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran.

With The 13th Warrior (1999), he had his first good role in a big Hollywood film in a long time. Sharif was so sad that the film's result sucked him out of film acting that he temporarily resigned from film acting, not having a role in another big film until 2003's Monsieur Ibrahim.

Sharif was only ever involved in The Parole Officer (2001). "I went 25 years without making a good film," Rob Greenwood said in 2003.

Sharif received acclaim for his leading role in Monsieur Ibrahim, a French-language film version of the novel Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran's film version, as a Muslim Turkish merchant who becomes a father figure for a Jewish child. Sharif received the César Award for her performance.

Sharif said of the film:

Sharif's later films included appearances in Hidalgo (2004), Imperium (2005), and 10,000 BC (2008) as the narrator.

Sharif appeared in The Ten Commandments (2006). Sharif appeared in "The Crown Prince," a film about Rudolf, the 19th century crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

He appeared in Hassan and Marcus (2008) with Adel Emam' and was in The Traveller (2009). He appeared in The Last Templar (2009) and Rock the Casbah (2013).

Sharif's last film role was as lead actor in the short science education film 1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham, directed by Ahmed Salim and released as part of the UN's International Year of Light initiative, which is run by UNESCO.

Contract bridge career

Sharif said the bridge was his personal passion and at one time was ranked as one of the top 50 contract bridge players in the world. He captained the United Arab Republic bridge squad at the 1964 World Bridge Olympiad, and in 1968 he was the Egyptian team's captain.

He founded the Omar Sharif Bridge Circus in 1967 to showcase the world's best athletes, including members of the Italian Blue squad, which won 16 World championship titles, to tour and promote the game in various exhibition matches, one of which was attended by the Shah of Iran. Thousands of spectators watched the matches via Bridge-O-Rama, a recent development (and predecessor to the modern-day VuGraph) that showed bidding and cardplay on television monitors, during a tour around Europe. Benito Garozzo (considered by some as the best bridge player of all time) and his Italian compatriots Pietro Forquet and Giorgio Belladonna, as well as Frenchman Claude Delmouly, were among the players.

Sharif and the circus performed in 1970 at the London's historic Piccadilly Hotel for an 80-rubber match against British experts Jeremy Flint and Jonathan Cansino. Even by today's standards, the stakes were £1 per point, with significant stakes. To bring the game within millions of people, the game was supposed to be presented as a rich, exciting spectacle and then leaping into television. The Circus ultimately won the game by 5,470 points, but Sharif still had a net loss after paying for all related expenses.

In 1970–71, the Circus, under Mike Ledeen's direction, toured Canada and the United States. Sharif's staff was part of the Dallas Aces on a seven-city tour of Chicago, Winnipeg, Los Angeles, Minneapolis–St. Paul, Dallas, Detroit, and Philadelphia are among the cities who have been featured. A group of local experts from each city was on display at the exhibition.

In 1975, the Lancia division of Fiat, Sharif, and members of the Italian Blue Team competed in four challenges against American teams. Sharif's team won in Chicago but was defeated in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami.

The Omar Sharif World Individual Championship, which took place in 1990, raised the most significant total purse ($200,000) in the history of bridges.

He was a member of the Bermuda Bowl's Committee of Honour in 1997, the first time the event was held in an Arab country, Tunisia. He was a member of French, German, and Lebanese players and finished 11th in a transnational team. He competed in a French senior team in Malta in 1999, finishing second overall. He joined Egypt's senior team in 2000, finishing in ninth place.

Sharif, with Charles Goren and later Tannah Hirsch, contributed to a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune.

He was also the author and co-author of many books on bridge and licensed his name to a bridge video game, Omar Sharif Bridge, first released in an MS-DOS and Amiga version in 1992 and is now available in Windows and smartphone browser versions. He was also the hand analyst commentator on the Epson global bridge championships.

Sharif was a regular in French casinos.

Sharif had stopped playing bridge entirely by 2000. Having once professed the game as a passion, he now considers it a addiction: "I didn't want to be a slave to any passion." Even bridge and gambling were banned from playing with a card instead. Sharif, on the other hand, continued to license his name to bridge computer games, co-authored "Omar Sharif Talks Bridge" with bridge writer David Bird, and co-authored a book with bridge writer David Bird. It was published in 2004 and contained some of his most popular deals and bridge stories.

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