Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif
Actor
Born: Michel Demitri Chalhoub, 10 April 1932, Alexandria, Egypt
Died: 10 July 2015 (aged 83) Cairo, Egypt
Cause of death: Heart attack
Nationality : Egyptian
Other names: Omar el
Education: Victoria College, Alexandria
Alma mater: Cairo University
Occupation: Actor
Years active: 1954
Spouse(s): Faten Hamama (1954
Children: Tarek El
Awards: César Award (2004), Golden Globe Award (1962, 1963, 1965)
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif, whose surname means "noble" or "nobleman" in Arabic,
was born on 10 April 1932, as Michel Demitri Chalhoub in Alexandria,
Egypt, to a Melkite Greek Catholic family of Lebanese descent. His father,
Joseph Chalhoub, a precious woods merchant originally from Zahle,
moved to Egypt in the early 20th century, particularly Alexandria, where
Omar Sharif was born, his family moved to Cairo when he was four. His
mother, Claire Saada, was a noted society hostess, and Egypt's King
Farouk was a regular visitor until he was deposed in 1952.
In his youth, Sharif studied at Victoria College, Alexandria, where he
showed a talent for languages. He later graduated from Cairo University
with a degree in mathematics and physics. He then worked for a while in
his father's precious wood business before studying acting at the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In 1955, Sharif changed his name
and converted to Islam in order to marry fellow Egyptian actress Faten
Hamama.
Omar Sharif
In 1954, Sharif began his acting career in his native Egypt with a role in
Shaytan Al
Sira` Fi al
appearing in Egyptian productions, including La Anam ("Sleepless") in
1958, Sayyidat al
Karenina adaptation Nahr el hub ("The River of Love") in 1961. He also
starred with his wife, Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, in several movies
as romantic leads.
Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Sharif's first English
historical epic Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. This performance earned
him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe
Award for Best Supporting Actor
Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year
what is now considered one of the "most demanding supporting roles in
Hollywood history", was both complex and risky, as he was virtually
unknown at the time outside of Egypt. However, notes historian Steven
Charles Caton, Lean insisted on using ethnic actors when possible to
make the film authentic. Sharif would later use his ambiguous ethnicity
in other films which enhanced his career: "I spoke French, Greek, Italian,
Spanish and even Arabic", he said....with an accent that enabled me to
play the role of a foreigner without anyone knowing exactly where I
came from, something that has proved highly successful throughout my
career."
Over the next few years, Sharif co
Behold a Pale Horse (1964). Director Fred Zinnemann said he chose
Sharif partly on the suggestion of David Lean. "He said he was an
absolutely marvelous actor,'If you possibly can take a look at him. Film
historian Richard Schickel wrote that Sharif gave a "truly wonderful
performance", especially noteworthy because of his totally different role
in Lawrence of Arabia: "It is hard to believe that the priest and the sheik
are played by the same man". Sharif also played a Yugoslav wartime
patriot in The Yellow Rolls
Genghis Khan (1965), a German military officer in The Night of the
Generals (1967), Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria in Mayerling (1968)
and Che Guevara in Che! (1969).
With Geraldine Chaplin in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
In 1965, Sharif reunited with Lean in order to play the title role in the
epic love story Doctor Zhivago (1965), an adaptation of Boris
Pasternak's 1957 novel, which was banned in the USSR for 30 years. Set
during World War I and the Russian Revolution, Sharif played the role of
Yuri Zhivago, a poet and physician. Film historian Constantine Santas
explained that Lean intended the film to be a poetic portrayal of the
period, with large vistas of landscapes combined with a powerful score
by Maurice Jarre. He notes that Sharif's role is "passive", his eyes
reflecting "reality" which then become "the mirror of reality we
ourselves see". In a commentary on the DVD (2001 edition), Sharif
described Lean's style of directing as similar to a general commanding
an army. For his performance, he won the Golden Globe Award for Best
Actor
Award nominations, but Sharif was not nominated for the Academy
Award for Best Actor.
Sharif was also acclaimed for his portrayal of Nicky Arnstein in Funny
Girl (1968). He portrayed the husband of Fanny Brice, played by Barbra
Streisand in her first film role. His decision to work alongside Streisand
angered Egypt's government, because of her support for Israel during
the Six Day War, however, and the country condemned the film. It was
also "immediately banned" in numerous Arab nations. Streisand herself
jokingly responded, "You think Cairo was upset? You should've seen the
letter I got from my Aunt Rose!". Sharif and Streisand became
romantically involved during the filming. He admitted later that he did
not find Streisand attractive at first, but her appeal soon overwhelmed
him: "About a week from the moment I met her", he recalled, "I was
madly in love with her. I thought she was the most gorgeous girl I'd ever
seen in my life...I found her physically beautiful, and I started lusting
after this woman." Sharif reprised the role in the film's sequel, Funny
Lady in 1975.
Sharif at the Venice Film Festival in 2009
Among Sharif's other films were the western Mackenna's Gold (1969),
playing an outlaw opposite Gregory Peck; the thriller Juggernaut (1974),
which co
Seed (1974), co
Sharif also contributed comic cameo performances in Edwards' The Pink
Panther Strikes Again (1976) and in the 1984 spy
In 2003, he received acclaim for his leading role in Monsieur Ibrahim, a
French
fleurs du Coran, as a Muslim Turkish merchant who becomes a father
figure for a Jewish boy. For this performance, Sharif received the César
Award for Best Actor. Sharif's later film roles included performances in
Hidalgo (2004) and Rock the Casbah (2013).
Omar Sharif
Family and personal relationships
Sharif lived in his native Egypt from his birth in 1932 until he moved to
Europe in 1965. He recounted that in 1932, his father "wasn't a wealthy
man", but "earned quite a bit of money". Before the Egyptian Revolution
of 1952, King Farouk frequented Sharif's family home, and became a
friend and card
elegant and charming hostess 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 recounted that his father's timber
business was very successful during that time, in ways that Sharif
describes as dishonest or immoral. By contrast, after 1952, Sharif stated
that wealth changed hands in Egypt, under Nasser's nationalisation
policies. His father's business "took a beating".
In 1954 Sharif starred in the film Struggle in the Valley opposite Faten
Hamama, who shared a kiss with him, although she had previously
refused to kiss on screen. The two fell in love; Sharif converted to Islam
and married her. They had one son, Tarek El
Egypt, who appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri at the age of eight. The
couple separated in 1966 and the marriage ended in 1974. Sharif never
remarried; he stated that since his divorce, he had never fallen in love
with another woman.
The Nasser government imposed travel restrictions in the form of "exit
visas", so Sharif's travel to take part in international films was
sometimes impeded, which he could not tolerate. These travel
restrictions influenced Sharif's decision to remain in Europe between his
film shoots, a decision that cost him his marriage to Faten Hamama,
though they remained friends. It was a major crossroads in Sharif's life
and changed him from an established family man to a lifelong bachelor
living in European hotels. When commenting about his fame and life in
Hollywood, Sharif said, "It gave me glory, but it gave me loneliness also.
And a lot of missing my own land, my own people and my own country".
When Sharif's affair with Barbra Streisand was made public in the
Egyptian press, his Egyptian citizenship was almost withdrawn by the
Egyptian Government because of Streisand's vocal support of Israel,
which was then in a state of war with Egypt.
Sharif became friends with Peter O'Toole during the making of Lawrence
of Arabia. They appeared in several other films together and remained
close friends. He was also good friends with Egyptologist Zahi Hawass.
Actor and friend Tom Courtenay revealed in an interview for the 19 July
2008 edition of BBC Radio's Test Match Special that Sharif supported
Hull City Association Football Club and in the 1970s he would telephone
their automated scoreline from his home in Paris for score updates.
Sharif was given an honorary degree by the University of Hull in 2010
and he used the occasion to meet Hull City football player Ken Wagstaff.
Sharif also had an interest in horse racing spanning more than 50 years.
He had a long friendship with racehorse trainer David Smaga and Sharif
was often seen at French racecourses, with Deauville
Racecourse being his favourite. Sharif's horses won a number of
important races and he had his best successes with Don Bosco, who won
the Prix Gontaut
a French horse racing magazine.
Sharif with Cyrine Abdelnour at the Venice Film Festival in 2009
In later life, Sharif lived mostly in Cairo with his family. In addition to his
son, he had two grandsons, Omar (born 1983 in Montreal) and Karim.
Omar Sharif, Jr. is also an actor.
Illness and death
In May 2015 it was reported that Sharif was suffering from Alzheimer's
disease. His son Tarek El
confused when remembering some of the biggest films of his career; he
would mix up the names of his best
Lawrence of Arabia, often forgetting where they were filmed.
On 10 July 2015, less than six months after Hamama's death at the same
age, Sharif died after suffering a heart attack at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt.
He was 83.
On 12 July 2015, Sharif's funeral was held at the Grand Mosque of Mushir
Tantawi in eastern Cairo. The funeral was attended by a group of Sharif's
relatives, friends and Egyptian actors, his casket draped in the Egyptian
flag and a black shroud.
Omar Sharif
In November 2005, Sharif was awarded the inaugural Sergei Eisenstein Medal
by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) in recognition of his significant contributions to world film and
cultural diversity. The medal, which is awarded very infrequently, is named
after Russian director Sergei Eisenstein. Only 25 have been struck, as
determined by the agreement between UNESCO, Russia's Mosfilm and the
Vivat Foundation.