Known for his roles in iconic films “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Doctor Zhivago”, actor Omar Sharif passed away on Friday in Cairo, Egypt.
Sharif had been diagnosed earlier this year with Alzheimer’s Disease, but succumbed to a heart attack in a Cairo hospital.
According to the BBC:
“Born Michel Shalhoub in Alexandria in April 1932, Sharif started out in his family’s lumber business before going to London to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada).
He made his screen debut in the 1954 Egyptian film Siraa Fil-Wadi (The Blazing Sun) and rapidly became a star in his own country.
His big break came when David Lean cast him in Lawrence of Arabia, introducing the actor with a now-legendary shot of him riding a camel out of a shimmering heat haze towards the camera.
Peter O’Toole, who played TE Lawrence in the 1962 multiple Oscar-winner, considered Sharif’s name ridiculous and insisted on calling him “Fred”. The pair soon became fast friends.”
IMDB credits Sharif with 117 movie appearances with his first coming in Devil of the Sahara in 1954 and his final appearance in a yet-to-be-release short “1001 Inventions and the World of Ibn Al-Haytham”.
