Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif عمر الشريف | |
---|---|
![]() Omar Sharif, September 2009 | |
Born | Michel Demitri Shalhoub April 10, 1932 |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1954–present |
Spouse | Faten Hamama (1954-74) |
Omar Sharif (Arabic: عمر الشريف, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈʕomɑɾˤ eʃʃɪˈɾiːf]; born Michel Demitri Shalhoub, [ˈmɑjkel dɪˈmitɾi ʃælˈhuːb]; April 10, 1932) is an Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films including Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and Funny Girl. He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.
Early life
Omar Sharif was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub in Egypt into a Melkite Greek Catholic Lebanese family.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Sharif graduated from Victoria College, where he was a classmate of Edward W. Said. Sharif later graduated from Cairo University with degrees in both mathematics and physics.
Acting career
![]() | This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (April 2012) |
In 1953, Sharif began his acting career with a role in Sira` Fi al-Wadi. He quickly rose to stardom, appearing in over 20 Egyptian productions including Ayyamna el helwa with singer Abdel Halim Hafez, La anam in 1958, Sayedat el kasr in 1959 and the Anna Karenina adaptation Nahr el hub in 1961. He also starred with his wife, Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, in several movies as romantic leads.
Sharif's first English language film was in the role of Sharif Ali in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. This performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture. Following this breakthrough role, Sharif played a variety of characters, including a Spanish priest in Behold a Pale Horse (1964) and the Mongolian conqueror in Ghengis Khan (1965). In the same year, Sharif reunited with Lean to play the title role in Doctor Zhivago, an adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel. Over the next few years, Sharif starred as a German military officer in The Night of the Generals, as Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in Mayerling and as Che Guevara in Che!. Sharif was also acclaimed for his portrayal of Nicky Arnstein, husband to Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, though some thought he was miscast as a New York Jewish gambler. His decision to work with co-star Barbra Streisand angered Egypt's government at the time due to Streisand's support for the state of Israel. Streisand herself responded with "You think Cairo was upset? You should've seen the letter I got from my Aunt Rose!" Sharif reprised the role in the film’s sequel, Funny Lady in 1975.
In 2003, he received acclaim for his role in the French-language film adaptation of the novel Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran, as a Muslim Turkish merchant who becomes a father figure for a Jewish boy.
Contract bridge career
Sharif once ranked among the world's best known contract bridge players, forming the "Omar Sharif Bridge Circus" in 1967 which toured the world, competing against such powerhouse teams as Blue Team and Dallas Aces, at a time when barnstorming bridge teams were very popular. With Charles Goren, Sharif co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune[8] for several years, but has mostly turned over the writing of the column to Tannah Hirsch, whose name appears on the byline with Sharif to this day. He is also both author and co-author of several books on bridge and has licensed his name to a bridge video game; initially released in a MS-DOS version and Amiga version in 1992, Omar Sharif Bridge is still sold in Windows and "mobile platform" versions.[9] For a number of years his partner at international tournaments was Egyptian contract bridge superstar Maged Elewa.
Sharif has been a regular in casinos in France.[10]
In 2006, Sharif declared both pastimes as ended when he was asked if he still played bridge: "I've stopped altogether. I decided I didn't want to be a slave to any passion any more except for my work. I had too many passions, bridge, horses, gambling. I want to live a different kind of life, be with my family more because I didn't give them enough time."[11]
Personal life
Sharif is fluent in Arabic, English, Greek, and French. He also speaks some Italian, Spanish and Turkish.[12]
Family and personal relationships
Sharif lived in his native Egypt from birth in 1932 until he moved to Europe in 1965.[13] He recounts that, in 1932, his father "wasn't a wealthy man", but "earned quite a bit of money".[14] Before the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, King Farouk frequented Sharif's family's house, and became a friend and card game partner of Sharif's mother. His mother was an 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 recounts that his father's timber business was very successful during that time, in ways that Sharif himself describes as dishonest or immoral.[15]
By contrast, after 1952, Sharif states[16] that wealth changed hands (or names) in Egypt, under Nasser's nationalization policies. His father's business "took a beating". Travel restrictions in the form of "exit visas" were required of Egyptians, and his own travel to take part in international films was sometimes impeded, which he could not tolerate. The Nasser government's travel restrictions[17] influenced Omar's decision to remain in Europe between his film shoots, a decision that cost him his marriage to Egyptian film legend Faten Hamama, though they remained friends. It was a major cross-roads in Omar'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."[18] Due to the state of war between Egypt and Israel, Sharif's Egyptian citizenship was almost withdrawn by the Egyptian Government when his affair with Barbra Streisand was made public in the Egyptian press due to Streisand's vocal support of Israel.[19]
In 1955, Omar El-Sharif married Egyptian actress Faten Hamama.[20] The couple had one son, Tarek El-Sharif, who appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri at the age of eight. They separated in 1966 and the marriage ended in 1974.[18] Sharif never remarried; he stated that since his divorce, he never fell in love with another woman, although he lived abroad for years.[18][21]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Omar_Sharif%2C_Cyrine_AbdelNour_66%C3%A8me_Festival_de_Venise_%28Mostra%29_9.jpg/220px-Omar_Sharif%2C_Cyrine_AbdelNour_66%C3%A8me_Festival_de_Venise_%28Mostra%29_9.jpg)
Sharif became friends with Peter O'Toole during the making of Lawrence of Arabia. They have appeared in several other films together and remain close friends. He is also good friends with Egyptologist Zahi Hawass. Actor and friend Tom Courtenay revealed in an interview for the July 19, 2008, edition of BBC Radio's Test Match Special that Sharif supported Hull City Association Football Club and in the 1970s 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 used the occasion to meet up with Hull City football player Ken Wagstaff.[22]
At present, Sharif resides mostly in Cairo with his family.[17] In addition to his son, he has two grandsons, Omar (born 1983 Montreal) and Karim.[17]
Omar's elder grandson, Omar Sharif, Jr., is also an actor.[23] He is most recently known for playfully tussling on stage at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony with actor Kirk Douglas, who was presenting the award for Best Supporting Actress that evening.[24] Sharif Jr. also generated buzz for coming out as both gay and half Jewish during the aftermath of the 2011 Egyptian revolution, saying he fears for his safety after Islamist parties' triumph in parliamentary elections.[25]
Health problems
Sharif underwent a triple bypass surgery in 1992, and suffered a mild heart attack in 1994. He had smoked 50 cigarettes a day; after the surgery, he quit easily.[citation needed] Sharif then met his now close friend and lawyer Nabil Mounir Habib. Sharif met Mounir at the same hospital where he had his surgery; Mounir was there because his wife was in labor. They met through a mutual friend, Naguib Mahfouz, who would divide his time between both men's hospital rooms. From that day on, Sharif and Mounir became very close friends. They both attended their mutual friend's funeral in 2006 at the El-Rashdan Mosque in Nasr City.
Criminal conviction
On August 5, 2003, he received a one-month suspended prison sentence for striking a police officer in a suburban Parisian casino in July. He was fined the equivalent of $1,700 (USD) and ordered to pay the officer the equivalent of $340 in damages. (He had insulted and then head-butted the Pontoise policeman, who tried to intervene in an argument between the actor and a roulette croupier.)[citation needed] On February 13, 2007 Sharif was "found guilty of assaulting a Beverly Hills parking lot attendant and breaking his nose".[26]
Doha Tribeca Film Festival
On October 27, 2011 Omar Sharif became irritated with a woman who was queued up to have her photo taken with him on the red carpet at Doha Tribeca Film Festival. It appeared that he struck her, but after a moment he turned and leaned in to smile warmly for a picture with her.[27]
Political views
Sharif said the East will never have a democracy because people like him prefer to go to the neighborhood sheikh. In the interview, Sharif reportedly blasted U.S. policy in Iraq and said Americans are ignorant. Sharif also claimed to have spoken with U.S President George W. Bush before the beginning of the Iraq War, telling him that Arabs were not like westerners and that Arab states were made up of sects resistant to becoming democratized.[28][29]
Views on religion
In an interview conducted with The Daily News Egypt, Omar Sharif mentioned his views on religion, and religious people:
When one sees what happens in the world between the religions, the different religions - killing each other and murdering each other, it's disgusting and as far as I am concerned it's ridiculous. So I thought I might be useful, I believe in God and I believe in religion, but believe religions should belong to you. The extraordinary thing is that the Jews believe that only the Jews can go to paradise, the Christians believe that only a Christian can go to paradise and the Muslims believe that only the Muslims can go to paradise. Now why should God, in His great justice, make somebody born that cannot go to paradise - it is absurd. Please forgive me I don't mean to say it's absurd, people made it absurd.[30]
Awards
In November 2005, he was given a 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 handed out very infrequently—is named after Russian director Sergei Eisenstein and can only be given out a total of 25 times by Russia's Mosfilm.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1954 | Shaytan al-Sahra | Known as Devil of the Sahara | |
1954 | Sira` Fi al-Wadi | Ahmed | Also known as The Blazing Sun or Struggle in the Valley or Fight in the Valley' |
1955 | Ayyamna al-Holwa (Our Best Days) | Ahmed | |
1956 | Siraa Fil-Mina | ||
1957 | Ard al-Salam | Ahmed | Known as Land of Peace |
1957 | The Lebanese Mission | Mokrir | Original title was La Châtelaine du Liban; credited as Omar Cherif |
1958 | La anam | Aziz | Also known as I Do Not Sleep and No Tomorrow |
1958 | Goha | Goha | Credited as Omar Cherif |
1959 | Fadiha fil-zamalek | Scandal in Zamalek | |
1959 | Sayedat el kasr | Adel | Lady of the Castle |
1959 | Seraa fil Nil | Muhassab | Struggle on the Nile |
1960 | Bidaya wa nihaya | ||
1960 | Hobi al-wahid | My Only Love | |
1960 | Esha'a hob | Rumor of Love | |
1960 | Nahr al-Hob | Khalid | The River of love |
1961 | A Man in our House | Ibrahim | |
1962 | Lawrence of Arabia | Sherif Ali | |
1964 | Behold a Pale Horse | Francisco | |
1964 | The Fall of the Roman Empire | Sohamus | |
1965 | Doctor Zhivago | Yuri | |
1965 | The Yellow Rolls-Royce | Davich | |
1965 | Genghis Khan | Genghis Khan | |
1967 | The Night of the Generals | Major Grau | |
1967 | More Than A Miracle | Prince Rodrigo Fernandez | |
1968 | Funny Girl | Nick Arnstein | |
1968 | Mayerling | Archduke Rudolf | |
1969 | Che! | Che Guevara | |
1969 | The Appointment | Frenderico Fendi | |
1969 | Mackenna's Gold | Colorado | |
1970 | The Last Valley | Vogel | |
1971 | The Horsemen | Uraz | |
1971 | The Burglars | Abel Zacharia | |
1973 | The Mysterious Island | Captain Nemo | TV miniseries; also known as L'Ile Mysterieuse |
1974 | Juggernaut | Captain Axel Brunel | |
1974 | The Tamarind Seed | Feodor Sverdlov | |
1975 | Ace Up My Sleeve | Andre Ferren | also known as Crime and Passion |
1975 | Funny Lady | Nicky Arnstein | |
1976 | The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Egyptian Assassin | uncredited cameo |
1979 | Ashanti: Land of No Mercy | Prince hassan | |
1979 | Bloodline | Ivo Palazzi | |
1979 | S-H-E | Baron Cesare Magnasco | S-H-E: Security Hazards Expert |
1980 | Oh Heavenly Dog | Bart | |
1980 | The Baltimore Bullet | The Deacon | |
1980 | Pleasure Palace | Louis Lefevre | TV movie |
1981 | Green Ice | Meno Argenti | |
1984 | Top Secret! | Agent Cedric | |
1986 | Peter the Great | Prince Feodor Romodanovsky | TV series |
1986 | Harem | Sultan Hassan | TV movie |
1986 | Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna | Czar Nicholas II | TV series |
1987 | The Novice | ||
1988 | The Possessed | Stepan | Les Possédés |
1989 | Al-aragoz | Mohamed Gad El Kareem | The Puppeteer |
1990 | The Opium Connection | ||
1990 | The Rainbow Thief | Dima | |
1991 | Memories of Midnight | Constantin Demiris | TV movie |
1991 | Mowaten masri | An Egyptian Citizen | |
1992 | Beyond Justice | Emir Beni-Zair | |
1992 | Grand Larceny | ||
1992 | Mayrig | ||
1992 | Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris | Marquis Hippolite | TV Movie |
1992 | 588 rue paradis | Hagop | Mother |
1993 | Dehk we le'b we gad we hob | Laughter, Games, Seriousness and Love | |
1994 | Lie Down With Lions | Safar Khan | TV movie; Red Eagle |
1995 | Catherine the Great | Razumovsky | TV movie |
1996 | Gulliver's Travels | The Sorcerer | TV movie |
1997 | Heaven Before I Die | Khalil Gibran | |
1998 | Mysteries of Egypt | Grandfather | Documentary |
1999 | The 13th Warrior | Melchisideck | |
2001 | The Parole Officer | Victor | |
2003 | Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran | Monsieur Ibrahim Deneji | |
2004 | Hidalgo | Sheikh Riyadh | |
2005 | Imperium: St Peter | San Pietro | TV movie |
2005 | Fuoco su di me | Principe Nicola | Fire at my Heart |
2005 | Shaka Zulu: The Last Great Warrior | ||
2006 | One Night with the King | Prince Memucan | |
2006 | The Crown Prince | Hans Canon | TV movie; Kronprinz Rudolf |
2007 | Hanan W Haneen | TV series | |
2007 | The Ten Commandments | Jethro | TV series |
2008 | The Last Templar | Konstantine | TV series |
2008 | Hassan & Marcus | Hassan/Morcus | Hassan wa Morcus |
2008 | 10,000 BC | Narrator | Voice only |
2009 | The Traveller | ||
2009 | J'ai oublié de te dire | Jaume | I forgot to Tell You |
2009 | La Traversée du désir |
Bibliography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- The Eternal Male (1977)
- Omar Sharif's Life in Bridge (1983)
- Omar Sharif talks Bridge (2004)
- Bridge Deluxe II play with Omar Sharif (Instruction manual)
References
- ^ "Omar Sharif: 'It is a great film, but I'm not very good in it'", The Independent.
- ^ "Omar Sharif: An Arab Legend | Hajj & Umrah Live Days | Live Blogging & Tweets | Umrah 2010". Hajumrahdays.com. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ "Omar Sharif is 70 today". Birmingham Post. October 10, 2002.
Egyptian actor Omar Sharif
- ^ "AP Interview: Egyptian-born movie legend credits grandsons' teasing for career rebound". Associated Press.
born as Michel Shalhoub to affluent Christian Lebanese-Syrian parents of Rûm Greek Catholic origin, and later converted to Islam.
{{cite news}}
: Text "Nov 15, 2005" ignored (help) - ^ "Omar Sharif's back". The Toronto Star. September 9, 2003.
He was born Michael Shalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt, on April 10, 1932, the son of a wealthy Lebanese-Egyptian family.
- ^ "Star Watch". Associated Press. May 19, 1995.
Of Lebanese parentage, he was born Michael Shalhoub in Alexandria and attended college in Cairo
- ^ "AP Interview: Egyptian-born movie legend wants to send message in his new movies". Associated Press. October 28, 2005.
born in Alexandria, Egypt as Michel Shalhoub to affluent Christian Lebanese-Syrian parents and later converted to Islam.
- ^ "Change of Subject - Observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades Chicago Tribune Blog". Chicago Tribune. September 6, 2005.
- ^ "> {subcategory}". Thetradingcentre.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ "Omar Sharif sued for assault". (November 6, 2005). New Sunday Times, p. 29.
- ^ Mark Lubischer and Betty Jo Tucker. "ReelTalk Movie Reviews". Reeltalkreviews.com. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ Sharif, Omar (1977), The Eternal Male: My Own Story, Doubleday, NY, 1st Ed., p. 41.
- ^ Sharif, Omar (1977), The Eternal Male: My Own Story, Doubleday, NY, 1st Ed., pp. 45-46.
- ^ Sharif, Omar (1977), The Eternal Male: My Own Story, Doubleday, NY, 1st Ed., p. 46.
- ^ Sharif, Omar (1977), The Eternal Male: My Own Story, Doubleday, NY, 1st Ed., p. 98.
- ^ a b c AlJazeeraEnglish. "Riz Khan - Omar Sharif - 10 Oct 07". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ a b c AlJazeeraEnglish. "Riz Khan - Omar Sharif - 10 Oct 07". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ Sharif, Omar (1977), The Eternal Male: My Own Story, Doubleday, NY, 1st Ed., p. 79.
- ^ Sharif, Omar (1977), The Eternal Male: My Own Story, Doubleday, NY, 1st Ed., p. 71.
- ^ [2][dead link]
- ^ "THEY are two of the greatest names in film history". This is Hull and East Riding. 2010-07-15. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ [3][dead link]
- ^ BY Ross von Metzke (2011-02-28). "Introducing Omar Sharif Jr". Advocate.com. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ "Omar Sharif Jr. Comes Out as Gay, Half-Jewish: 'Am I Welcome in Egypt?' - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ [4][dead link]
- ^ "You've Been Framed? Omar Sharif appears to slap a woman on film during a red carpet appearance at a Film Festival". Daily Mail. London. October 28, 2011.
- ^ "Actor Omar Sharif Says Arab Nations Will Never Be Democratized - International News | News of the World | Middle East News | Europe News". FOXNews.com. 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
- ^ [5][dead link]
- ^ "Omar Sharif on acting, religion, and the future". YouTube. 2010-02-02. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
External links
- Omar Sharif at IMDb
- Omar Sharif at elcinema.com] (Arabic)
- The Making of Lawrence of Arabia, Digitised BAFTA Journal (Winter 1962-3)
- 1932 births
- Living people
- Victoria College, Alexandria alumni
- Cairo University alumni
- Melkite Greek Catholics
- Egyptian people of Lebanese descent
- Converts to Islam from Catholicism
- People from Alexandria
- People of Levantine-Greek Orthodox Christian descent
- Egyptian actors
- Egyptian film actors
- Egyptian bridge players
- Best Actor César Award winners
- Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
- 20th-century actors
- 21st-century actors