Omar Sharif

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Not to be confused with Umer Sharif.
For other persons of the same name, see Omar Sharif (disambiguation).
Omar Sharif
Born Michel Demitri Chalhoub
April 10, 1932 (1932-04-10) (age 76)
Flag of Egypt Alexandria, Egypt
Spouse(s) Faten Hamama (1954-1974)

Omar Sharif (Arabic: عمر الشريف‎; born Michel Demitri Chalhoub, April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt) is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning Egyptian actor who has starred in many Hollywood films. He has acted in Arabic, French, and English feature films. Sharif is most famous for his roles in Doctor Zhivago, Funny Girl and Lawrence of Arabia.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Sharif was born Michel Demitri Chalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt, the son of Claire (née Saada) and Joseph Chalhoub, a timber merchant.[1] The family was Roman Catholic, Sharif graduated from Alexandria's Victoria College, then from Cairo University with a mathematics and physics major. Afterwards, he worked with his father in the lumber business.

[edit] Career

In 1953, Sharif began his acting career with a role in the Egyptian film, Sira` Fi al-Wadi, (English, The Blazing Sun or Struggle in the Valley or Fight in the Valley). Numerous Egyptian productions followed. He starred with his ex-wife, Egyptian actress Faten Hamama, in several movies as romantic leads. Others include Ayyamna el helwa (Our Best Days, 1955), La anam (I Don't Sleep, 1958), Sayedat el kasr (Lady of the Castle, 1959) and the Anna Karenina-adaptation Nahr el hub (The River of Love 1961).

Sharif's first English language film was Lawrence of Arabia in 1962 where he played the role of Sherif Ali. This performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture, Most Promising Newcomer award and worldwide fame as the world's leading Franco Arabic actor. Sharif also played the title role in the 1965 film Doctor Zhivago by David Lean. His decision to star in William Wyler's Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand reportedly angered Egypt's government. After a period in which he made headlines more for being a professional bridge player than an actor, he made a comeback in 2003 with the film adaptation of the novel Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran.

In November 2005, he was honored with 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.

Sharif is to once more team with his co-star from Lawrence of Arabia, Peter O'Toole, in Gilgamesh by Stonelock Pictures.[2] This epic, about the ancient land now called Iraq and its rulers, also stars some of Europe and Egypt's leading actors.

[edit] Personal life

Sharif converted to Islam and married renowned Egyptian actress Faten Hamama in 1955 and took the name Omar al-Sharif. The marriage lasted almost 20 years and ended in 1974, producing one child Tarek Sharif (b. 1957), who appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri at the age of 8. Rumours that Sharif would have married actress Sohair Ramzi in 1977, have turned out to be untrue.

Sharif is fluent in Arabic, English, Greek, and French. He also speaks some Italian and Turkish.[3]

In a 2002 interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, Omar Sharif stated that he and his son Tarek are atheists.[4]

Sharif became very close friends with Peter O'Toole during the making of Lawrence of Arabia. They have appeared in several other films together and remain intimate friends.

Sharif underwent a triple bypass surgery in 1992, and suffered a mild heart attack in 1994. Until his bypass, Sharif smoked 50 cigarettes a day; after the surgery, he quit easily.

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 also fined $1700 and ordered to pay the officer $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".[5]

[edit] Gambling

Sharif, once among the world's best known contract bridge players, co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune[6] for several years. He is also both author and co-author of several books on bridge and has licensed his name to a bridge computer game; initially released in a DOS version in 1992, Omar Sharif Bridge is still sold in Windows and "mobile platform" versions.[7] For a number of years his partner at international tournaments was American football coach Tommy Prothro.

Sharif has also been a regular in casinos in France, where he once assaulted a casino employee after losing thousands of dollars on a single roulette bet.[8]

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."[9]

[edit] Filmography

Awards
Preceded by
George Chakiris
for West Side Story		 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture
1963
for Lawrence of Arabia		 Succeeded by
John Huston
for The Cardinal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Omar Sharif Biography (1932-)
  2. ^ Variety
  3. ^ http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,,00.html "Q&A With Omar Sharif" (December 8, 2003). Rebecca Winters, [[Time (magazine)|]].
  4. ^ Interview: Omar Sharif (English translation) - El Mundo on 2002.
  5. ^ Omar Sharif guilty of punch attack
  6. ^ Change of Subject - Observations, reports, tips, referrals and tirades | Chicago Tribune | Blog
  7. ^ http://www.thetradingcentre.co.uk/products.asp?category=Omar+Sharif+Bridge
  8. ^ "Omar Sharif sued for assault". (November 6, 2005). New Sunday Times, p. 29.
  9. ^ ReelTalk Movie Reviews

[edit] External links