Omar Sharif

Omar Sharif
Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Born	Michel Demitri Shalhoub (1932-04-10) April 10, 1932 Alexandria, Egypt[1]
Education	Victoria College
Alma mater	Cairo University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1954–2013
Spouse(s)	Faten Hamama (1954–74)
Children	One son
Awards	César Award (2004) Golden Globe Award (1962, 1965)

Omar Sharif (Arabic: عمر الشريف‎, Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [ˈʕomɑɾˤ eʃʃɪˈɾiːf]; born Michel Demitri Shalhoub, [miˈʃel dɪˈmitɾi ʃælˈhuːb]; 10 April 1932) is a retired Egyptian actor who has starred in Hollywood films, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Funny Girl (1968). He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won two Golden Globe Awards.

Early life

Sharif was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on 10 April 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt.^[1] He graduated from Victoria College, where he was a classmate of Edward Said. Sharif later graduated from Cairo University with degrees in mathematics and physics.

Acting career

Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

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 Genghis 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 costar 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^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4]

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."^[5]

Personal life

Sharif in January 2013

Family and personal relationships

Sharif lived in his native Egypt from birth in 1932 until he moved to Europe in 1965.^[6] He recounts that, in 1932, his father "wasn't a wealthy man", but "earned quite a bit of money".^[7] 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 describes as dishonest or immoral.^[8]

By contrast, after 1952, Sharif states that wealth changed hands in Egypt, under Nasser's nationalization policies.^[9] 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^[10] 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 crossroad 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."^[10] 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.^[11]

Sharif with Lebanese actress and singer Cyrine Abdelnour at the Venice Film Festival in 2009

In 1955, Sharif converted to Islam^[12] to marry Egyptian actress Faten Hamama.^[13] The couple had one son, Tarek El-Sharif, born 1957 in Egypt, who appeared in Doctor Zhivago as Yuri at the age of eight. They separated in 1966 and the marriage ended in 1974.^[10] Sharif never remarried; he stated that since his divorce, he never fell in love with another woman, although he lived abroad for years.^[10]

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 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.^[14]

At present, Sharif resides mostly in Cairo with his family.^[10] In addition to his son, he has two grandsons, Omar (born 1983 in Montreal) and Karim.^[10] Omar Sharif, Jr. is also an actor.^[15] 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.^[16] 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.^[17]

Criminal convictions

In August 2003, Sharif received a one-month suspended prison sentence for striking a police officer in a suburban Parisian casino the previous month. He was fined the equivalent of US$1,700. On February 13, 2007, Sharif was "found guilty of assaulting a Beverly Hills parking lot attendant and breaking his nose".^[18]

Doha Tribeca Film Festival

On October 27, 2011, Sharif became irritated with a woman who was queuing up to have her photo taken with him on the red carpet at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival. He struck her, but after a moment he turned and leaned in to pose for a picture with her.^[19][20]

Awards

In November 2005, Sharif was awarded the inaugural^[21] 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 handed out 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.^[22]

Filmography

Bibliography

• 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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Omar Sharif.

• Omar Sharif at the Internet Movie Database
• Omar Sharif at elcinema.com (Arabic)
• The Making of Lawrence of Arabia, Digitised BAFTA Journal (Winter 1962–63)

Awards for Omar Sharif v t e César Award for Best Actor 1976 Philippe Noiret 1977 Michel Galabru 1978 Jean Rochefort 1979 Michel Serrault 1980 Claude Brasseur 1981 Gérard Depardieu 1982 Michel Serrault 1983 Philippe Léotard 1984 Coluche 1985 Alain Delon 1986 Christophe Lambert 1987 Daniel Auteuil 1988 Richard Bohringer 1989 Jean-Paul Belmondo 1990 Philippe Noiret 1991 Gérard Depardieu 1992 Jacques Dutronc 1993 Claude Rich 1994 Pierre Arditi 1995 Gérard Lanvin 1996 Michel Serrault 1997 Philippe Torreton 1998 André Dussollier 1999 Jacques Villeret 2000 Daniel Auteuil 2001 Sergi López 2002 Michel Bouquet 2003 Adrien Brody 2004 Omar Sharif 2005 Mathieu Amalric 2006 Michel Bouquet 2007 François Cluzet 2008 Mathieu Amalric 2009 Vincent Cassel 2010 Tahar Rahim 2011 Éric Elmosnino 2012 Omar Sy 2013 Jean-Louis Trintignant v t e Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama Paul Lukas (1943) Alexander Knox (1944) Ray Milland (1945) Gregory Peck (1946) Ronald Colman (1947) Laurence Olivier (1948) Broderick Crawford (1949) José Ferrer (1950) Fredric March (1951) Gary Cooper (1952) Spencer Tracy (1953) Marlon Brando (1954) Ernest Borgnine (1955) Kirk Douglas (1956) Alec Guinness (1957) David Niven (1958) Anthony Franciosa (1959) Burt Lancaster (1960) Maximilian Schell (1961) Gregory Peck (1962) Sidney Poitier (1963) Peter O'Toole (1964) Omar Sharif (1965) Paul Scofield (1966) Rod Steiger (1967) Peter O'Toole (1968) John Wayne (1969) George C. Scott (1970) Gene Hackman (1971) Marlon Brando (1972) Al Pacino (1973) Jack Nicholson (1974) Jack Nicholson (1975) Peter Finch (1976) Richard Burton (1977) Jon Voight (1978) Dustin Hoffman (1979) Robert De Niro (1980) Henry Fonda (1981) Ben Kingsley (1982) Robert Duvall / Tom Courtenay (1983) F. Murray Abraham (1984) Jon Voight (1985) Bob Hoskins (1986) Michael Douglas (1987) Dustin Hoffman (1988) Tom Cruise (1989) Jeremy Irons (1990) Nick Nolte (1991) Al Pacino (1992) Tom Hanks (1993) Tom Hanks (1994) Nicolas Cage (1995) Geoffrey Rush (1996) Peter Fonda (1997) Jim Carrey (1998) Denzel Washington (1999) Tom Hanks (2000) Russell Crowe (2001) Jack Nicholson (2002) Sean Penn (2003) Leonardo DiCaprio (2004) Philip Seymour Hoffman (2005) Forest Whitaker (2006) Daniel Day-Lewis (2007) Mickey Rourke (2008) Jeff Bridges (2009) Colin Firth (2010) George Clooney (2011) Daniel Day-Lewis (2012) Matthew McConaughey (2013) v t e Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture 1943–1960 Akim Tamiroff (1943) Barry Fitzgerald (1944) J. Carrol Naish (1945) Clifton Webb (1946) Edmund Gwenn (1947) Walter Huston (1948) James Whitmore (1949) Edmund Gwenn (1950) Peter Ustinov (1951) Millard Mitchell (1952) Frank Sinatra (1953) Edmond O'Brien (1954) Arthur Kennedy (1955) Earl Holliman (1956) Red Buttons (1957) Burl Ives (1958) Stephen Boyd (1959) Sal Mineo (1960) 1961–1980 George Chakiris (1961) Omar Sharif (1962) John Huston (1963) Edmond O'Brien (1964) Oskar Werner (1965) Richard Attenborough (1966) Richard Attenborough (1967) Daniel Massey (1968) Gig Young (1969) John Mills (1970) Ben Johnson (1971) Joel Grey (1972) John Houseman (1973) Fred Astaire (1974) Richard Benjamin (1975) Laurence Olivier (1976) Peter Firth (1977) John Hurt (1978) Melvyn Douglas/Robert Duvall (1979) Timothy Hutton (1980) 1981–2000 John Gielgud (1981) Louis Gossett, Jr. (1982) Jack Nicholson (1983) Haing S. Ngor (1984) Klaus Maria Brandauer (1985) Tom Berenger (1986) Sean Connery (1987) Martin Landau (1988) Denzel Washington (1989) Bruce Davison (1990) Jack Palance (1991) Gene Hackman (1992) Tommy Lee Jones (1993) Martin Landau (1994) Brad Pitt (1995) Edward Norton (1996) Burt Reynolds (1997) Ed Harris (1998) Tom Cruise (1999) Benicio del Toro (2000) 2001–present Jim Broadbent (2001) Chris Cooper (2002) Tim Robbins (2003) Clive Owen (2004) George Clooney (2005) Eddie Murphy (2006) Javier Bardem (2007) Heath Ledger (2008) Christoph Waltz (2009) Christian Bale (2010) Christopher Plummer (2011) Christoph Waltz (2012) Jared Leto (2013)