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 Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the title role in Doctor Zhivago (1965), was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a lumber merchant, and his wife, Claire (Saada). Of Lebanese and Syrian extraction, the young Michel was raised Catholic. He was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria and took a degree in mathematics and physics from Cairo University with a major. Afterward graduating from university, he entered the family lumber business.Before making his English-language film debut with "Lawrence of Arabia", for which he earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination and international fame, Sharif became a star in Egyptian cinema. His first movie was the Egyptian film The Blazing Sun (1954) ("The Blazing Sun") in 1953, opposite the renowned Egyptian actress Faten Hamamah whom he married in 1955. He converted to Islam to marry Hamama and took the name Omar al-Sharif. The couple had one child (Tarek Sharif, who was born in 1957 and portrayed the young Zhivago in the eponymous picture) and divorced in 1974. Sharif never remarried.Beginning in the 1960s, Sharif earned a reputation as one of the world's best known contract bridge players. In the 1970s and 1980s, he co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune. Sharif also wrote several books on bridge and has licensed his name to a bridge computer game, "Omar Sharif Bridge", which has been marketed since 1992. Sharif told the press in 2006 that he no longer played bridge, explaining, "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.".As an actor, Sharif had made a comeback in 2003 playing the title role of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper in the French film Monsieur Ibrahim (2003). For his performance, he won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Actor C��sar, France's equivalent of the Oscar, from the Acad��mie des Arts et Techniques du Cin��ma.Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012, Sharif died of a heart attack on July 10, 2015, in Cairo, Egypt.
Bio:
Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the title role in Doctor Zhivago (1965), was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a lumber merchant, and his wife, Claire (Saada). Of Lebanese and Syrian extraction, the young Michel was raised Catholic. He was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria and took a degree in mathematics and physics from Cairo University with a major. Afterward graduating from university, he entered the family lumber business.Before making his English-language film debut with "Lawrence of Arabia", for which he earned a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award nomination and international fame, Sharif became a star in Egyptian cinema. His first movie was the Egyptian film The Blazing Sun (1954) ("The Blazing Sun") in 1953, opposite the renowned Egyptian actress Faten Hamamah whom he married in 1955. He converted to Islam to marry Hamama and took the name Omar al-Sharif. The couple had one child (Tarek Sharif, who was born in 1957 and portrayed the young Zhivago in the eponymous picture) and divorced in 1974. Sharif never remarried.Beginning in the 1960s, Sharif earned a reputation as one of the world's best known contract bridge players. In the 1970s and 1980s, he co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune. Sharif also wrote several books on bridge and has licensed his name to a bridge computer game, "Omar Sharif Bridge", which has been marketed since 1992. Sharif told the press in 2006 that he no longer played bridge, explaining, "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.".As an actor, Sharif had made a comeback in 2003 playing the title role of an elderly Muslim shopkeeper in the French film Monsieur Ibrahim (2003). For his performance, he won the Best Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Actor C��sar, France's equivalent of the Oscar, from the Acad��mie des Arts et Techniques du Cin��ma.Diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012, Sharif died of a heart attack on July 10, 2015, in Cairo, Egypt.
Tivia:
Sharif stated in an interview on Egyptian television that his former wife, Faten Hamamah, the only woman he ever married, was his only true love. He was the father of Tarek Sharif and grandfather of Omar Sharif Jr..Underwent triple bypass surgery (1992), and suffered a mild heart attack (1994). Until his bypass, Sharif smoked 100 cigarettes a day; he quit easily after the operation.The first time he went to the United States was for the film premiere of Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The night before the opening Peter O'Toole took him to see Lenny Bruce in a show, after which they went backstage to see Bruce then went out for drinks. After a while Bruce said he had to go home for a few minutes so they accompanied him. While Bruce was giving himself a drug injection the police broke in and arrested them all. At the police station , Sharif asked to make a phone call and rang producer Sam Spiegel who eventually managed to get them released.A world-class bridge player, he was known to anticipate or postpone shootings in order to be able to attend major bridge events. He authored and co-authored several books and a weekly syndicated column on the game of bridge and licensed his name to a bridge computer game.Ordered by a US court in Beverly Hills, California to take an anger management course for punching a parking attendant who refused to accept his European currency on 11 June 2005. Sharif was not present for the hearing (13 February 2007).When Omar Sharif signed on with Sam Spiegel to do Lawrence of Arabia (1962), it was a seven picture deal at $15,000 per film, which the producer convinced him was the standard rate at the time. The others were Doctor Zhivago (1965), Behold a Pale Horse (1964), The Night of the Generals (1967), Genghis Khan (1965), Mackenna's Gold (1969) and Funny Girl (1968).Served in Egypt's militia during the 1956 Suez crisis but considered the idea of actually using his rifle absurd as the enemy would simply level the apartment block he lived in with their return fire. Was later interviewed by British chat show host Michael Parkinson who had served with the British Army on the other side of the conflict, the pair comparing their memories of the events.Of Lebanese/Syrian descent, he resided in Egypt most of his life. Fluent in Arabic, English, French, Greek, Italian and Spanish, he graduated from Cairo University in 1963 with a joint degree in mathematics and physics. He wanted to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) but, shortly before he was to travel to London, a producer saw him and offered him the leading role in The Blazing Sun (1954), Sharif's first film.Was close friends with Peter O'Toole, who nicknamed him "Freddy" on the set of Lawrence of Arabia (1962), because "no one could possibly be called Omar Sharif".Was in three Oscar Best Picture nominees: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Funny Girl (1968), with the first of these the only winner.As of 2009, he is only one of six performers who won a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture Drama without being nominated for an Oscar for that same role (his for Doctor Zhivago (1965)). The others are Spencer Tracy in The Actress (1953), Anthony Franciosa in Career (1959), Shirley MacLaine in Madame Sousatzka (1988), Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (1998) and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road (2008).Received one-month suspended prison sentence for striking a police officer in a suburban-Paris casino in July 2003. Was also fined $1,700 and ordered to pay the officer $340 in damages, for insulting and then head-butting the Pontoise policeman, who tried to intervene in an argument between the actor and a roulette croupier. (August 2003)His mother was a professional gambler, ranked with King Faroukh as one of the most daring players. Omar inherited his love of gambling from his mother playing in international bridge tournaments and in the '64 and 68 Olympic tournaments.Made his home in a large apartment built for him on the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.His Egyptian citizenship was almost withdrawn by the Nasser regime because of his public affair with Jewish actress Barbra Streisand, who was strongly supporting Israel in its Six Day War against Egypt.Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1990.One of his main passions was horse racing and he bred horses for the sport.In an interview (sometime between 2007-09) in his native Egypt that he considered Che! (1969) to be one of his worst movies.His son Tarek was born in 1957.Bollywood movie star Dilip Kumar was initially offered the role of Sherif Ali. He declined the role after which David Lean offered it to Omar Sharif which subsequently catapulted him onto the world scene. Sharif was supposed to play the role of Tafas who is shot by Sherif Ali in his introductory desert sequence.His autobiography 'L'��ternel Masculin" was published in France in 1976 and in America the following year as "The Eternal Male".Had appeared with Anthony Quayle four films: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Mackenna's Gold (1969) and The Tamarind Seed (1974).In 1969, Sharif was named to star in a musical biography on Rudolph Valentino that director Mike Frankovich was preparing but which did not materialize.Had appeared with James Mason in four films: The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Genghis Khan (1965), Mayerling (1968) and Bloodline (1979).Born the same day as Delphine Seyrig. |
| Name: |
Omar Sharif |
Type: |
Actor,Writer,Producer (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
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Business scope: |
Actor,Writer,Producer |
| Products for sale: |
Actor,Writer,Producer |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 05:13:36 |
| Height: |
5' 10?' (1.79 m) |
| Biography: |
Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for playing Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and the title role in Doctor Zhivago (1965), was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a lumber merchant, |
| Trivia: |
Sharif stated in an interview on Egyptian television that his former wife, Faten Hamamah, the only woman he ever married, was his only true love. He was the father of Tarek Sharif and grandfather of Omar Sharif Jr..Underwent triple bypass surgery (1992), and suffered a mild heart attack (1994). Until his bypass, Sharif smoked 100 cigarettes a day; he quit easily after the operation.The first time he went to the United States was for the film premiere of Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The night before the opening Peter O'Toole took him to see Lenny Bruce in a show, after which they went backstage to see Bruce then went out for drinks. After a while Bruce said he had to go home for a few minutes so they accompanied him. While Bruce was giving himself a drug injection the police broke in and arrested them all. At the police station , Sharif asked to make a phone call and rang producer Sam Spiegel who eventually managed to get them released.A world-class bridge player, he was known to anticipate or postpone shootings in order to be able to attend major bridge events. He authored and co-authored several books and a weekly syndicated column on the game of bridge and licensed his name to a bridge computer game.Ordered by a US court in Beverly Hills, California to take an anger management course for punching a parking attendant who refused to accept his European currency on 11 June 2005. Sharif was not present for the hearing (13 February 2007).When Omar Sharif signed on with Sam Spiegel to do Lawrence of Arabia (1962), it was a seven picture deal at $15,000 per film, which the producer convinced him was the standard rate at the time. The others were Doctor Zhivago (1965), Behold a Pale Horse (1964), The Night of the Generals (1967), Genghis Khan (1965), Mackenna's Gold (1969) and Funny Girl (1968).Served in Egypt's militia during the 1956 Suez crisis but considered the idea of actually using his rifle absurd as the enemy would simply level the apartment block he lived in with their return fire. Was later interviewed by British chat show host Michael Parkinson who had served with the British Army on the other side of the conflict, the pair comparing their memories of the events.Of Lebanese/Syrian descent, he resided in Egypt most of his life. Fluent in Arabic, English, French, Greek, Italian and Spanish, he graduated from Cairo University in 1963 with a joint degree in mathematics and physics. He wanted to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) but, shortly before he was to travel to London, a producer saw him and offered him the leading role in The Blazing Sun (1954), Sharif's first film.Was close friends with Peter O'Toole, who nicknamed him "Freddy" on the set of Lawrence of Arabia (1962), because "no one could possibly be called Omar Sharif".Was in three Oscar Best Picture nominees: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Funny Girl (1968), with the first of these the only winner.As of 2009, he is only one of six performers who won a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actor/Actress in a Motion Picture Drama without being nominated for an Oscar for that same role (his for Doctor Zhivago (1965)). The others are Spencer Tracy in The Actress (1953), Anthony Franciosa in Career (1959), Shirley MacLaine in Madame Sousatzka (1988), Jim Carrey in The Truman Show (1998) and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road (2008).Received one-month suspended prison sentence for striking a police officer in a suburban-Paris casino in July 2003. Was also fined $1,700 and ordered to pay the officer $340 in damages, for insulting and then head-butting the Pontoise policeman, who tried to intervene in an argument between the actor and a roulette croupier. (August 2003)His mother was a professional gambler, ranked with King Faroukh as one of the most daring players. Omar inherited his love of gambling from his mother playing in international bridge tournaments and in the '64 and 68 Olympic tournaments.Made his home in a large apartment built for him on the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.His Egyptian citizenship was almost withdrawn by the Nasser regime because of his public affair with Jewish actress Barbra Streisand, who was strongly supporting Israel in its Six Day War against Egypt.Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1990.One of his main passions was horse racing and he bred horses for the sport.In an interview (sometime between 2007-09) in his native Egypt that he considered Che! (1969) to be one of his worst movies.His son Tarek was born in 1957.Bollywood movie star Dilip Kumar was initially offered the role of Sherif Ali. He declined the role after which David Lean offered it to Omar Sharif which subsequently catapulted him onto the world scene. Sharif was supposed to play the role of Tafas who is shot by Sherif Ali in his introductory desert sequence.His autobiography 'L'��ternel Masculin" was published in France in 1976 and in America the following year as "The Eternal Male".Had appeared with Anthony Quayle four films: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Mackenna's Gold (1969) and The Tamarind Seed (1974).In 1969, Sharif was named to star in a musical biography on Rudolph Valentino that director Mike Frankovich was preparing but which did not materialize.Had appeared with James Mason in four films: The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Genghis Khan (1965), Mayerling (1968) and Bloodline (1979).Born the same day as Delphine Seyrig. |
| Quotes: |
I definitely want to do more theatre now. Or, two weeks in a film for a remarkable amount of money.
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<hr>
I'd rather be playing bridge than making a bad movie.
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<hr>
It made me the hero of the whole of France. To head-butt a cop is the dream of every Frenchman.
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<hr>
Aggressive feminists scare me.
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<hr>
[on Peter O'Toole] The very prototype of the ham. |
| Salaries: |
Mayerling (1968) - $400,000
<br />
<hr>
Funny Girl (1968) - ��8,000
<br />
<hr>
Doctor Zhivago (1965) - ��8,000
<br />
<hr>
Genghis Khan (1965) - $25,000
<br />
<hr>
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - ��8,000 |
| Job title: |
Actor,Writer,Producer |
| Others works: |
Has written books on Bridge.
Videogame: "Omar Sharif Bridge."
Audio tour narration for the traveling museum exhibition Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs.
(1977) autobiography "The Eternal male" co-written with Marie-The |
| Spouse: |
Faten Hamamah (February 5, 1955 - 1974) (divorced, 1 child) |
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