Omar Sharif

Omar Sharif

Omar Sharif (April 10, 1932), also known as Omar al-Sharif or Omar Ash-Sharif, is an Egyptian-born actor (of Lebanese and Syrian origin) who has starred in many Hollywood films. He has acted in Arabic, French, and English feature films. Sharif is famous for his starring role in the 1965 film Dr. Zhivago.

Biography

Omar Sharif was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub on April 10, 1932 in Alexandria, Egypt to Joseph Shalhoub, a timber merchant, and his wife, Claire Shalhoub. Omar 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. Their business was less than successful following the investment of a large amount of capital in an endeavor to revitalize papyrus as a viable commodity.

In 1953, he began his acting career with a role in the Egyptian film, Siraa Fil-Wadi, (English, The Blazing Sun or Struggle in the Valley or Fight in the Valley). Numerous Egyptian productions followed. His first English language film was Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, in which he played the Sherif Ali. This performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and worldwide fame. He also played the title role in the 1965 film, Dr. Zhivago by David Lean. After a period in which he made headlines more for being a professional bridge player than an actor, he made a comeback with the film adaptation of the novel Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran.

Raised a Catholic, he converted to Islam to marry 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. Rumors that Sharif would have married actress Sohair Ramzi in 1977, have turned out to be untrue. In fact, he never remarried and his attempt to restore his relationship with ex-wife Faten Hamama after returning to Egypt failed.

Hamama and Sharif starred in several Egyptian movies together as romantic leads, including Sharif's first significant role in Siraa Fil-Wadi (The Blazing Sun, Struggle in the Valley, 1953). Others include Ayyamna el helwa (Our Best Days, 1955), La anam (No Tomorrow, 1958), Sayedat el kasr (Lady of the Castle, 1959) and the Anna Karenina-adaptation Nahr el hub (The River of Love, 1961),

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

Sharif and Gaming

Sharif, once among the world's best known contract bridge players, co-wrote a syndicated newspaper bridge column for the Chicago Tribune 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.

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.

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.

Trivia

Height: 5'11" (1.80 m) He was once romantically linked to his Funny Girl co-star, Barbra Streisand. He 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.) 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 could only be given out a total of 25 times by Russia's Mosfilm. He has one Muslim and one Jewish grandchild. Larry Thomas, who played "The Soup Nazi" on Seinfeld has said that his portrayal of the Soup Nazi was an impersonation of Sharif's character in Lawrence of Arabia

Filmography

One Night with the King (2006) Hidalgo (2004) Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran (2003) The Parole Officer (2001) The 13th Warrior (1999) The Mysteries of Egypt (1998) Heaven Before I Die (1997) Lebanon - Imprisoned Splendor (1997) The Possessed (1996) Gulliver's Travels (1996) Catherine the Great (1995) Lie Down With Lions (1994) Dehk we le'b we gad we hob (Laughter, Games, Seriousness and Love) (1993) Beyond Justice (1992) Grand Larceny (1992) Mayerling (1992) Memories of Midnight (1991) Mowaten masri (War in the Land of Egypt) (1991) The Baltimore Bullet (1990) The Opium Connection (1990) (1989) Peter the Great (1986) Top Secret! (1984) Green Ice (1981) Oh Heavenly Dog (1980) Pleasure Palace (1980) Bloodline (1979) S-H-E (1979) Crime and Passion (1975) Funny Lady (1975) Juggernaut (1974) The Tamarind Seed (1974) The Mysterious Island (L'Ile Mysterieuse) (TV miniseries) (1973) The Horsemen (1971) The Last Valley (1971) The Burglars (1971) Che! (1969) The Appointment (1969) Mackenna's Gold (1969) Funny Girl (1968) (Salary £8,000) Mayerling(1968) The Night of the Generals (1967) Doctor Zhivago (1965) The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1965) Genghis Khan (1965) Behold a Pale Horse (1964) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Nahr el hub (The River of Love) (1961) Hobi al-wahid (My Only Love) (1960) Esha'a hob (Rumor of Love) (1960) Fadiha fil-zamalek (Scandal in Zamalek) (1959) Sayedat el kasr (Lady of the Castle) (1959) La anam (No Tomorrow) (1958) Ayyamna el helwa (Our Best Days) (1955) Siraa Fil-Wadi (The Blazing Sun or Struggle in the Valley or Fight in the Valley) (1953)