The star of Doctor Zhivago, Funny Girl and Lawrence of Arabia died of a heart attack in Cairo on Friday, according to his agent
Omar Sharif in 1968, around the time he shot Funny Girl. Photograph: Everett/REX Shutterstock/Everett/REX Shutterstock
Omar Sharif has died at the age of 83. The Egyptian actor, best known for roles in Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia, suffered a heart attack in Cairo on Friday, his agent Steve Kenis said.
In May his son revealed the star had been suffering from Alzheimer’s. He was married to fellow actor Faten Hamama, who he co-starred with in in the 1953 film The Blazing Sun. Their son and two grandsons survive him.
Sharif was Oscar nominated for his role in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia and went on to win a Golden Globe for his performance. It was his first English language role, after appearing in over 20 Egyptian films.
He spoke about the film to The Guardian in 2012: “When I made this film I thought: “This is a crazy thing. There are no girls, no very famous actors at that time, only men and no action, not a lot of action. Not a lot of fights, not a lot of ...” It was so good because the director was a brilliant man. That’s the truth. David Lean was a great, great man. Great man.”
Omar Sharif with Julie Christie in David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago. Photograph: Everett/REX Shutterstock
He soon became a star in Hollywood and followed his breakthrough performance with roles in Behold a Pale Horse alongside Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn and in the 1965 epic Genghis Khan, playing the title role. In the same year, he reunited with Lean to star in Doctor Zhivago, a role that brought him another Golden Globe.
Sharif also starred alongside Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl and sequel Funny Lady. His decision to work with Streisand angered the Egyptian government given Streisand’s support of the State of Israel.
He admitted to The Guardian in 2004 that not all of his films were favourites. He referred to three as “really bad” since 1972. “To learn bad dialogue is so difficult and so boring,” he said, “and to work with a stupid director who tells you to do the wrong thing, etcetera, it’s just unbearable.”
In 2003 he was given a one-month suspended prison sentence and a 1,500 euro fine for headbutting a policeman in a Parisian casino. In 2005 he was ordered to attend anger management classes and served two years probation after assaulting a Beverly Hills parking valet. He was caught on video in 2011 apparently slapping a journalist after she attempted to take a photo with him at the Doha international film festival.
Sharif, as well as being an unlikely supporter of Hull City Football Club, was also a world-renowned bridge player, and recently developed an iPhone app. In November 2005, Sharif received UNESCO’s Sergei Eisenstein Medal in recognition of his significant contributions to world film and cultural diversity.
