TRT World - World in Focus: Omar Sharif

OMAR SHARIF - A MIDDLE EASTERN STAR IN HOLLYWOOD
The world best knew Omar Sharif for his roles in the hit 1966 film “Doctor Zhivago” and for his work in "Lawrence of Arabia." His career consisted of 120 movies over six decades. His agent said he died in Cairo of a heart attack at a hospital for patients with Alzheimer's disease.Sharif's son said back in May that he was forgetting details of his career like whom he acted with in specific films.

EARLY LIFE
Omar Sharif was born as Michel Shalhoub on April 10, 1932, to a wealthy family in Alexandria, Egypt. He was raised as a Roman Catholic, but converted to Islam and married Faten Hamama in 1955, taking on his new name. Sharif became interested in acting while studying mathematics and physics at university in Cairo.He worked in his father's timber business for several years before winning a role in an Egyptian movie, "The Blazing Sun," in 1954 opposite the Middle East's biggest female star, Faten Hamama.

RISE TO FAME
Lawrence of Arabia made him a truly international star. The film earned seven Oscars and nominations for both Sharif and his co-star, Peter O'Toole.His fame rose even higher with his portrayal of Doctor Zhivago, in David Lean's 1965 Russian epic based on the novel by Boris Pasternak.He was one of the few Arab actors to make it big in Hollywood, getting a contract with Columbia studios starring opposite Barbara Streisand in Funny Girls. With his dark eyes and famous gap-toothed smile, Sharif was a heartthrob of the 1960s.Sharif received renewed admiration when Lawrence of Arabia was digitally restored and re-released in 1989. But the actor was later heavily criticised for stiff and uninspiring performances in several movies. When asked about his approach to acting he once said “All I care about is to getting to the studio on time and remembering my lines.”

FAME COMES WITH A PRICE
Fame came with a price for Sharif, with his marriage ending in divorce. Despite his image as a sex symbol and eligible bachelor, he never remarried, saying he could never fall in love with another woman.He was also known to drink, smoke and gamble heavily. At one time he smoked more than 50 cigarettes a day, until he underwent heart bypass surgery in 1993. He became particularly successful at bridge and was ranked among the world's best players, though in the 1970s he lost a villa worth millions of dollars in Lanzarote, Spain, over a card game.The money he earned from his legendary career he mostly gambled or gave away. Turning his back on hollywood, he drifted from one minor role to the next in a run of TV movies and miniseries to be able to make a living.His celebrity in America gave him glory but also loneliness,“I am missing my own land, my own people and my own family,” he said.
However, at other times he claimed he had no regrets. He once said, "I don't know the meaning of the word. If I was back there again, I would do it the same way.”

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