| Born | Michel Demitri Chalhoub 10 April 1932 Alexandria, Egypt |
|---|---|
| Died | 10 July 2015 (aged 83) Cairo, Egypt |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Other names | Omar el-Sherief,[1][2] Omar Cherif[3] |
| Education | Victoria College, Alexandria |
| Alma mater | Cairo University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1954–2015[4] |
| Spouse(s) | Faten Hamama (1954–1974) |
| Children | Tarek El-Sharif |
| Awards |
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Omar Sharif, whose surname means "the noble man" in Egyptian
Arabic, was born on 10 April 1932, as Michel Demitri Chalhoub in Alexandria,
Egypt, to a Melkite Greek Catholic family of
Syrian-Lebanese Levant
descent. His father, Joseph Chalhoub, was a wealthy merchant of exotic woods
who, in the early 20th century, settled in Egypt, where Sharif was born and
raised. His mother was a noted society hostess, and Egypt's King Farouk
was a regular visitor until he was deposed in 1952.
In his youth, Sharif studied at Victoria College, Alexandria, where he
showed a talent for languages. He later graduated from Cairo University with a
degree in mathematics and physics. He then worked for a while in his father's
precious wood business before studying acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic
Art in London. In 1955, Sharif converted to Islam and married fellow Egyptian
actor Faten Hamama.
Here’s what Omar Sharif, then a young actor who had only worked in
Egypt, thought when the offer of a co-starring role in “Lawrence of
Arabia” came to him.
“I thought it was a bit of a stupid idea,” he says from Paris. “I
mean, there were no girls. All of the actors, me included, were
unknowns. There was little action. And a lot of desert. The public won’t
pay to see that!”
He laughs at how wrong he was. Fifty years later, “Lawrence of
Arabia” is revered as one of the greatest films ever made. Newly
restored, it will be in theaters nationwide one night only — Thursday,
Oct. 4. And then in November, this newly polished classic will be issued
on BluRay.
“It’s an extraordinary film. But when you are about to do it, you
don’t see that. You don’t believe it will come out that way. You’re in
the desert with unknown actors and David Lean. I had no idea of what I
was doing. It was madness.” The film launched the careers of co-stars
Peter O’Toole, in the title role, and of Sharif, now 80. He plays Sherif
Ali, the friend, fellow soldier and connection between the British
officer Lawrence and the native Arabs he would stir to into revolt
against the Turks, part of Britain’s World War I strategy to chase
Turkey out of the war. “David Lean hated actors. All of us. Well, not
me. He took to me, a little bit. He was happy to have an Arab actor,
from Egypt. He was kind to me and insisted I stay with him through the
whole shoot, even when I wasn’t working.I was his Arab on the set, at
his side, for the filming.”
Even when it was new, “Lawrence of Arabia” represented the sort of
iconoclastic, uncompromising and detail-oriented movie making that
Hollywood has never been known for. Director David Lean (“Bridge Over
the River Kwai,” “Doctor Zhivago”) decamped with cast and crew to the
desert. And didn’t come back until he had a movie. Today, a James
Cameron might try to manage that on sound-stages with actors acting in
front of green screens — the settings to be added later. Michael
Anderegg, author of the well-regarded biography “David Lean,” has used
“Lawrence of Arabia” in college classes for years.
“One question I ask the students is,” Anderegg says, “‘Does it really
matter that the sun that rises in the film is a ‘real’ sun as opposed
to a CGI sun? The students, of course, don’t think it matters; I, of
course, do.”
Sharif agrees. “It matters that when we see that distant speck on the
horizon, that it’s an Arab on camel back, slowly making his way into
the shot,” he says. “Producers today? They wouldn’t let even David Lean
make a movie this way.”
Lean, Shariff says, was not just a great technician (he trained and
worked as an editor). He cast his films with people he trusted to flesh
out the characters and waited for them to surprise him.
“A very clever man,” Sharif says. “He said, ‘You know better than me how to play an Arab.’ And he left me alone.”
Sharif had worked in Egyptian films for over a decade before
“Lawrence of Arabia” came along. He knows that the film changed his
life, forever. But he says that Lean was determined to make that
prediction come true. “He told me, after the film, ‘I don’t want you to
ever play an Arab again. You are going to be a great star. Don’t let
them put you in a corner.’ And the next film I did, he had me playing a
Russian — ‘Doctor Zhivago.’ I think he did that just to make sure I
didn’t play another Arab.”
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| MACKENNA'S GOLD(1969) |
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| Omar Sharif as Colorado in MACKENNA'S GOLD(1969) |
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| OMAR SHARIFF AS CHE |
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