Egypt’s late actor Omar Sharif honored in Oscar tributes

Late iconic actor Omar Sharif was remembered at the Academy Awards in the In Memoriam tribute, which honoured talents the film world lost during the previous year.

Oscar nominated Sharif, was among 136 late artists who were tributed in a video montage “for their contributions to the art and science of motion pictures,” according to the Oscars website.

Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters complemented the screened video with his live performance of The Beatles hit Blackbird on stage.

Sharif was born Michelle Chalhoub in Alexandria in1932 in Alexandria to Syrian-Lebanese parents.

He died of a heart attack on 10 July 2015.

His lustrous career comprised over 110 films, made both in Egypt and abroad. In addition to films with acclaimed director Youssef Chahine, he worked with many prominent Egyptian filmmakers such as Henry Barakat, Salah Abu Seif and Kamal El-Sheikh.

Considered one of the golden age heroes of Egyptian cinema, many of his movies are carved in the minds of Egyptians and Arabs as pillars of classical cinema, including A Man in Our House (1961), A Love Rumour (1959), Struggle on the Nile (1959), The River of Love (1960), and many others.

His international fame followed his role in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962), which earned him his Oscar nomination.

For his role in Dr Zhivago (1965), Sharif won a Golden Globe Award for best actor.

Sharif’s other international films include Doctor Zhivago (1965), Che, Marco the Magnificent, Ghenghis Khan, and Funny Girl (1968), and Hidalgo.

source:Ahram Online