Omar Shariff dies at 83

Internationally famous Egyptian-born Hollywood star, Omar Sharif, the hero of Doctor Zhivago  (1965), Laurence of Arabia (1962), Funny Girl (1968), Ashanti (1979), Che! ( 1969), Mayerling (1968), had died at the age of 83 after suffering a heart attack in  Cairo.

Omar Sharif born Michel Demitri Shallhoub ,  whose good looks and Egyptian heritage  attributed to his Lebanese father and Syrian mother, born in Alexandria on April 30, 1932, converted to Islam form his father’s Catholicism to marry the Egyptian screen star Faten Hamama. He won the Golden Globe awards and won an Oscar nomination  in the Best Supporting Actor category. In recognition of his contribution to World cinema and culture, Sharif was awarded the first  Sergei Elsenstein Medal ( named after great Soviet Director) by Unesco in 2005.

In 2015, he was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and was lonley. He was survived by his son Tarek el-Sharif.