CAIRO (CelebrityAccess) — Actor Omar Sharif, who appeared in films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, has died. He was 83.
According to the BBC, the Egypt-born Sharif died at a hospital in Cairo after suffering a heart attack. Earlier this year, he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
Born Michel Shalhoub in Alexandria in April 1932, Sharif first got involved in his family's lumber business before attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. His first film role was the 1954 Egyptian film Siraa Fil-Wadi, which propelled Sharif to stardom in his own country.
Sharif arose to international fame when David Lean cast him opposite Peter O'Toole to play the role of Sherif Ali in the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia. The role would win two Golden Globes for Sharif, as well as an Oscar nomination.
Sharif also won a Golden Globe for his potrayal of Dr. Yuri Zhivago in the David Lean-directed screen rendition of the Boris Pasternak novel.
Other important roles for Sharif included playing opposite Barbara Streisand in her fist film, Funny Girl, and opposite Julie Andrews in Tamarin Seed.
In the past few years, his film appearances grew less frequent, with his most notable role seeing Sharif cast as a Muslim shopkeeper in Paris in the French drama Monsieur Ibraham, which won Sharif a Cesar, the French equivalent of an Oscar. – Staff Writers
