Omar Sharif
Date of birth (location)
10 April 1932
Alexandria, Egypt
International film star whose exotic looks and soft-spoken manner made him something of a sex symbol for years, but also typecast him later in his career. Sharif studied mathematics and physics and worked in his family's lumber business before landing a part in an Egyptian film, beginning a career that would make him his country's top movie star. It was the part of T. E. Lawrence's friend Ali in David Lean's epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) that won him worldwide fame and snagged him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He followed with Lean's Doctor Zhivago (1965, at his most charismatic in the title role), More Than a Miracle (1967), Funny Girl (1968, as the wayward husband of Fanny Brice, played by Barbra Streisand), Mayerling (1969), and Che! (also 1969, in the title role), but his romantic appeal had waned by the 1970s and after starring performances in The Last Valley (1971), The Tamarind Seed and Juggernaut (both 1974), his film appearances dwindled to supporting roles in such films as The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976), and Green Ice (1981). (In 1984's Top Secret! he revealed a disarming willingness to poke fun at himself and play broad comedy.) He has worked in TV, appearing in telefilms and miniseries. Sharif is also known worldwide as an expert at bridge, a game he took up on the set of his first movie, after running out of between-scenes reading matter; he is the author of "Omar Sharif's Life in Bridge."
OTHER FILMS INCLUDE: 1953: The Struggle in the Valley 1954: Devil of the Desert 1955: Land of Peace 1957: Goha 1959: Struggle on the Nile 1960: The Agony of Love 1964: Behold a Pale Horse, The Fall of the Roman Empire 1965: Genghis Khan 1966: The Poppy Is Also a Flower 1967: The Night of the Generals 1969: The Appointment, Mackenna's Gold 1971: The Horsemen 1974: The Mysterious Island of Captain Nemo 1975: Funny Lady (reprising his role as Nicky Arnstein); 1976: Crime and Passion 1979: Ashanti, Bloodline 1980: The Baltimore Bullet, Oh, Heavenly Dog! 1992: Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris (telefilm).
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