Omar Sharif

From Wikinfo

Omar Sharif also known as Omar El-Sharif (born April 10, 1932) in Alexandria,Egypt is an actor of international fame.

Born Michael Shalhoub of Palestinian/Egyptian ancestry, he graduated from Cairo's Victory College with a math and physics major. At start he worked with his father in the lumber business.

In 1953 he started his acting career. He married the Egyptian star Faten Hamama which rocketed his popularity in the Arab World. The marriage ended in 1974. His first English language film was Lawrence of Arabia in 1962 that made him an instant international celebrity.

He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1962 for his role in Lawrence of Arabia. He won the 1966 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, Drama for his starring role in Doctor Zhivago. Fluent in English, Arabic, Greek and French, in 2004, he won France's [[C�sar Award for Best Actor]] for his role in the film, Monsieur Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran.

Omar Sharif is a notorious gambler who lost his entire million dollar paycheck from the film Lawerence of Arabia in one night at the Casino of Monte Carlo. He is also a world-class Bridge player.

He appeared in numerous English language films, including:

• Hidalgo (2003)
• The 13th Warrior (1999)
• Lie Down With Lions (1999)
• The Mysteries of Egypt (1998)
• Funny Girl/Funny Lady (1997)
• Heaven Before I Die (1997)
• Lebanon - Imprisoned Splendour (1997)
• The Possessed (1996)
• Catherine the Great (1995)
• Beyond Justice (1992)
• Grand Larceny (1992)
• Memories of Midnight (1991)
• The Baltimore Bullet (1990)
• The Opium Connection (1990)
• Ashanti: Land of No Mercy (1989)
• Peter the Great (1986)
• Top Secret! (1984)
• Green Ice (1981)
• Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980)
• Pleasure Palace (1980)
• Bloodline (1979)
• S-H-E (1979)
• Crime and Passion (1975)
• Funny Lady (1975)
• Juggernaut (1974)
• The Tamarind Seed (1974)
• The Horsemen (1971)
• The Last Valley (1971)
• Mackenna's Gold (1969)
• Funny Girl (1968)
• Mayerling (1968)
• Night of the Generals (1967)
• Doctor Zhivago (1965)
• The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1965)
• Behold a Pale Horse (1964)
• The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Bridge

Sharif is also one of the world's best known contract bridge players. He writes a regular bridge column for newspaper syndication, and there is even a bridge computer game and tutorial that carries his name [1].

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Omar_Sharif" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Sharif, used under the GNU Free Documentation License