OMAR SHARIF

(10 April 1932 - 10 July 2015)

Celebrated Egyptian actor in films from 1954 who hit global success with Lawrence of Arabia (1962), in which David Lean cast him as Sherif Ali. The Fall of the Roman Empire followed plus Behold a Pale Horse, The Yellow Rolls Royce and Doctor Zhivago. After Funny Girl, opposite Barbra Streisand, the films became steadily less worthy of his talents: Mayerling, Mackenna’s Gold, Che!, The Horsemen, The Burglars, The Tamarind Seed and Juggernaut. The films got worse with Funny Lady, Ashanti, Bloodline etc etc. Sharif made a lot films (over 100) but it is really only the early epics that remain with us and show the actor at his best. Still, his great love was said to be bridge, so perhaps the acting jobs were a means to an end.

MICHAEL DARVELL