The great Egyptian film actor Omar Sharif (1932-2015) is remembered today on what would have been his 86th birthday.
Google's latest Doodle captures the smouldering gaze that made Sharif an international star in the 1960s following his breakthrough supporting turn as the wry Sherif Ali in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
Ali's entrance, shot by Freddie Young, is one of the most famous in screen history: emerging from the desert haze as a dark figure on the horizon, he rides his camel to meet Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) in the foreground before abruptly shooting dead the latter's Bedouin guide for drinking from his well without permission.
Google Doodles
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Sharif went on to play a huge range of roles, benefiting from Hollywood's then far more laissez faire attitude towards race to specialise in non-American characters from pretty much anywhere.
He appeared as an Armenian king in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), a Spanish Civil War priest in Behold a Pale Horse (1964), a Yugoslav dissenter in The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1965), a Nazi intelligence officer in The Night of the Generals (1967) and the title roles in two historical biopics, Genghis Khan (1965) and Che (1969).
Equally content as Mongol warlord or Cuban guerilla, aided by a natural gift for languages, Sharif's greatest role was surely the lead in Doctor Zhivago (1965), his second sprawling epic for Lean taken from Boris Pasternak's popular 1957 novel of love amid the Russian Revolution.
A hugely ambitious undertaking, Lean's adaptation of a book banned in the Soviet Union had to be filmed in Spain and Finland, a shoot complicated by the firing of cinematographer Nic Roeg (later an admired director in his own right) over creative differences with Lean, a notorious martinet on set, paving the way for the return of Young behind the camera.
The result nevertheless took home five Academy Awards despite reservations from contemporary critics about its lengthy three-hour running time.
Among the most scathing responses came from The New Yorker's Pauline Kael, who complained: "It isn't shoddy (except for the music); it isn't soap opera; it's stately, respectable and dead."
While the naysayers failed to deter audiences, who ensured Zhivago was a box office hit, such disdain is understandable in context.
With the French Novelle Vague in full swing and the New Hollywood of Easy Rider (1969) just around the corner, MGM's romance must have seemed old-fashioned, the product of an exhausted studio system bereft of fresh ideas and falling back on reliable formulas.
Ralph Richardson with Sharif and Geraldine Chaplin (Warner Brothers)
The film was given a 4K restoration by the BFI three years ago for its 50th anniversary, however, and today its sweep and grandeur can hardly fail to impress. It has arguably aged better than many of the supposedly more groundbreaking works that succeeded it.
Sharif stars as Yuri Andreyevich Zhivago, a medical student and poet caught up in the events of 1917. He is taken in by the bourgeois Gromeko family in Moscow after his mother's death and eventually marries their daughter Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin), only to fall for Lara Antipova (Julie Christie), herself married to zealous Bolshevik Pasha (Tom Courtenay).
Lean's film follows Yuri and Lara's fortunes after they escape to the Ural Mountains while his half-brother Yevgraf (Alec Guinness), a senior KGB official under Stalin, searches for their lost daughter Tanya in the present day.
Yuri and Lara share an intimate moment (Warner Brothers)
An enviable cast is rounded out by Ralph Richardson, Rod Steiger and Klaus Kinski. Sharif's own son Tariq, played the young Yuri in the film's unforgettable funeral scene.
Maurice Jarre's score, despite Kael's jibe, remains one of cinema's most memorable, with "Lara's Theme" in particular loved by millions.
Sharif is superbly soulful as the disappointed idealist, a role he was given after O'Toole, Paul Newman, Michael Caine and Max von Sydow had all been considered.
Geraldine Chaplin and Sharif as Tonya and Yuri (Warner Brothers)
Christie and Courtenay were chosen after Lean was impressed by Billy Liar (1963), the former luminous in a part she was perhaps always better suited to than her old kitchen sink co-star was to his.
Sharif would go on to enjoy a colourful life and other hits, notably Funny Girl (1968) with Barbara Streisand, but somehow struggled to find work of consistently high quality.
Omar Sharif's life in pictures
18 show all Omar Sharif's life in pictures
1/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures American actress and singer Barbra Streisand with actor Omar Sharif (whose name is misspelt on the chair behind), circa 1980. They are recreating their love scene from the 1968 film 'Funny Girl' Getty Images
2/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Omar Sharif and Pierre Boulanger in Monsieur Ibrahim (2003) Sony Pictures
3/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Geraldine Chaplin and Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965) Warner Bros
4/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
5/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Geraldine Chaplin and Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
6/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Julie Christie and Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965) Warner Bros
7/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Omar Sharif and Rod Steiger in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
8/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Julie Christie and Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
9/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Julie Christie and Omar Sharif in Doctor Zhivago (1965)
10/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia
11/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Omar Sharif and Ralph Richardson in Doctor Zhivago (1965) Warner Bros
12/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures 25th January 1980: Actor Omar Sharif at the Sunday Times International Bridge Pairs Championships, in London. Getty Images
13/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Actors Anouk Aimee and Omar Sharif in a scene from the film 'The Appointment', 1969. Getty Images
14/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Omar Sharif is Prince Romodanovsky, Olegar Fedoro is Boyar Lopukhin in 'Peter the Great'
15/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Omar Sharif and Zuleikha Robinson in Hidalgo (2004) Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
16/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Still of Omar Sharif in Monsieur Ibrahim (2003) Sony Pictures
17/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Actor Omar Sherif attends the Closing Ceremony at the Sala Grande during the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009 in Venice, Italy Getty Images
18/18 Omar Sharif's life in pictures Omar Sharif speaks after he was awarded as Best actor of the year during the 29th Nuit des Cesars at the Chatelet theatre in Paris in 2004 Getty Images
"What killed my career was appearing in a succession of films you wouldn't turn down. They were by good directors, but they were bad films," he said, singling out Behold a Pale Horse, The Appointment (1969) and The Horseman (1971).
Sharif worked steadily for the rest of his life despite these duds and would no doubt have accepted their failure with a philosophical shrug as a devoted card player and gambler accustomed to the whims of fate.
Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor best known for starring in classic films like Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, would have been 86 today. Google celebrated the late actor’s birthday with a Doodle on Tuesday.
So who is the international star depicted in a dashing Google animation?
Omar Sharif in 2013 Zak Hussein/Getty
Omar Sharif in 2013
After beginning his acting career as a teenager in Egypt and appearing in more than a dozen movies, he was catapulted to international stardom with his breakout role in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia.
Playing the Arab warrior Sherif Ali, the actor made one of cinema’s most memorable entrances as he emerged from the horizons galloping on a camel. The role earned him his first Golden Globe award.
After proving himself in English-speaking roles, Sharif quickly became one of the first actors from the Arab world to dominate the silver screen.
His striking good looks, charisma and ability to speak multiple languages helped him land a handful of notable roles including the titular part in Doctor Zhivago, which earned him an Oscar nomination.
Omar Sharif Denis Cameron/Pix Inc./The LIFE Images Collection/Getty
Omar Sharif
Sharif eventually become known for playing the exotic leading man in roles such as The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), Genghis Khan (1965) and a big-time gambler in Funny Girl (1968).
Off-screen, Sharif married Egyptian actress Faten Hamama but they later divorced.
“It gave me glory, but it gave me loneliness also,” Sharif said of his career in a 2007 interview.
He died of a heart attack in 2015 at his home in Cairo, Egypt. He was 83.
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Omar Sharif has been honoured with today's Google doodle, marking what would have been his 86th birthday.
The actor is probably best known for playing the title role in 1965 romance Doctor Zhivago and alongside Peter O'Toole in the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia.
But he had a huge and varied career that saw him net three Golden Globes and a nomination for an Academy Award.
Many might not know that as well as being an actor, Sharif was an international bridge player and even wrote a syndicated column about the card game that appeared in the Chicago Tribune.
Who was Omar Sharif?
(Image: Getty Images)
(Image: Google)
Born Michel Demitri Shalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt in 1932, Sharif worked for his father’s lumber company before pursuing a movie career.
Taking the name Omar El-Sharif, he starred in Egyptian hits including his first film in 1954, Struggle in the Valley in which he co-starred with his future wife, actress Faten Hamama.
With Lawrence of Arabia, Sharif expanded his orbit from Egyptian matinee idol to international heartthrob.
What were his famous films?
(Image: Getty Images)
During the 1960s, the charismatic, multilingual actor played, among other roles, a king of Armenia in The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964), a Mongol leader in Genghis Khan (1965), a Russian doctor in Doctor Zhivago (1965) and a big-time gambler in Funny Girl (1968).
"Today’s animated Doodle shows Sharif in true dashing form," said the team at Google.
In 1963 he picked up an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Lawrence of Arabia.
(Image: Mirrorpix)
Omar Sharif's love life
Dark-eyed heartthrob Sharif won the hearts of women all over the world after appearing on the big screen.
He stepped out with some of the world’s most glamorous women and admitted to falling in love with co-stars Ingrid Bergman and Ava Gardner.
According to Omar’s grandson, Lawrence of Arabia director David Lean would fly beauties in for Sharif and Peter O'Toole.
The two stars became firm friends and after wrapping scenes they would disappear into the drinking dens of Beirut – or retire to hotel rooms where their bathtubs were filled with champagne and women.
Omar Junior said: “Peter O’Toole and my grandfather remained very close friends. They were always sharing stories and reminiscing. And Peter told me all about what trouble they got in out there.
However, he denied his reputation as a womaniser.
Who was Omar Sharif's spouse?
(Image: Getty Images)
The actor married only once, to fellow Egyptian film legend Faten Hamama in 1955, converting from Christianity to Islam so they could marry a year after they starred together in the film Struggle in the Valley.
The couple had one son and two grandsons together. They separated in 1966 and divorced in 1974.
What did he do in later life?
When his heyday seemed to be behind him and the big roles started drying up, Sharif passed his days drinking with Peter O’Toole and other Hollywood hedonists.
(Image: Getty Images)
A regular in casinos, he is said to have lost £4million on the Spanish island of Lanzarote during a bridge game in the 1970s.
He also famously gave up playing roulette after he lost £750,000 in one night.
To fund his extravagant lifestyle, he wrote a column on card games for the Chicago Tribune and accepted roles as the “foreign gentleman” in a string of mediocre films.
Sharif started turning down acting offers in the 1990s after his grandchildren reportedly began mocking him for the roles he had accepted.
(Image: Getty)
Sharif's surprising love of British football team
You wouldn't expect many A-list stars at the KCOM Stadium, but Sharif was a lifelong Hull City fan.
He was introduced to the club by his friend Tom Courtenay during the 1960s and even flew in to watch the team in their FA Cup final against Arsenal in 2014.
Omar, then 82, was invited to the match by fellow Egyptian and Tigers owner Assem Allam and recorded a reading of William Blake’s poem, The Tyger, for BT Sport in tribute to the club.
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He said: “Tom kept telling me about Hull City, so I began to idolise the team.”
Omar’s Hull link was recognised in 2010, when he got an honorary degree from Hull University and met his all-time top Tigers player Ken Wagstaff.
When and how did Omar Sharif die?
Back in 1992, Sharif had a triple heart bypass which caused him to quit smoking. Before that he was smoking up to 100 cigarettes a day.
Omar Sharif died in Cairo, Egypt on 10 July, 2015 from a heart attack after it was reported in May 2015 that he was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
He was laid to rest at a packed-out funeral ceremony in Cairo the following week.
(Image: Getty)
The casket was carried in covered in the Egyptian flag and a black shroud, as mourners gathered to say a final farewell.
Among those attending were actor Hussein Fahmy and former Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawas.
Fahmy reportedly described Sharif as "a man who loved Egypt and represented the Egyptian art in its best form."
