In honor of what would have been famed Egyptian actor Omar Sharif's 86th birthday, Google featured a dashing illustration of "The Noble" on its homepage.
On this day in 1932, Sharif was born Michel Demitri Shalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt, to a Lebanese family of Melkite Catholic descent.
It wasn’t until 1955, when he converted to Islam, that he changed his name to Omar Sharif, a surname that translates to “noble” or “nobleman” in Arabic.
» RELATED: Where's Waldo? Google Maps adds game for April Fools' Day
Before becoming an Egyptian and Hollywood actor and playing the iconic role of Arab warrior Sherif Ali in the 1962 epic “Lawrence of Arabia,” Sharif worked for his father’s lumber company.
According to Al Jazeera, he also attended Cairo University and graduated with a degree in mathematics and physics and left the family lumber business to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
He married the Egyptian actress Faten Hamama in 1955, soon after converting to Islam, but the pair divorced in 1974.
» RELATED: Who was Gabriel García Márquez? Google honors the master of magical realism
After being nominated for an Oscar for his role in the Hollywood hit “Lawrence of Arabia,” Sharif went on to gain international fame, scoring roles as a king of Armenia in “The Fall of the Roman Empire” (1964), a Mongol leader in “Genghis Khan” (1965) and Russian doctor in “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) among others.
He also earned two Golden Globes and a UNESCO Einstein medal, an acknowledgement of his contributions to cultural diversity, Google wrote in its doodle blog.
At one point, Sharif even ranked among the world's top contract bridge players and co-wrote a syndicated column on the game for the Chicago Tribune.
But according to Al Jazeera, "international recognition came at a hefty personal price." In an interview with the Associated Press in 2003, he said the global fame "separated me from my wife, from my family ... We didn't see each other any more and that was it, the end of our wedding. I might have been happier having stayed an Egyptian film star."
Sharif, 83, died of a heart attack in Cairo, Egypt, on July 10, 2015. His ex-wife, Hamama, had died six months earlier.
About the Author
