Omar Sharif

One of the rare Middle Eastern actors to achieve stardom in both the Hollywood and international markets, Omar Sharif was a powerful presence in some of the biggest films of the 1960s - both in terms of scope and success - including "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) and "Doctor Zhivago." A leading man in his native Egypt, he was cast as the fiercely loyal friend to Peter O'Toole's Lawrence in the David Lean epic, and rose to immediate fame around the globe; subsequent film efforts followed closely in the sweep and theme of "Lawrence," including Lean's "Zhivago" (1965), which cast him in his first English-language lead, "The Fall of the Roman Empire" (1964), and the musical "Funny Girl" (1968). Sharif's time at the top of the box office was short-lived. By the mid 1970s, he was relegated to European productions and sudsy American product like "Bloodline" (1979), but he continued to work, largely in television, for the next two decades before reaching a career high point with his award-winning turn in "Monsieur Ibrahim" (2003). Even in his seventh decade, Sharif commanded a degree of class, Old World charm and romanticism that eluded actors with twice his popularity and half his age, which assured him a place in the pantheon of movie history as one of its most memorable leading men. Omar Sharif died of a heart attack in Cairo on July 10, 2015. He was 83.