OBITUARIES: Omar Sharif dies at 83; heartthrob actor starred in 'Doctor Zhivago' - latimes

Omar Sharif, the Egyptian-born actor who rose to international stardom after emerging out of the distant desert in "Lawrence of Arabia," died Friday, his agent said. He was 83.  Steve Kenis, Sharif's longtime agent, told The Times that the actor died of a heart attack in a Cairo hospital. Sharif had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Sharif was already a box-office star in Egypt when director David Lean cast him opposite Peter O'Toole in the 1962 historical epic "Lawrence of Arabia," which marked Sharif's first English-speaking role.

The film introduced him as Sherif Ali, the tribal leader with whom British intelligence officer T.E. Lawrence helped the Arabs break up the Ottoman Empire, with a now-famous shot in which he slowly comes into view through a haze of heat while riding on the back of a camel.

Sharif said he landed his breakout role in "Lawrence" simply because he spoke English. "They looked at photographs of all the Egyptian actors, and David said if he speaks English, bring him here," he recalled to The Times in 2012.

For a time, gambling was a dangerous fascination for Sharif, and he was forced to sell his lavish bachelor pad in Paris in 1975 to pay gambling debts. "That's why I was in so many trashy, idiotic films," he told The Times in 2003. "I'd call my agent and tell him to accept any part, just to bail myself out."

He made headlines again with a 2005 altercation outside a Beverly Hills steakhouse, during which he allegedly punched a parking valet for refusing to accept a 20-euro note as payment for retrieving his Porsche SUV.

Sharif, then in his 70s, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor battery charge and was ordered to pay a $100 fine and attend anger-management classes, while being placed on two years' probation. The valet also successfully sued Sharif for $318,190 in damages.

Sharif was born Michael Chalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt, on April 10, 1932.  His Syrian-Lebanese parents were wealthy and connected. His father was a timber merchant, and his mother played cards with Egypt's King Farouk, a friend.

Raised as a Catholic, Sharif became a Muslim and changed his name at 21 when he married Faten Hamama, an actress known as Egypt's movie queen, in 1955.

He said he chose Omar for Gen. Omar Bradley and Sharif because he thought it would be easy for Westerners to pronounce. - Read More at latimes
Omar Sharif dies at 83; heartthrob actor starred in 'Doctor Zhivago'

In Egypt, Omar Sharif's death met with sadness -- and a young man's shrug - More