Omar Sharif, star of ‘Doctor Zhivago,’ dies at 83

Egyptian-born film legend Omar Sharif, who has died at age 83, captivated audiences worldwide for more than half a century, but he will forever be remembered as the eponymous “Doctor Zhivago." Known for his debonair style, raffish good looks and often mischievous joie de vivre, Sharif, who also gained worldwide fame as a bridge player, had Alzheimer’s disease. He died of a heart attack, his agent, Steve Kenis, said in London. Sharif began acting in the 1950s, and his most high-profile roles were in the 1960s, when he was nominated for an Oscar for "Lawrence of Arabia” and won Golden Globes for the same film and for “Doctor Zhivago.”

I’d rather be playing bridge than making a bad movie.

Omar Sharif was quoted once saying

His role in “Lawrence of Arabia” as Sharif Ali, an Arab chief enlisted by Peter O'Toole’s T.E. Lawrence in Britain’s fight against the Turks in World War I, propelled him to stardom, setting the stage for an even higher profile role in David Lean’s subsequent release, “Doctor Zhivago." Sharif played the hero in the epic adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel of tortured passions during the Russian Revolution, with his real-life son, Tarek, playing his younger self. The actor went on to star in many films and television productions, including alongside Barbra Streisand in 1968’s "Funny Girl." But he never again scaled the heights of critical acclaim as in his work with Lean. Sharif kept working over the following decades and in later years became equally renowned for his prowess as a bridge player and owner of Thoroughbred racehorses.

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