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Lawrence of Arabia Star Omar Sharif Dies

The actor, 83, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's earlier this year.

Omar Sharif has died on Friday, July 10, after suffering a heart attack in a Cairo hospital, his agent Steve Kenis has confirmed. The Lawrence of Arabia star was 83 years old.
Sharif was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease earlier this year. "It's difficult to determine what stage. It's obvious he won't improve and will get worse," his son, Tarek Sharif, told Spanish newspaper El Mundo in May.
The native of Alexandria, Egypt, had an amazing life. He became an actor after earning degrees in physics and mathematics and working for his family's lumber business. 
Though he is best known for playing Sherif Ali in David Lean's 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia, which was his first English language role, he also starred opposite Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl (1968) and its sequel, Funny Lady, as well as Doctor Zhivago, Mackenna's Gold and Hidalgo
Sharif is survived by his son, Tarek Sharif, and two grandsons, as well as his ex-wife, Faten Hamama. The couple divorced in 1974 after 19 years of marriage.


(Photo: Francois Durand/Getty Images)

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