Actor Omar Sharif dies two months after Alzheimer’s revelation
The Oscar-nominated Egyptian actor, 83, passed away in his home city of Cairo.
Acting legend and silver screen heartthrob Omar Sharif died of a heart attack last Friday. It was only recently revealed that the actor, who was most famous for his Oscar and Golden Globe-nominated roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Dr Zhivago, had Alzheimer’s disease.
His son, Tarek Sharif, had spoken in a Spanish newspaper in May of his diagnosis and how his father had started to get confused about the films he’d been in.
‘He still knows he’s a famous actor …[but]… the loss of memory affects above all specific things, details like when he was in a specific place or who he acted with in a specific film,’ Tarek El-Sharif told El Mundo.
‘He remembers, for example, that it was Doctor Zhivago but he’s forgotten when it was filmed.
‘He can talk about the film but he forgets its name or he calls it something else instead like Lawrence of Arabia.’
As well as acting, Sharif was also a very successful bridge player, and enjoyed playing it well into later life, and also spoke six languages. He continued working until fairly recently, his last film Rock the Casbah came out in 2013. His performance in the French Moroccan film won him praise from critics who said his ‘star quality’ still shone out at the age of 82.
His funeral was held on Sunday and news of his death was greeted with sadness from many of his fellow actors including Barbra Streisand and Antonio Banderas.
His death comes 18 months after that of his Lawrence of Arabia co-star Peter O’Toole.
Our Resources by Our Experts
Want to learn more about all things care industry? Check out our blog!
Top products to help with incontinence and hygiene in dementia
The person you care for may experience incontinence (a loss of bladder or bowel control) in the later stages of Alzheimer’s and other dementias, but there are products that can help you both manage
New plans in place to build dementia-friendly towns
The head of NHS England says it’s vital that health angles are considered when building new communities, to help tackle issues such as dementia and obesity
Dementia missed in men because they’re less likely to get memory loss
A study claims that symptoms of Alzheimer’s are different in men and women, which could also affect diagnosis rates
£55 payment leads to sharp rise in dementia diagnoses
When GPs were offered a bonus of £55 for diagnosing a patient with dementia, the number not surprisingly increased, but once the payments were halted, the numbers dropped again