Legendary Egyptian actor Omar Sharif - star of films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago - has died at the age of 83.
Sharif, who also featured in hit films such as Funny Girl, The Pink Panther Strikes Again and Mayerling, was nominated for an Academy Award and won three Golden Globe Awards, was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
His agent Steve Kenis said: "He suffered a heart attack this afternoon in a hospital in Cairo."
After a series of films in his native Egypt, Sharif's first English-language film was in the role of Sharif Ali in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. This performance earned him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion Picture.
Sharif became a Hollywood heartthrob and played a variety of roles, including a Spanish priest in Behold a Pale Horse (1964), a Yugoslav wartime patriot in The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964) and the Mongolian conqueror in Genghis Khan (1965).
Also in 1965, Sharif reunited with director David Lean to play the title role in Doctor Zhivago, an adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel. The film was a massive international success.
Sharif was also acclaimed for his portrayal of Nicky Arnstein, husband to Barbra Streisand 's Fanny Brice in Funny Girl. His decision to work with Streisand angered Egypt's government due to her support for the state of Israel.
Sharif once ranked among the world's best-known contract bridge players, forming the Omar Sharif Bridge Circus in 1967 which toured the world, at a time when barnstorming bridge teams were very popular.
In later life Sharif resided mostly in Cairo with his family. Just last year, he was guest of honour at the inaugural Dublin Arabic Film Festival. Click on the link above to see him chatting to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show about the making of Lawrence of Arabia.
Here's a trailer for Doctor Zhivago:
