RIP Omar Sharif: Catholic who became a Muslim

Noting the movie star’s death, Variety reports:

Omar Sharif, the dashing, Egyptian-born actor who was one of the biggest movie stars in the world in the 1960s, with memorable roles in “Dr. Zhivago,” “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Funny Girl,” has died. He was 83.

Sharif suffered a heart attack on Friday afternoon in a hospital in Cairo, his agent said.

It was announced in May that he had Alzheimer’s disease.

…Sharif was born Michel Dimitri Shalhoub in Alexandria to a Melkite Greek Catholic family from Lebanon, though he later converted to Islam. He and his wife had one son, who appeared in “Dr. Zhivago” as a young version of Sharif’s title character. The couple separated in 1966 — a year after the actor moved to Europe — and ultimately divorced; Sharif never remarried.

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Photo via Wikipedia