Sharq Press-Cairo
By Rihab Rida
Special for Albawaba.com
The critical life saving heart surgery which Egyptian film star Omar Al Sherif underwent by the Egyptian surgeon Magdi Yacoub constituted a turn in the life of the renowned actor.
A strong friendship relation grew between the two since the operation was conducted on the heart of the exhausted star and when Yacoub sought the help of the star in raising funds in favor of Salasel Al Amal (Hope Chains) Association, Sherif responded willingly.
“Nobody hesitates to help sick children and so I attempted to do something useful. If linking my name with this association will help, what a great noble objective?” Sherif told Albawaba.com.
Sherif now lives a completely different life than before when he was under the spotlight. He currently lives alone in a hotel in Paris owned by his Syrian friend who, according to him, does not charge him a penny and returns to Cairo in winter to spend it in his apartment along with his son Tareq and family.
According to the star, he loves Paris for its beauty and the horsing race hippodrome in the vicinity of downtown. He loved horse racing for years and he now owns five horses. Although his horses have never won, he likes to see them setting of in the races.
“After becoming an international actor, I decided to leave Cairo because I believed that it was no more suitable for my aspirations for the world cinema. At first, I tried to live in Beverly Hills in the US but I hated it because it was full of actors. Then I moved to Paris, which I still love but I now think of ultimately returning to settle in Cairo after I quit acting in order to be near my family. The only problem which I face is my habitude on the western culture,” said Sherif.
Omar Al Sherif has not got married openly since he divorced the renowned Egyptian actress Faten Hamamah after a marriage that lasted for 13 years. Despite the fact that 30 years have now passed since this divorce the star is still hiding the reasons behind it. It could be that Faten Hamamah was the only love in his life.
“I married only once because I loved only once,” admitted Sherif.
He defends himself against the accusations that he was a playboy by saying, “I was a lonely actor with no one to be associated with. Most often I used to stay in hotel without knowing anybody but I used to take my meals with charming women. Due to my unbearable loneliness I became a gambler who was feeling bored all the time. I also became smoking addict for the same reasons.”
