ET commemorates Omar el-Hariri

CAIRO - 16 October 2019: October 16 marks the death anniversary of late legendary actor Omar el-Hariri, who passed away in 2011.ET sheds light on some of the main artistic points of his career in the following lines.

Hariri has been considered one of the main pillars of the Egyptian dramatic and theatrical scene for decades, precisely during the golden era, where he enriched the Egyptian artistic scene with everlasting contributions.

The late iconic actor was born in February of 1926. His full name is Omar Mohamed Saleh Abdel Hadi el-Hariri. He was infatuated with art and theater from a very early age, as his father used to take him to numerous theater shows performed by Naguib el-Rihani and Yusuf Wahba. Hariri became obsessed with acting and decided to join his school’s acting team that competed with other schools' teams.

The late prominent actor stood in front of the camera for the first time as a child in a short silent scene in the film (Salama fe Kheir), starring Naguib el-Rihani in 1937.

RIP Omar el-Hariri
He then joined the Higher Institute of Acting and graduated in 1947. After graduating, he participated in a number of radio programs and was watched by Zaki Tulaimat, who chose him to be part of his team, where he acted at Yusuf Wahba’s Theater and the National Theater.

Hariri participated in a large number of films and despite playing secondary roles inmost of his films, he was able to achieve great fame. Some of his most prominent films are “Al-Wesada el-Khalya”, “Sokar Hanem”, “Nasser Salahuddin”, “Maali el-Wazir”, and “El-Khaena”

The only film in which he performed the leading role was “Aghla men Einy” in 1995.

The late renowned actor performed roles in numerous screenplays, the most prominent of which were“Ahlam-el Fata el-Tayer”, “Saken Qosadi”, “Khalti Safeya Wal Deir”, “El-Sera el-Helaleya”, and "Sheikh el-Arab Hamam”.

Hariri also performed numerous theatrical plays alongside legendary comedian Adel Imam who was his close friend. Two of the well-liked plays the duet performed together and achieved great success are “Shahed Mashafsh Haga” and “El-Wad Sayed el-Shaghal”.

Hariri also left his mark in Ramadan’s Fawazeer(Riddles) where he played delightful roles with Sherihan and in the series “100 Leila wa Leila”.

The veteran actor received numerous awards for his enriching acting career and was honored by the ninth Egyptian Film Festival in 2003. Critic Zeinab Aziz also published a book about the legendary actor.

On the personal level, Hariri married three times. In each of his marriages he was blessed with a daughter; hence he was dubbed “Father of the girls”.

In 2007, Hariri started to feel unwell. His daughter Merritt accompanied him to the doctor where her father was diagnosed with bone cancer. Merritt decided not to inform her father as he was very old and she was worried the news would have a very negative impact on him. The late actor obliviously resumed his life normally and even participated in the series “Sheikh el-Arab Hamam”; without knowing he was ill.

In October 16, 2011, Hariri was performing on stage and suddenly felt extremely sick;he was transferred to a hospital, where he was announced dead.