Agent: 'Lawrence of Arabia' star Omar Sharif has Alzheimer's

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Legendary "Lawrence of Arabia" actor Omar Sharif is battling Alzheimer's disease, his agent Steve Kenis confirmed to The Associated Press on Monday.

No additional details were provided about the 83-year-old or his care. His son, Tarek Sharif, revealed the diagnosis in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo on May 23.

The Egyptian-born Sharif rose to international stardom with his role in the 1962 epic "Lawrence of Arabia"— Sharif's first English-language film. He earned an Oscar nomination for his turn as Sherif Ali in David Lean's iconic film opposite Peter O'Toole.

Sharif followed the breakthrough performance with the title role in Lean's "Doctor Zhivago," co-starring Julie Christie. He then played Fanny Brice's husband, Nicky Arnstein, in "Funny Girl" alongside Barbra Streisand.

His last completed feature film credits were in 2013.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-26

Tough on old Omar as he was a world-class bridge player too.

Tough on old Omar as he was a world-class bridge player too.

Yep,...and lost fortunes in Casinos to.......he had himself blacklisted, could not enter a casino anymore....for his own protection.

Alzheimers takes "No prisoners"!

I thought he had been dead for years. Sad news, but he had a pretty good run of it.

Why is it always "battling" Alzhemier's? It is a one-sided battle in most cases. As far as I can see the best approach is to plan an exit with some dignity about it while it is still possible to make an informed choice. The alternative , in the end stages, is months or years of misery and a world of pain for everyone around the patient ( who has long since 'left the building').

such a good actor who worked in so many great movies ! God bless you Omar.

Tough on old Omar as he was a world-class bridge player too.

my mom was also and avid player, and played bridge with Omar several times.

Heck, I didn't know he was still kicking. 83 years old? Sounds like he's done pretty well if he's still living.

Why is it always "battling" Alzhemier's? It is a one-sided battle in most cases. As far as I can see the best approach is to plan an exit with some dignity about it while it is still possible to make an informed choice. The alternative , in the end stages, is months or years of misery and a world of pain for everyone around the patient ( who has long since 'left the building').

It is never a one side battle. The families that have to deal with this day to day will disagree with you. Sad to hear about Omar.

question to the people who don't like alternative medicine : so why is allopatic medicine after decades of fund raising still not capable of making a pill to resolve this problem ?