Legendary actor Omar Sharif dies at 83

Omar Sharif, the dashing actor whose career included star turns in "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago," died Friday. He was 83. The Egyptian-born actor suffered a heart attack this afternoon in Cairo, according to his agent, Steve Kenis. Egyptian state media report that Sharif had been in the hospital for a month.

Antonio Banderas, who starred with Sharif in 1999's "The 13th Warrior," expressed his sorrow on Twitter. "My great friend Omar Sharif has passed away. I will always miss him. He was one of the best," Banderas posted.In his prime, Sharif -- with his dark eyes, debonair demeanor and exotic accent -- was considered one of the most handsome men on the planet, his looks getting as much attention as his acting ability. "When he walked on the 'Zhivago' set in Spain, I took one look and said, 'I can't act with that man. He's too gorgeous!' " one of his "Zhivago" co-stars, Geraldine Chaplin, told The New York Times in 1965.

In the '90s, he had both a perfume and a brand of cigarettes named after him. But he could also be a formidable actor, earning an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in "Lawrence of Arabia" and winning Golden Globes for it and "Zhivago."

Sharif was already an established star in the Middle East when he was cast in the role as Sherif Ali Ibn El Karish in director David Lean's epic 1962 production of "Arabia." The film, which was also the movie debut of Peter O'Toole, won seven Oscars, including best picture, and is still considered one of the greatest of all time.

It made Sharif a worldwide name, about which he had mixed feelings, he said in 1995.

"I don't know if I wouldn't have been a happier person if I had never even made 'Lawrence of Arabia' or become internationally famous," he said. "I was in Egypt. I had a home. I had a wife. I had a kid. I might have had more. It might have been good. But then again, it might have been terrible, I don't know."

Sharif was born Michael Demitri Shalhoub in Alexandria, Egypt, on April 10, 1932. He grew up in Cairo, the son of a lumber merchant. He wanted to be an actor from a young age and performed in theatrical productions as a teenager. In his early 20s, he was cast in an Egyptian film opposite actress Faten Hamama. The 1954 film, whose Arabic title translates to "Struggle in the Valley," made him a star; the next year, Hamama became his wife. The two were married until 1974.In a 2007 interview with CNN, he remembered a thriving industry."When I started in the Egyptian film industry, we used to produce about 120 films a year," he recalled.

"All the Arab(ic)-speaking films came from Egypt. We were the Hollywood of the Middle East."In the early '60s, Lean cast him in "Lawrence." Originally, Sharif had a different role, but when Lean was unable to get his other choices -- including Horst Buchholz and Alain Delon -- Sharif won the part of Sherif Ali. His slow-building entrance, from a far-off dot in the desert distance in Lean's widescreen masterpiece, is one of the most arresting in cinema.