One of the most talented and spontaneous comedians of his generation, George Sidhom passed away last Friday at the age of 82 after nearly 20 years of being in a wheelchair since suffering a stroke. Sidhom was born in 1938 in Sohag. He earned his bachelor's degree in agriculture from Ain Shams University in 1961, and started his career with renowned comedian Samir Ghanem and the late Al-Deif Ahmed in the stand-up comedy trio Tholathy Adwaa Al-Masrah, which had its heyday in the 1960s. They performed in plays and films as well as presenting their routines and sketches, tailor-made to their traits and abilities. The appeared in films like Shatei Al-Marah (The Beach of Fun, 1967), Talatin Youm Fel Segn (30 Days in Prison, 1966), Al-Qahera Fi Al-Leil (Cairo by Night, 1963), Al-Zawag Ala Al-Tariaa Al-Haditha (Marriage in a Modern Way, 1968), Shantet Hamza (Hamza's Bag, 1967), Al-Maganen Al-Thalatha (The Three Maniacs, 1970), Al-Ameil 77 (Agent 77, 1969) and Shabab Magnoun Gedan (Very Mad Youth, 1967). They also presented some of the earliest Ramadan fawazir (or riddle) programmes in 1969. After Ahmed unexpectedly died in 1970, Sidhom collaborated with Ghanem on numerous films and plays, with such classic stage hits as Mosiqa Fil Hai Al-Sharqi (Music in the Eastern Neighbourhood, 1971), also starring Safaa Abul-Seoud, and the legendary comedy Al-Motazawgoun (Married Couples, 1978), through which Sidhom and Ghaenem influenced the slang and humour of generations. Sidhom acted opposite the legendary Youssef Wahbi and comedy superstar Adel Imam along with Mervat Amin and Samir Sabri in the film Al-Bahth An Fadiha (Searching for a Scandal, 1973), directed by Neyazi Mustafa. In 1977 he starred in Uncle Zizo Habibi (My Beloved Uncle Zizo), with Mohamed Sobhi and Poussy, also directed by Mustafa. In the same year he starred in Samir Seif's Gharib Fi Beity (A Stranger in My House), together with legends Ahmed Zaki and Soad Hosni. He also appeared in a number of television series like Rafaat Al-Hagan (1992), Bawabet Al-Halawani (Cairo Gate, 1994) and Ezbet Al-Qoroud (Monkeys' Estate, 1994) The last film Sidhom starred in was Alaa Karim's Al-Garage (The Garage), in 1995, along with the renowned Naglaa Fathi, the late actors Farouk Al-Fishawi, Tahiya Karioka, Sayed Zayan and Alaa Walieddin. *A version of this article appears in print in the 2 April, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
