The renowned Egyptian actor, director and public figure Nour Al-Sherif died on Tuesday at the age of 74 after a long struggle with illness. His massive funeral was held on Wednesday at the Police Mosque in the 6 October City. Born Mohamed Gaber Abdallah on 28 April 1946 in the popular Cairo neighbourhood of Al-Sayeda Zeinab, Nour Al-Sherif played professional football before graduating from the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts in 1967. He soon started his career as a stage actor with a small role in the play Al-Shaware' Al-Khalfiya (The Backstreets), together with actor and director Saad Ardash, followed by a role in Ardash's Romeo and Juliet. The latter served to introduce him to the great filmmaker Hassan Al-Imam who offered him the opportunity to make his cinematic debut in the film of Naguib Mahfouz's Qasr Al-Shouq (Palace of Desire). Since then Al-Sherif starred in hundreds of films and television series, working opposite the greatest actors and actresses of his time (including Poussi, his wife in 1972-2006 and the mother of his two daughters Sarah and Mai) and collaborating with such filmmakers as Youssef Chahine, Atef Al-Tayeb and Hussein Kamal. Among the highlights are Hussien Kamal's Habibi Da'eman (Always My Love, 1981) with Poussi, Al-Tayeb's Sawaa Al-Otobis (The Bus Driver, 1982) and Chahine's Hadouta Masriya (An Egyptian Tale, 1982). More recently he appeared in Marwan Hamed's The Yaqubian Building (2006) and Adel Adib's The Baby Doll Night (2008). His last film appearance was Amir Ramses's Bitawqit Al-Qahira (Cairo Time, 2014). Nour Al-Sherif was arguably better known through his television appearances, starting with the series Mared Al-Gabal (The Titan of the Mountain) in 1980 but making his name with Lan A'ish fi Gilbab Abi (I will not live in my father's robe) in 1995. Television career highlights include the controversial A'ilat Al-Hagg Metwalli (Hagg Metwalli's Family, 2001), in which he positively portrayed a polygamous man, the first part of Mahfouz's epic Al-Harafish (The Rabble) in 2002 and Al-Dali (2007). Al-Sherif received numerous awards and honours, notably the best actor award at the Delhi Film Festival for The Bus Driver.
