Hollywood film legend Omar Sharif suffering from Alzheimer's disease

Actor's son confirmed that he had trouble remembering the details of his roles

Lawrence Of Arabia star Omar Sharif is suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

The 83-year-old actor's agent Steve Kenis confirmed the news to AFP after the actor's son Tarek Sharif revealed the diagnosis in an interview with Spanish newspaper El Mundo on 23 May. Tarek confirmed that his father only remembered that he was a "famous actor" but had difficulty remembering the details of his roles and his co-workers.

El Mundo quotes Tarek as saying, "He remembers, for example, that it was Doctor Zhivago but he's forgotten when it was filmed. He can talk about the film but he forgets its name or he calls it something else instead like Lawrence of Arabia."

 OMAR SHARIF IN LAWRENCE OF ARABIA


The Egyptian-born actor came in the limelight for his charismatic good looks and rose to international stardom with his role in the 1962 epic Lawrence Of Arabia, his first English-language film. He later went on to star in blockbuster Dr. Zhivago (1965) based on Boris Pasternak's novel of the same name, and in The Far Pavilions, a television mini-series based on M M Kaye's novel set in pre-partition India.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Omar is now resting with his family at his home in Egypt.