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THE CIGARETTE WITH THE NEW MICRONITE FILTER 1
Refines away harsh flavor... refines away
rouyh taste... for the mildest taste of all!
THE FINER THE FILTER, THE MILDER THE TASTE
OMAR
SHARIF
By PEER J.
OPPENHEIMER
When Rudolph Valentino appeared in
"The Four Horsemen of the Apoca
lypse," one of the greatest screen idols of the
era was born.
Now, some 40 years later, many observers feel that a
handsome 31-year-old Egyptian named Omar Sharif may
duplicate this feat with his portrayal of Sheik AH in
"Lawrence of Arabia." Even before the film was re
leased, he was acclaimed the find of the year and a new
Valentino.
"Ridiculous," Omar commented when I talked with
him in Madrid where he was costarring in "The Fall of
the Roman Empire," Samuel Bronston's 16-million-dol-lar
production. "The only comparison between the two of
us is that we both played sheiks, but Valentino's style
of acting went out with the tango."
But there is at least one similarity between the two
"sheiks of Araby": their tremendous success with wom
en. Valentino, however, made a mess of his private life
when he married Winifred Shaughnessy De Wolf Hud
nut before his divorce from his first wife, Jean Acker,
was final and thus was arrested for bigamy. Omar Sharif
has been much more coolheaded in his relationship with
his wife, Faten Hamama, Egypt's No. 1 film star. For
instance, she is the reason for his being in movies in the
first place.
A director friend offered Omar the lead in an Egyp
tian film, dependent upon the approval of the feminine
star, Faten. "After the producer okayed the test," Omar
recalled, "he took me to Faten's house for a cup of tea.
She told me to 'play something.' I knew she didn't know
English, so I started with the soliloquy from 'Hamlet,'
which I had played while at Victoria College in Cairo.
Of course, she couldn't understand a word which is
what I had counted on. I figured she would be too embar
rassed to admit it She was and I got the part."
Omar needn't worry about getting into divorce trouble
as Valentino did. In Moslem Egypt, all you have to do
to get a divorce is go to court and say three times that
you don't want to be married any more. A divorced hus-
14 Family Weekly, Auguit 25. 196J