Friday, July 10, 2015

Farewell, Good Doctor

Another bummer in the news today, the passing of Omar Sharif, nee Michel Shalhoub, who had perhaps the best entrance in any film:





It takes quite a talent to steal a film from Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, and Anthony Quinn, but Omar Sharif damn near pulled it off in Lawrence of Arabia, the sprawling, epic adaptation of T.E. Lawrence's Seven Pillars of Wisdom, the sort of book that is perfectly suited for occupying one's time while one works a summer job involving very little responsibility.

Having been taught to play contract bridge by my parents at a young age, I associated Omar Sharif with his syndicated bridge column as much as I did with his acting career. It was always a hoot to me seeing the name of this famous actor in the newspaper, above the four hands depicted in each column.

I hope he's got a good partner in the afterlife.

3 comments:

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Believe it or don't, I learned to play bridge hanging ou tin the Ezra Styles courtyard with my fellow miscreants.
~

mikey said...

You might enjoy Juan's take...

Big Bad Bald Bastard said...

Believe it or don't, I learned to play bridge hanging ou tin the Ezra Styles courtyard with my fellow miscreants.

I can totally believe that... punk rock and bridge, what a combo!

You might enjoy Juan's take...

That was a good take, I think pop culture was less balkanized back then... nowadays, would even a bit of sweet multiculturalism as José Feliciano's Feliz Navidad hit the Billboard charts without serious backlash?