A French auction site announced it’s selling some of the late star Omar Sharif’s memorabilia, which raised question marks about the ownership of these pieces, and how did the site acquire them.
“The late star didn’t have an apartment or house outside Egypt where he could leave his memorabilia. He used to stay in hotels, carrying with him a black suit and some shirts. He always told me, (I have nothing that can be sold. I live in hotels, and I have one suit)”, Egyptian archeologist, Dr. Zahi Hawas, who was a close friend with the late star, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Hawas denied the allegations that some shared on social media, accusing his son, Tarek, of selling his father’s possessions, saying: “Some claim that his son, Tarek, is selling his father’s possessions, which is not true.”
Hawas noted that “Omar Sharif kept nothing when he was alive, and that his French private assistant used to take care of all his papers. So, I can’t confirm how these items got on sale, or whether they are real or fake.”
“The weirdest thing I could ever imagine to be auctioned is Omar Sharif’s coat, bank cards, and his membership card in the French equestrian union,” Producer Hossam Alwan wrote on Facebook, where he also shared a photo of these memorabilia, and one showing the late actor wearing the auctioned coat.”
Tarek, the son, commented on Alwan’s post, saying: “More information would be highly appreciated. I reported the incident to the police in Egypt and France. If those possessions are real, this means they are stolen.”
The memorabilia on auction include a coat that Sharif wore in the “Top Secret” film (1984), valued at 300 euros, alongside several personal cards, according to the auction site.
Critic Majida Maurice believes that someone stole Omar Sharif during his travels between the US and Europe, probably during his last illness, as the same thing happened with the memorabilia of Ahmed Zaki and Nour El-Sherif. “This is the worst time to sell the memorabilia of Omar Sharif, amidst the Russian-Ukrainian war which affected the whole world, including the wealthy countries. It’s a sad thing,” Maurice told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“I wish the ministry of culture could take care of this auction the same way it does with looted and recovered antiquities. History is not limited to Pharaohs. These memorabilia belong to great artists who have always made Egypt proud in international cinema events,” she added.
This incident reminded people of the Cinema Museum that was announced by the culture ministry years ago but never accomplished. “I believe the ministry of culture should work faster to establish the cinema museum, which could display the memorabilia of stars who influenced the Egyptian cinema. I hope Tarek Sharif could keep the memorabilia of his father and mother, late star Faten Hamama, because the cinema museum will open one day, and I expect it to lure a great audience,” Maurice said.
The auction is taking place seven years after the death of Omar Sharif (he died on July 5, 2015), aged 83, to conclude a journey that debuted in Egypt, with esteemed director Youssef Chahine, in “The Blazing Sun” film (1954), which he co-starred with Faten Hamama. The movie was followed by many leading roles in several films including “Lady of the Palace”, “Love River”, and “A man in our house”. Then, Sharif kicked off his international path in David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), followed by “Doctor Zhivago”, “The Yellow Rolls-Royce”, and many others.
