CAIRO — Gamil Ratib, an award-winning Franco-Egyptian actor whose roles as villain or aristocrat made him a household name across the Arab world, died Wednesday, state media reported. Ratib, who died of an unspecified illness in a Cairo hospital, later travelled to study law and economics in Paris, but that did not make him abandon his passion for acting. He joined the storied “Comedie Francaise” before his big break came when he was cast in the American movie “Trapeze” (1956) along with Hollywood stars Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis. Ratib returned to his native Egypt in the 1970s when his leading roles in hit movies and TV dramas earned him celebrity status across the Arab world. His roles were mostly the lovable villain or the pompous aristocrat who is contemptuous of the poor and ignorant.

Source: National Post September 19, 2018 18:22 UTC