Farid Shawki

Farid Shawqi Mohammad Abdou Shawqi (Arabic: فريد شوقي محمد عبده شوقي) (July 30, 1920 in El Sayyeda Zainab – July 27, 1998 in Maadi); known as Farid Shawqi (Arabic: فريد شوقي) was an Egyptian actor, screenwriter and film producer. He acted in 351 films, 27 plays and 17 television series; wrote 25 film scripts and produced 30 films. He is considered to be one of the greatest actors in the Middle East. He was also known as "Malek El Terso" ("The King of the Third Class" - a reference to his popularity among the poor, who bought third-class seats in movie theatres), as "Wahsh Ash shashah Al Arabiyah" ("The Monster of the Arab Silver Screen" - in honor of his various roles of beloved hero, as "Farid Bay" ("Sir Farid", an informal title of respect), as "Abu el-Banat" ("father of all girls", a reference to his having five daughters and no sons), and other names. ُُThe closet title to Farid Shawqi's heart was "The King"; he was named this after his movie "Night's Devils" that was released in 1966, directed by Niazi Mostafa. He was known as "The king" among his colleagues. In a career spanning almost 50 years, Shawqi starred, produced, or wrote the scenario of over 400 films - more than the films produced collectively by the whole Arab world - in addition to theatre, television and video plays. His popularity covered the whole of the Arab World and the Middle East, including Turkey where he acted in some films there, and directors always addressed his as ' Farid Bay' (Sir Farid) as a sign of respect. As he worked with over 90 Film directors and producers. For the first ten years he typically cast as a villain. By the late 1940s his name alongside that of the late Mahmoud El-Meliguy guaranteed a box-office success. In 1954 he changed that image forever, playing the leading role in Ga'aloony Mujriman ("They Made Me a Criminal"), his own script in which he tackled the problem of homeless children and the first crime thus exposing the failure of government policy and the corruption of state run orphanages and young offenders institutions. Disliked by the establishment, the film was later awarded the State Prize; Shawqi went on to collect 10 best actor awards in many festivals, and four other awards for his scripts in the next thirty years.