10 facts you don’t know about Emad Hamdy

CAIRO – 26 November 2017: On the anniversary of his birth, Egypt Today sheds light on 10 important facts most people don’t know about Egyptian veteran actor Emad Hamdy.

Emad Hamdy (1909-1984) was an Egyptian actor who was born in the governorate of Sohag; he placed his mark in the history of Arabic cinema as a capable and an outstanding artist. He got married four times and is survived by two sons. As an actor, he was known to reserve his talents for particular film makers and scenarios that would bring out his talents.

1- While he was in secondary school he decided to join an acting troupe that was trained by the veteran actor Abdel Waress Assar who later became his first acting coach.

2- After joining the Faculty of Commerce, Hamdy became a member in “Cinema and Acting Supporters” troupe. The troupe coaches were Assar and renowned actor Soliman Naguib. Hamdy was lucky enough to be trained by these two giant artists; this much influenced his acting performance later.

3- After his graduation, Hamdy and his brother established an advertising agency. The agency was very successful to the extent that drove Banque Misr at that time to demand its inclusion in the bank's subsidiaries, a demand that Hamdy and his brother refused, so the bank decided to cut financing the agency, which let to its closure.

4- Later, Hamdy took piano lessons and started to play famous music pieces for great musicians like Beethoven; but eventually, he felt he should focus on his acting career more.

5- Hamdy’s friend helped him get his way into the cinema industry, he worked first as a production manager.

6- Hamdy’s first role as an actor was in a documentary produced by the Ministry of Health pertaining to raise awareness about schistosomiasis.

7- His first leading role was in “Al Souk Al Sawdaa” (The Black Market) in 1945.

8- Hamdy married four times; the first was an Egyptian belly dancer named Horreya Mohamed. The second was a monologist named Fatheya Sherif who is the mother of his son Nader. After he married the veteran actress and singer Shadia, both paired a group of successful movies. His last marriage was to the famous actress Nadia el Genedy who is the mother of his second son Hisham.

9- Hamdy is recognized by most by his roles as a father, especially his remembered role in “Om el Arousa” (Mother of the bride). But reality is that Hamdy was one of the most prominent actors playing the role of the lover who was loved and admired by the movies heroines in 1940s ,1950s and mid-1960s. Hamdy at that period was the man of many of his female fans' dreams.

10- Hamdy has an identical twin who was strongly attached with. After Hamdy's death, his brother got into deep depression and died shortly after him.