A Tribute to the Stars

Hind Rostom The iconic actress, who remains a symbol of the golden age of  Egyptian cinema, died at the age of 82 on August 8. Made famous by the 1955 film Banat El Leil (Women of the Night), Rostom won critical acclaim as vendor Hanuma in veteran director Youssef Chahine’s 1958 drama Bab El Hadid (The Iron Gate).     Mohamed Dagher Designer Mohamed Dagher was found dead in his apartment on April 6. Son of composer and violinist Abdo Dagher, Dagher’s career as a designer took off in 2002, when he was asked to design a dress for popular singer Samira Said. In 2006, Dagher was named the best costume designer at Miami Fashion Week. Omar El Hariri The much-loved actor Omar El Hariri passed away on October 16 at the age of 89. El Hariri starred in more than 180 films in addition to several plays and TV series. Despite suffering from cancer, the award-winning actor worked right up to the end: He died shortly after collapsing during a rehearsal for a children’s stage play. Khairiya Ahmed The veteran actress died at age 74 after an almost 50-year career in local film and television. Hassan al-Asmar One of the nation’s most popular folk singers, Al-Asmar died of a sudden heart attack on August 7 at the age of 52. Famous for his hit “Ketab Hayati” (The Book of my Life) El Asmar also ventured into film and stage, and at the time of his death, he was reportedly working on a comeback album. Ahmed Hegazi The cartoonist renowned for his social and political commentary died October 23 at age 75. In addition to his work for  Rose El Youssef, Hegazi is also credited with creating Egypt’s first graphic stories for children, starting with the serialized Tanablet El-Sultan. Talaat Zein The singer famous for “Tiki Ta,”, “Ya Moustafa Ya Moustafa” and the Egyptian version of the Macarena died in August at the age of 56 after battling cancer.     Kamal el-Shinawy The prolific actor, who has been in over 200 films and television series, including Al Les Wa Al Kelab (The Thief and the Dogs) and Al Ragol Alazey Faqad Zeloh (The Man Who Lost his Shadow), died August 22 at the age of 89.   Anis Mansour Veteran writer Anis Mansour passed away on October 21 at the age of 87. Mansour started off his career as a journalist at Al-Asas newspaper then later went on to work for Rose Al-Youssef and Al-Ahram. In 1976, he became the editor in chief of Akher Saa and October magazines. An award-winning author, Mansour wrote more than 170 books, his most popular being Around the World in 200 Days. His books were translated into several languages.   Talaat Sadat The long-time politician and outspoken critic of the former regime died of a heart attack on November 20 at age 64. A nephew of assassinated president Anwar Sadat, the former MP was named chairman of the National Democratic Party five days before it was dissolved by court order. He went on to found and head the Egypt National Party.   Khairy Shalaby The novelist passed away on September 9 at age 73. Shalaby wrote over 70 books including 20 novels, critical studies, historical tales, plays and short-story collections. His most popular novels include The Hashish Waiter and The Lodging House, for which he won the Naguib Mahfouz Medal in 2003. Shalaby was often lauded for writing novels “of the Egyptian streets.”