Renowned Egyptian actor, Mahmoud Yassin, died on Wednesday at the age of 79 after a struggle with illness.
Yassine, one of the great figures from the golden age of Egyptian cinema, was born in Port Said in 1942, he graduated in law before taking up an acting career in Egyptian theatre in the late 1960s.
He went on to play in more than 150 films and 60 television series, establishing himself as a celebrity in the Arab world.
People on Twitter have been paying tribute by sharing old pictures of the actor.
Renowned Egyptian actor Mahmoud Yassin died on Wednesday at the age of 79 after a struggle with illness.
Yassin, who was born in Port Said city in June 1941, graduated from the Faculty of Law at Cairo University in 1964.
One year prior to his graduation he already joined the National Theatre in 1963, where he was first a narrator of several plays, before acting on the theatre’s stage.
From the National Theatre, Yassin embarked on an illustrious acting career that spanned over 55 years.
Yassin starred in tens of movies, plays and radio and TV series, dominating the lead role for most of the 1970s and 1980s.
During the seventies, Yassin became one of the most popular romantic film stars, starring in films such as Al Khayt El Rafia (The Think Line), Hob wa Kibriya (Love and Pride) and Al Rosasa La Tazal Fi Gayby (The Bullet is Still in my Pocket).
He formed a starring duo with actress Naglaa Fathi, making a lot of highly successful romantic dramas.
While beloved for portraying romantic characters, Yassin did not shy away from dramatic and psychological roles.
In the nineties, Yassin shifted his career to television, starring in series like “Abu hanifa Al Noa’man,” “Did el Tayyar” (Against the Current), and “Souq El A’sr” (Afternoon Market).
His memorable roles on the big screen included The Bullet is Still in My Pocket (1974); Where is My Mind (1974); Mouths and Rabbits (1977); Ascent to the Abyss (1978); and A Nose and Three Eyes (1972).
His key works on TV included The Whirlpool (1972); Cairo and the People (1972); and Tomorrow the Flowers Will Blossom (1984).
He was the recipient of multiple awards for excellence throughout his career, including Ismailia Festival Award and the Tashkent Festival Award in 1980, the Arabian Cinema Award in 1984, and the Algiers Festival Award in 1988, the Arab Cinema Festivals in America and Canada in 1984, and Annaba in Algeria in 1988. He was also awarded the State Prize in 1975.
Yassin was a honorary president of the Cairo Radio and Television Festival in 1998.
In 2005, he was chosen by the United Nations as a Goodwill Ambassador for the fight against poverty and hunger.
Yassin has been married to a known Eyptian actress Shahira since 1970. They have two children, Rania (1972-) and Amr (1978-), both acting in cinema.
Over the past eight years, Yassin suffered from the Alzheimer’s disease.
