Original DOCTOR ZHIVAGO Star Omar Sharif Diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease

Film actor Omar Sharif has been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, according to his son.

The Egyptian-born star has been suffering from the disease for three years and is struggling to remember many of his iconic lines from '60s films like DOCTOR ZHIVAGO and LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. Because of his sickness, Sharif has officially retired from the film industry, his son Tarek El-Sharif said.

"My father has Alzheimer's. It's difficult to determine what stage it's at. It's obvious he'll never improve and it will get worse," El-Sharif said in a statement printed in Spanish. "There are times of THE DAY when he's better and thers in which he feels confused."

"He knows who he is but not necessarily the reason people greet him. When someone seems him in the street and approaches him, he often thinks it's someone he used to know whose name and face he's forgotten when most of the time it's just a fan.

El-Sharif concluded by saying, "He still knows he's a famous actor. The loss of memory affects above all specific things, details like when he was in a specific place or who he acted with in a specific film. He remembers for example that it was Doctor Zhivago but he's forgotten when it was filmed."

Omar Sharif is an Egyptian actor. The assumed surname Sharif means "noble" in Arabic. His films include Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965) and Funny Girl (1968). He has been nominated for an Academy Award and has won three Golden Globe Awards.

Source: Telegraph