Birthday Anniversary: 10 Lesser-Known Facts about Late Muharram Fouad

Today, Jun. 25, marks the 86th anniversary of Muharram Fouad’s birthday. He was born in Cairo, in 1934 to a father who was a government employee.

He got his first lead role at the age of 25 with the movie (Hassan and Nayma 1959) directed by the maven filmmaker Henry Barakat.

With the success of  Fouad’s first film (Hassan and Naima 1955), Egyptian Cinema was liberated from much of its classicism and pushed in a more youthful direction.

In addition to this, Fouad shot to fame with his success in ‘Without Arrangement’ and many remarkable films and stunning performances followed suit. His performance in ‘Love Story’ won him much praise from his fans and critics alike.

It's worth mentioning that the overwhelming cinematic success Fouad achieved formed a strong background to his singing success.

Fouad has been married seven times. The first was the Egyptian actress and Belly dancer Tahia Karioka, then in the '60s, he tied the knot with a western woman. But they porced after just a year.

He then met and married Lebanese Magda Beydoun in 1970 and the union produced Foaud's only child, Tarik. But the pair porced after two years.

He was married to Miss of Universe and the Labnanies model Joergina Razk between 1975 and 1978 before going on to marry Egyptian young actress Ayda Ryad in 1985. That also ended in porce. But with his Seventh wife the renowned TV anchor Mona Hala he has found a lasting union - the pair have been married since 1989.

The remarkable actor, singer, and composer is also known for joint collaborations and associations with legendary Egyptian musicians like Baligh Hamdy, Mohammed Al-Mougi, and Kamal-Al-Taweel,

Fouad died peacefully in his sleep in his house, having been "unwell for some time", his family said.

"Sadly, Fouad died when I was five so I don't really remember him. I have his records and I listen to them quite often at home," his grandson Tamino told the media.

While Ayda Ryad said: “My sadness over Fouad can’t be expressed in words. We have lived the best of days together."