Today, July 13 marks the 136th birth anniversary of Ali El-Kassar, who was one of the leading comedians in Egyptian cinema.
El-Kassar was renowned for having impeccable comic timing, which contributed to the many humorous characters he played on screen like the role of "Ali Baba".
Throughout his four-decade career, he appeared in more than 50 films and 160 theater performances.
Born in 1887 in Cairo, El Kassar made his showbiz debut in 1908 when he found the first theater group called "Dar El Tamseil Al Zenieby" in addition to a band named after him and Moustafa Amin in 1916 in Casio Di Bary theatre- Emad El-Din Street.
Then, he pursued a solo career as a professional comedian and theater actor after the group went on hiatus.
El-Kassar, who is cited as one of the most acclaimed Egyptian comedians of all time, was known for playing the low-class sharp-tongued man and the poor man who always gets into trouble.
He made his breakthrough when he presented the role of Osman Abdel-Basset, the miserable poor man character with whom he was to be identified and the main competition for Nagib Al-Rihani’s Kishkish Bey, Al-Kassar formed his own theatre company in 1916, and became phenomenally popular on stage, where he presented over 160 plays, and on the silver screen.
Like many Egyptians in the early 1900s, Abdel-Basset embodied the hardships and struggles associated with living under British occupation, and the resilience and hope expressed in the epic revolution of 1919.
Eager to try his luck, the Jewish filmmaker "Tugo Mesrahy" used the fame of Osman Abdel Baset" and transferred it into about 9 TV movies where there was no place for the servant's character or the concierge.
According to Nile Cinema, El-Kassar was haunted by several failures in his early acting career, but he managed to embark on new ambitious projects with different producers and actors.
He featured in a number of hit movies of the 1900s, including "Khafir Eldark" (1936), "Seven O'Clock", "Osman & Ali", "Bawab el Amara" (1936), "Ghafir El-Darak"(1936), "Amir El-Inteqam" (1950), and "Mahattat El Ons" (1942).
He died on January 15, 1957, in Cairo, leaving a gaping hole in the Egyptian theater industry.
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