Today Marks 37th Death Anniv. of Adel Adham

Today marks the 37th death anniversary of legendary actor Adel Adham. His death has had a massive impact on the hearts and minds of everyone. He passed away in 1996, leaving behind a plethora of films as a legacy.

On his death anniversary, several events and seminars are being organized by Hanager Cinema to show love and respect for the beloved actor like.

He was one of the most popular actors in Egyptian cinema during the 60s,70s, and 80s. Villain on-screen, hero off it — that was Adham, who made over 50 Arab films, and a western film too, according to critics.

Throughout his career, the late actor won several accolades, including the General Authority for Cinema Award and the Egyptian Association for Film Writers and Critics Award.

The legendary, who is best known for playing "Aziz" in the 1976 'Hafia Ala Gesr Al'Zahab' movie, was endowed with a special style of performing the villain and bad guy roles that distinguished him from those who made such roles.

The so-called “The Prince,” was born in Alexandria on 8 March 1928 to a father who was a government employee and a mother of Turkish origin.

Being fluent in multiple languages helped him in getting along with members of foreign communities, who were widespread in the coastal city, especially after he began to work in business when he was 17.

While strolling on an Alexandrian beach, he was spotted by the renowned director Abdel-Fattah Hassan during the shooting of a film and offered him an acting job.

Immediately, Adham accepted the offer and appeared in several movies taking small parts, starting in 1949 and including ‘Gawaher’ (Mohamed Abdel-Gawad) and The Big House (Ahmed Kamel Morsi).

The Egyptian handsome young man was waiting for the opportunities Hassan had promised him to materialize. Unfortunately, the director died before presenting his new discovery to the cinema.

Following his passion, Adham also went to the veteran actor and director Anwar Wagdi who was curt, stressing that he wasn’t suitable for acting except in front of a mirror.

The young man, who was an athlete, decided to move into dancing through his lifetime friend Ali Reda, co-founder of the Reda Folkloric Dancing Troupe, at the same time as working in the Cotton Stock Exchange in Alexandria.

Meanwhile, he continued to do both jobs until Egypt nationalized the cotton trade and closed the Cotton Stock Exchange at the end of the 1950s.

At this moment, Adham decided to immigrate to Europe, but another great coincidence changed his life completely.

Incidentally, he met director Ahmed Diaa-Eldin, who was about to shoot A Queer Girl and Am I Mad? (both 1964), and decided to cast Adham in the two films since he believed in his talent.

Thereafter, Adham went on to act in many films and television shows until he died in 1996.