Today Marks Leila Mourad’s Death Anniversary

Ahmed Emam

Today, Nov.21 marks the 26th anniversary of the late actress Leila Mourad’s death anniversary; here are some lesser-known facts about her.

Leila Mourad, who reigned supreme in Egyptian cinema for well over three decades, securing a place in the hearts of movie-goers through her memorable roles, was considered as the Egyptian Cinderella during her era, her on-See presence captivated millions of hearts.

Egyptian and Arab audiences still remember her vivacious energy and impish charm.

Lillian Zaki Mourad Mordechai was born on 17th February 1918 in Cairo to a Jewish family in Al-Daher District in Cairo. She later changed her name to Leila Mourad.

Her mother was a constructive Jewish Egyptian of Polish origins. One of her brothers, Mounir Mourad, was an actor and composer.

Actually, Mourad was an Egyptian singer and actress and one of the most prominent superstars in the Arab world in her era.

The late legendary actress made her first stage appearance at 9 years old at Saalat Badi’a, one of Cairo’s most successful music halls. The theatre had been founded in 1926 by actress and dancer Badi’a Masabni, who became Mourad’s patron.

Mourad’s first film appearance, at 15, was in the 1932 “al-Dahaya” (The Victims) which had originally been made as a silent film. Her song, “The Day of Departure”, was added as part of the transformation of the production into a sound film.

The beautiful actress was trained by her father and Dawood Hosni, who was also Jewish. Hosni had composed the first Operetta in Arabic and he composed two songs for her: “Hairana Leh Bein El-Eloub” (Why can’t you choose from among lovers), and “Howa el Dala’a Ya’ani Khessam” (Does dalliance mean avoiding me?).

Further success came when renowned Egyptian composer Mohammed Abdel Wahab heard her singing and gave her a role in his film “Yahia el Hob” (Viva Love!) in 1938.

Meanwhile, Mourad participated in five best-selling films with the prominent Jewish director Togo Mizrahi, becoming Egypt’s top actress.

In 1945, the iconic singer and actress also performed several item numbers in many popular films like “Layla Bint al-Fuqara” (Layla, daughter of the poor) directed by her first husband Anwar Wagdi.

Furthermore, she went on to participate in 20 films, the most outstanding of which is “Ghazal al-Banat” (The Flirtation of Girls), directed by and co-starring Wagdi.

Moreover, Mourad featured Naguib al-Rihani and Abdel Wahab in their last appearances.

The late singer married three times and converted to Islam in 1947

In the 1950s, she was selected, over Umm Kulthum, as the official singer of the Egyptian revolution.

Subsequently, a rumor that Mourad had visited Israel, where she had family, and donated money to its military raised suspicions of her spying for Israel and caused some Arab radio stations to boycott her.

Later, she denied these allegations and when called for judicial investigations, proved her innocence all along, declaring, “I am an Egyptian Muslim”.

According to Elcinema.com, Mourad married three times; the first was the remarkable actor, director, and producer Anwar Wagdi. The second was one of the Egyptian Free Officers Wageeh Abaaza and they gave birth to her older son Ashraf; they got porced and she finally married director Fateen Abdul Wahhaab, the father of her younger son, Zaky.

In fact, her decision to retire, aged 38, came with the failure of her last film, Al Habib al Majhoul (The Unknown Lover), the banning of her song, With Unity, Order, and Work, praising the 1952 revolution and the outbreak of the 1956 war.

However, in this small span of time, she left behind some of her iconic songs and films that hold the potential of setting a benchmark even today.