Nothing But the Best: "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)

Scene from Lawrence of Arabia

Welcome to the series Nothing But the Best in which I chronicle all of the Academy Award Best Picture winners as they celebrate their anniversaries. Instead of going in chronological order, this series will be presented on each film's anniversary and will feature personal opinions as well as facts regarding its legacy and behind the scenes information. The goal is to create an in depth essay for each film while looking not only how the medium progressed, but how the film is integral to pop culture. In some cases, it will be easy. Others not so much. Without further ado, let's start the show.

R.I.P. Omar Sharif (1932-2015)

Omar Sharif in Lawrence of Arabia

Egyptian actor Omar Sharif passed away today at the age of 83 after battling with Alzheimer's Disease, which he only publicly announced in May of this year. Born in Alexandria, Egypt on April 10, 1932, the actor was born to parents who weren't necessarily wealthy, but he admitted that they made enough money. While his heritage is prominent, he was capable of playing roles of various ethnicity thanks to his fluency in French, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic. While he has an impressive and storied career, his career-defining work may be that of playing Sherif Ali in the Best Picture winner from director David Lean called Lawrence of Arabia. Much like his co-star Peter O'Toole, he brought charisma and energy to the epic and created some of the most iconic characters to travel the desert in film history. It was also only the beginning of a big career.