Ferit Şevki

Ferit Şevki — Biography

Farid Shawqi, born Farid Shawqi Mohammad Abdou Shawqi on 30 July 1920 in Cairo's El Sayyeda Zainab district, ranks among the most celebrated actors the Arab world has produced. Across a career spanning roughly five decades he took on parts in well over three hundred films, penned dozens of screenplays, and produced numerous pictures of his own. Cheap third-class theatre seats were traditionally filled by fans who idolized him, earning him the nickname "King of the Third Class," while his gallery of beloved heroic roles led admirers to call him the "Monster of the Arab Screen." As the father of five daughters, he was also affectionately dubbed "Abu el-Banat." Part of his career unfolded in Turkey, where he appeared in a run of films during the 1960s and 1970s; his turn in Cemile earned him the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 1969 Golden Orange Film Festival. He died in Cairo's Maadi district on 27 July 1998, at the age of 77.