Omar Sharif was a suave matinee idol of the old school, whose velvet-lined charm came with a side order of twinkle-eyed mischief. The Egyptian-born screen star, who died today from a heart attack at 83, also made history as one of the first Middle Eastern sex symbols to win hearts, awards and major box office numbers across the globe. Sharif had the urbane air of a natural-born aristocrat, equally at home in a palace or a casino, a fancy London gentleman's club or a smoky Parisian jazz bar. Dapper and debonair, he walked into film festival press conferences like he had just stepped off a yacht. Blessed with mesmerizing dark eyes, killer cheekbones and a gap-toothed smile, he was almost shockingly beautiful in his youth, and remained strikingly handsome long into old age.
