Theatre remains the true vocation of this 'comprehensive artist'. From stinging satire to social criticism, pedagogy to pure parody, he has been making audiences laugh, think -- and feel -- for over 40 years.
Egyptians are known for their sense of humour -- for laughing loudly in the face of adversity. Laughter carries them through the hardest of times. If the ability to laugh is a talent, however, the ability to make people laugh even through their tears is a gift, and Fouad El-Mohandes is exceptionally gifted in that respect.
"I shall never forget the day when my mother came to attend the annual ceremony at school and saw me on stage doing a comic scene. She was so horrified by what I was doing that she shouted at me to get off the stage at once. Actually, I obeyed her," El-Mohandes recalls, laughing.
Even as a child, El-Mohandes was aware of this magnetic power of his: he could draw people in and make them laugh with almost frightening ease.
Fouad and Shwikar, as she is now known, were married in 1963, and their work together yielded one of the most successful artistic partnerships in the Arab world. She was the quintessential coquette of the 1960s; he was the man tortured by the love of this pretty and difficult woman.
"It is only natural that my heart should begin to suffer. I have often lived with my heart, rather than my mind." Fouad El Mohandes says
Goodbye A'mmo Fouad!
Photos credit(www.videohat.com)
Comments by Ahmed Bahgat Al-Ahram Weekly
10 comments:
Twosret, A young blog but exceeded my expectations. Excellent topic choices, AWESOME PICTURES. Brava! you should have been blogging a long time ago. Egyptian bloggers should be proud you joined the blog ring.
Jen.
He will forever be a part of my nostalgia and love of Egypt
Twoser:
Some of the Egyptian bloggers are saying there is a rumor that Sand Monkey was arrested and detained upon his return from the US and is now being held at the Torah Mazra3a prison in Cairo? Can any one confirm this? I am getting quite worried about him…
Twosret - I grew up watching 3ammo Fouad Allah Yirhamu - even as an older man he was so much fun.
Jen.,
Thanks for your kind comments.
RB, La Gitana, and Highlander,
Yes! he will be missed greatly, everytime I open my blog and see his picture I do feel sad. Allah Yerhamo
T.,
Welcome to my blog and what a first entry :) SM is not arrested and he is safe and sound. Those were just rumors. We hope all bloggers are safe and non of them get subjected to any harm in Egypt.
I grew up watching him also and I'll never forget the play he had with Sherihene...allah yer7amo
It makes me very sad to see that the human symbols of Egyptian culture are dying out. For many years the amorphous element of our culture has been slowly degrading, and being replaced with veritable shit. Culture though is very easy to manufacture and replace. Unfortunately, the makers of culture is who you can't replace. Will we ever again have a Fouad El Mohandes, Abdel Moniem Madbouli, or Ahmed Zaki? Unlikely.
The socio economic and political fervency that shaped these people's realities and sensibilities has now been replaced by total apathy, religious hysteria, and ape-like imitation of the very worst aspects of Western culture. Rooby is about the best we will get. That being said, with cultural angels like our beautiful Twosert, maybe there is more hope in the virtual world. Keep up your wonderful bloggin our gourgeous TooToo! Love you!
NOOOOO! I can't believe it. I loved 3ammo fouad, i can't believe it. Sob sob, all the good people are leaving.
ditto la gitana
mahfouz, irwin and 3ammo fouad, its been a bad few weeks for us
Wonderful post on a wonderful actor.
abla fakeeha,
Enti habibiti :)
Leilouta and Carmen,
Thanks for stopping by
Clear,
Sorry to bring the bad news :(
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