The Egyptian actor Youssef Shaaban left our world a short while ago, at the age of 90, after being infected with the Coronavirus, where he was transferred to the hospital in which he remained under ventilators, and his daughter announced that he suffered from unconsciousness before his departure.

A short while ago, the Theatrical Professions Syndicate mourned the artist Youssef Shaaban in an official statement saying, "Surviving God, the Theatrical Professions Syndicate mourns the death of the great artist Youssef Shaaban. May God have mercy on the deceased and inspired his family and fans patience and solace."

Influenced by docile generosity

With the death of Youssef Shaaban, the artistic community loses an artist from the stars of the beautiful time, as he began his artistic career at the end of the fifties while he was still in his twenties.

Youssef Shaaban was born on July 16, 1931 in the Shubra neighborhood, and in his childhood he wanted to join the Institute of Fine Arts, but his family stood an obstacle against the realization of this dream, so he enrolled in the Faculty of Law, which he left in the third year, and after he met the actor Karam Mutawa and talked with him about acting and art Youssef Chaaban decided to enroll in the Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts from which he graduated in the early 1960s.

The world of Naguib Mahfouz with Shadia

In his artistic beginnings, Youssef Shaaban did not present influential roles, so he participated in small roles in films such as “In Our House is a Man,” “A Day Without Tomorrow,” and “For Women Only” and other films, until his transformation was achieved after he participated with Faten Hamama and Shadia He played a pivotal role in the movie "The Miracle" with the director Hassan Al-Imam, until the artist Shadia gave him the opportunity to enter the world of Naguib Mahfouz cinema and present his characters. He presented the character "Faraj" in the movie "Alley of the Midaq", and the character of "Sarhan El-Beheiry" in "Miramar".

At the same stage, Youssef Shaaban continued to play pivotal roles despite not having access to championship opportunities like the children of his generation at that stage. He participated in "Wanted Widow", "Private Teacher", "Traitorous", "The Three Love Her" and "The Goddess of the Masses" And the "man who lost his shadow."

Sympathy for evil sometimes

Youssef Shaaban excelled in presenting characters with different human dimensions in the drama, which made him a leap that he had not had in the world of cinema, becoming a television star for many years, and the beginning of success was with the character of "Hafez Radwan" in the series "The Shahd and Tears" with the author Osama Anwar Okasha and directed by Ismail Abdel Hafez, so he was able to make the viewer sympathize with the hero despite his sins, because he carries within him of the two extremes: evil and good.

The character "Salama Farawila" in the series "Al-Mal and Al-Banoun", directed by Majdi Abu Amira and author Muhammad Jalal Abdul-Qawi, is also considered one of his marks in the drama. Also, this character was rich in details that contributed to the success of Youssef Shaaban, who also embodied human greed after he seized huge sums of money. Illegally, but he kept maintaining his friendships, and the theme was also repeated in the series "Stray Light" and the character of "Wehbe Al-Swalami", who is the wrong character at work, but he is also a victim of the class society in which he grew up.

Wedge and Raafat Hagan

The personality of "Mohsen Mumtaz" in the series "Raafat Al-Hagan" is an important milestone in Youssef Shaaban's dramatic career, as well as the character of "Haji Darwish" in "The Wedge", based on Khairy Shalaby's novel. He also appeared as a guest of honor with Faten Hamama in the series "Dameer." Hikmat.

The captain of the actors who decided to retire

Youssef Shaaban held the position of captain of the acting professions for two terms since 1997, and remained in this position until 2003, before Ashraf Zaki won it.

Youssef Shaaban continued to present dramatic and cinematic works, reaching 308 works, which he concluded with the movie "The Personas" in 2016, to announce a year later his retirement from acting due to the deterioration of artistic works.

The artist Youssef Shaaban's private life was also full of details, as he was married 3 times, the first of the artist Laila Taher, who brought together a great love story, but ended up in divorce more than once, before the final separation was completed, after which he fell in love with Nadia Ismail and her mother, Princess Fawzia And the latter is the daughter of Fouad the First and the sister of King Farouk, and despite her family's refusal to marry an artist, they insisted on marrying him so that they live together in an apartment in the Zamalek neighborhood, but the separation was quick during her pregnancy with their daughter Sinai, and he married for the third time the Kuwaiti Iman, with whom he had his son Murad and his daughter Zainab .