Samir Yousef Ghanem (; 15 January 1937 – 20 May 2021) was an Egyptian comedian, singer, and entertainer.

Early life and education

Ghanem was born in al-ʿAtawlah,

Asyut Governorate Asyūṭ () is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It stretches across a section of the Nile River. The capital of the governorate is the city of Asyut. Etymology The name of Asyut is derived from early Egyptian ''Zawty'' (''Z3JW.TJ''), late E ...

. After graduating from high school, he joined the Police Academy following the example of his father, who was a police officer, but he was dismissed from it after failing two consecutive years, so he transferred papers to the College of

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

Alexandria University Alexandria University () is a public university in Alexandria, Egypt. It was established in 1938 as a satellite of Fouad University (the name of which was later changed to Cairo University), becoming an independent entity in 1942. It was known as ...

and joined the acting teams there. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Agriculture from Alexandria University. During the period of his studies in the police academy, Samir Ghanem narrates that he lived through the period of the presence of the famous actor

Salah Zulfikar Salah El-Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar (, ; 18 January 1926 – 22 December 1993) was an Egyptian actor and film producer. He started his career as a Egyptian National Police, police officer, before becoming an actor in 1956. He is regarded as one o ...

, who was a professor at the academy at the time. Ghanem stated that Zulfikar was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and was just promoted to the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, and that Zulfikar was his idol and he had a great deal of respect for him.

Career

He was a member of the stand-up comedy trio Tholathy Adwa'a El Masrah alongside George Sidhom and El Deif Ahmed. Their debut was ''Doctor Save Me'', a short performance that introduced them to the entertainment world. They presented the first ever TV show ''Ramadan Riddles''. After El Deif Ahmed's death in 1970, Ghanem and Sidhom continued under the same name (Tholathy Adwa'a El Masrah) until the 1980s. Together they made achievements such as; '' Al-Mutazawwigun'' in 1978 among others. Samir Ghanem hosted a show on OTV called ''An Hour With Samir Ghanem''.

Personal life

He was married to actress Dalal Abdel Aziz, and the father of actresses Donia and Amy. Ghanem, who was recovering at a hospital from serious conditions after contracting

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

, died from complications of kidney functions and associated mucormycosis related to the infection at El Safa Hospital in Mohandiseen, Giza on 20 May 2021, at the age of 84. His wife, Dalal Abdel Aziz, died on 7 August 2021, also from COVID-19 complications.

Selected filmography

Ghanem participated in more than 300 acting roles including films, TV series and theater plays, the last of which was in the series ''Badal Al Hadduta Talata'' with his daughter Donia Samir Ghanem.

Plays by Tholathy Adwa'a El Masrah after 1970

After El Deif Ahmed's death in 1970, Tholathy Adwa'a El Masrah continued producing plays. The two most famous are: *''Moseeqa Fel Hay El Sharey (Music in East District)'' *''Fondo’ El Talaat Wara’at (Three Cards Hotel)'' *'' Al-Mutazawwigun (Married)''

Later plays

While George Sidhom retired due to a brain stroke, Samir Ghanem continued producing plays.Al Ahram Weekly on Samir Ghanem
*''Goha Rules the City'' *''Faris wa Bani Khayban (The Knight and Disaster Clan)'' *''Akhuya Hayes wana Layes (Happy Is My Brother, Lost Am I)'' *''Ana wal-Nizam wa Hawak (Me, the Government and Your Love)'' *''Bahloul fi Istanbul (Bahloul in Istanbul)'' *''Ana wa Mirati wa Monica (Me, My Wife and Monica)'' *''Akhoia hayes wana layes'' *''Mamno3 fe lelet el do5la'' *Habash house (beit el habash)

Films

* '' Khally Balak Min ZouZou'' *'' Fi Saif Lazim Nohib'' *'' El Mothneboon'' * '' Easabat Al'nisa''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghanem, Samir 1937 births 2021 deaths People from Asyut Egyptian comedians Egyptian male film actors Egyptian male television actors Egyptian television presenters Egyptian male stage actors Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt Deaths from mucormycosis Egyptian Arabic Alexandria University alumni