Umer Shareef

Mohammad Umer (19 April 1955 – 2 October 2021), known professionally as Umer Shareef, was a Pakistani actor, host, comedian, director, producer, writer, singer and television personality.

Umer began his career at the age of 14 with stand-up comedy and later worked in around 60 stage comedies as well as numerous television shows and films, where he not only acted but also directed and produced.

Early life Mohammad Umer was born on 19 April 1955, into a middle-class Muhajir family in Liaquatabad, Karachi.

Career Stage In 1969, Umer started his career from Karachi as a stage performer at the age of 14. He joined theatre, using the stage name Umer Zarif, modelled after his favourite comedian Munawar Zarif, but later renamed himself to Umer Sharif following Egyptian actor Omar Sharif that he admired due to the 1962 movie Lawrence of Arabia.

In 1976, he wrote the stage play Bionic Servant, inspired by the American TV series Six Million Dollar Man, where Moin Akhter was an actor, marking their first collaboration.

Television In 2002, Sharif wrote his first TV serial, Parda Na Uthao. In 2011, backed by the MQM, he ran for the presidency of the Karachi Arts Council. But the PPP-backed candidate, Ahmed Shah, defeated him.

Awards and recognition Sharif received National awards for Best Director and Best Actor in 1992 for Mr. 420. He received ten Nigar Awards. Sharif was the only actor to receive four Nigar Awards in a single year. He received three Graduate Awards. Sharif was also a recipient of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz.

Illness and death On 10 September 2021, Pakistani television host and news anchor Waseem Badami posted a video of Shareef on Instagram where he requested the then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan to facilitate cancer treatment for him overseas. Soon after the video came out, Indian singer Daler Mehndi also appealed to Prime Minister Imran Khan for immediate treatment for Sharif. On 11 September 2021, the government formed a medical board to decide whether or not to send him abroad for treatment. He was granted a United States visa for medical treatment on 16 September 2021 and the Sindh government also approved 40 million rupees for his treatment. Despite all these projects, on 2 October 2021, he died in a hospital in Nuremberg, Germany, at the age of 66.

Influence and legacy Referred to as the "King of Comedy", Sharif is considered to be one of the greatest comedians of South Asia. Popular Indian comedians like Johnny Lever hailed him as "The God of Asian comedy".

Leading Pakistani in show business and political leaders offered their condolences including Mehwish Hayat, Hareem Farooq and Imran Khan.

Selected filmography

Stage dramas Bakra Qiston Pay Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (1989) 1987 Kundan 1992 Mr. 420 Laat Sahb Ghunda Raj Punjabi Zameen Aasman

But Shikkan 1995 Mastana Mahi Punjabi 1999 Chand Babu Urdu Television shows Year Show Role Channel Notes 2009 The Shareef Show Host Geo Entertainment 2005–2008 The Great Indian Laughter Challenge Guest STAR One 2005 Omer Sharif vs Omer Sharif Host/Actor Geo Entertainment