Omar Sharif suffering from Alzheimer’s disease

'Lawrence of Arabia' star Omar Sharif has Alzheimer's disease, his agent has said.

Steve Kenis gave no further details about the 83-year-old or his care. His son, Tarek Sharif, revealed the diagnosis in an interview with Spanish newspaper 'El Mundo'.

The Egyptian-born Sharif rose to international stardom with his role in the 1962 epic 'Lawrence of Arabia' – his first English-language film. He earned an Oscar nomination for his turn as Sherif Ali in David Lean's film opposite Peter O'Toole.

Sharif followed the breakthrough performance with the title role in Lean's 'Doctor Zhivago', co-starring Julie Christie. He then played Fanny Brice's husband, Nicky Arnstein, in 'Funny Girl' alongside Barbra Streisand.

His last completed feature film credits were in 2013.

PA