Iran's oldest actor Parviz Shahinkhu passed away on Saturday, August 6, at his home in Tehran.
The veteran cinema, theater and TV artist, who was bedridden for the past month, was 102, his daughter Mina told Mehr News Agency.
Shahinkhu appeared on stage last September at the 17th Celebration of Iranian Cinema and that was his last presence among the public."After that, due to health reasons he could not leave home," his daughter added.
The centenarian actor was honored at the 12th Actor’s Festival last May, and received a medallion from another veteran actor Jamshid Mashayekhi.
"I started my work in theater when I was 12. I have endured a lot of hardship since the very first day but I never got disappointed or lost my passion for the stage," Shahinkhu had said at the event.
Born in Tehran in 1914, Shahinkhu began his professional career as a theater actor but later entered cinema and acted in the first Iranian silent movies by Ovanes Ohanian namely ‘Abi and Rabi’ (1930) and ‘Haji Agha, the Cinema Actor’ (1933). Since then, besides numerous plays, he appeared in over 20 films and 20 TV series including historical serials like ‘Sarbedaran’, 'Mirza Kuchik Khan', 'Once upon a Time' and ‘Imam Ali (AS)’.
He last appeared as the main character of 'Bab'Aziz' in 2005, a joint production of Iran and Tunisia directed by Tunisian filmmaker Nacer Khemir.
He will be laid to rest on Sunday, August 7, at Tehran's Behesht-e-Zahra Cemetery.
