The celebrated Iranian actor Davoud Rashidi died of cardiac arrest at his home in Tehran on Friday, August 26, at the age of 83.
The funeral procession will start Sunday morning from Vahdat Hall in central Tehran and his body will be laid to rest at the Artists' Section of Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery in south Tehran, Mehr News Agency reported.
The veteran actor had received the First Class Order of Culture and Art in 2012 from the former president. The award recognizes artists who express deep thought in Islamic and humanitarian concepts and help spread such culture.
Last September, Rashidi was honored at the closing ceremony of the 4th City Theater Festival at Tehran's City Theater Hall. An acclaimed actor, director, translator and theater and cinema instructor, he was the founder of the ‘Today’ Theater Group and among the pioneers of modern theater in Iran, playing an influential role in the post-Islamic Revolution era (since 1979).
Samuel Beckett 'Waiting for Godot' and William Shakespeare's 'Richard III' were among his theatrical works. His first film after years of acting on stage was ‘Escape from the Trap’ (1971, directed by Jalal Moghadam). He worked in over 40 films as director, producer and actor including 'Kamololmolk' and 'Chrysanthemums'.
Rashidi also acted in several notable TV series including 'Mokhtarnameh' (Book of Mokhtar), 'Imam Ali (AS) and Hezar Dastan (literally a thousand hands).
His daughter, Leyli, is also an actress and theater director. His sister-in-law is the acclaimed actress and director Marzieh Boroumand, who is the secretary of the 16th Tehran Mobarak International Puppet Festival, currently underway in Tehran.
