Comedian Aref Lorestani Passes Away

Iranian comedian Aref Lorestani passed away on Saturday in Tehran at the age of 45.

The renowned TV actor, mostly known for his roles in Mehran Modiri’s comic series, died of cardiac arrest while asleep in his home, IRNA reported.

Born in the western Kermanshah Province in 1972, Lorestani made his TV debut in 1999 with ‘Show 77’ directed by Modiri and continued appearing in his later series including ‘Man With Two Thousand Faces’ (2009), ‘Bitter Coffee’ (2010),  ‘My Villa’ (2012), ‘I’m Just Kidding’ (2014) and ‘In the Margins’ (2015)

Lorestani also acted in the movies ‘Wedding Feast’, ‘The Choice’, ‘The Equation’ and ‘Mani and Neda’. In 2015, he staged a comedy play titled ‘Last Supper’ in Tehran.

This is the first death of an artist reported in the New Persian Year (started March 21). In the previous year, about 100 art and culture figures passed away, and among them were celebrities including filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, actor Davoud Rashidi and painter/ illustrator Parviz Kalantari.

Actor Hassan Joharchi and film producer Ali Moallem died in February and March respectively.