Celebrated actor Ezzatolah Entezami passed away on Friday at Bahonar Hospital in north Tehran.
Entezami, who had retired due to ill-health, died of cardiac arrest early in the morning on Friday, ISNA reported.
According to his famous musician son Majid, the veteran actor suffered from kidney, liver and brain problems in recent years. He was 94.
The legendary Entezami will be always remembered by the Iranian film industry and the cross-section of the society for his extraordinary talent and skills as well as his professionalism and kind disposition. He was always generous to the youth and involved in philanthropy.
Born in the historic Sangalaj district in Tehran in 1924, Ezzatolah Entezami is known as the ‘Master Actor’ in Iranian cinema for his numerous roles in different fields.
Entezami started his stage career in 1941 and later moved to Germany and studied theater and cinema in Hanover. After graduation in 1958, he returned home and resumed his theater activities.
Speaking about his early days in theater, Entezami had once said that when he was 15, he worked part time as a simple worker cleaning the stage at a local theater. “Once theater managers found I had a good voice, I was asked to sing in plays.”
He entered the film world in 1969 with his debut performance in Dariush Mehrjui’s acclaimed film ‘The Cow’. He received the Golden Hugo from the Chicago International Film Festival in 1971. With that prize, he became the first Iranian actor to have received a foreign award.
He acted in more than 100 plays, movies and TV series and was awarded the Crystal Simorgh award for best actor twice at the Fajr International Film Festival for “Day of the Angel” (1993) and “Grand Cinema” (1989). He also won the Fajr award for the best actor in a supporting role twice for “A House Built on Water” (2001) and “The River’s End” (2004).
During his six decades of impressive contribution to film, theater and TV, Entezami worked with many acclaimed film directors including Dariush Mehrjui (eight films), Ali Hatami (four films), Nasser Taqvaee, Masoud Kimiai and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad.
“The Tenants”, “The Blue-Vailed”, “Kamalolmolk”, “Hamoun” and “Once Upon a Time, Cinema” are among the films for which he will be remembered.
Most Iranians know the immensely popular actor for his role in Ali Hatami’s memorable TV series Hezardastan (1978 to 1987).