Biography

• Name: Mahmoud Abdel Aziz
• Date of Birth: 4 June 1946
• Birthplace: Al-Wardian District, Alexandria, Egypt
• Date of Death: 12 November 2016 (Cairo, Egypt)
• Profession: Film, television, and stage actor

Early Life and Education

• Graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture, Alexandria University, where he began performing with the university theater troupe.
• Moved to television in the early 1970s, then soon established a strong presence in cinema.

Beginnings and Entry into the Industry

• Started on television in the early 1970s and transitioned to film by the mid-1970s.
• Rose quickly thanks to his versatility across comedy, drama, and tragedy, and his command of layered, psychologically complex characters.

Career Highlights and Selected Works

Cinema (Selected): - Al-'Aar (The Shame) — 1982
- Al-Keif — 1985
- “Al-Keif” is slang for “the high” or “pleasure,” often used in contexts of indulgence or addiction. - Al-Shaqqa min Haqq al-Zawja (The Apartment Is the Wife’s Right) — 1985
- Al-Jou' (Hunger) — 1986
- Gari al-Wuhoush (Running of the Beasts) — 1987
- The Kit Kat — 1991
- Named after the Kit Kat neighborhood in Giza, not the chocolate bar; a landmark black comedy in Egyptian cinema.
- Abu Kartona — 1991
- “Abu” is a nickname prefix meaning “father of,” used colloquially to denote a person’s moniker.
- Souq al-Mut'a (The Pleasure Market) — 2000
- Al-Saher (The Magician) — 2001
- Dunia (Kiss Me Not on the Eyes) — 2005
- Internationally released as “Dunia: Kiss Me Not on the Eyes.”
- Baby Doll Night — 2008
- Ibrahim El Abyad — 2009

Television (Selected): - Ra'fat al-Haggan — 1988–1991
- A landmark espionage series based on an Egyptian spy story; a defining role in his TV career.
- Bab El-Khalq — 2012
- Titled after a historic square/neighborhood in Cairo.
- Gabal al-Halal — 2014
- Ra's al-Ghoul — 2016
- “Ghoul” refers to a mythical ogre; the title evokes a cunning, elusive figure.

Awards and Honors

• Best Actor at the Damascus International Film Festival for The Kit Kat (1991).
• Received numerous lifetime-achievement honors at Egyptian and Arab festivals, in addition to critical awards for standout dramatic roles.
• If you need other specific awards with exact dates, I cannot confirm them with certainty.

Family

• Married twice.
• Father of two sons: Mohamed and Karim.
• Known for his strong attachment to Alexandria and his family, and for maintaining a low media profile outside his work and major artistic occasions.

Passing

• Died on 12 November 2016 after a battle with illness. His funeral drew wide public and industry presence, in recognition of his major contribution to Egyptian drama and cinema.

Artistic Profile

• A performer of striking expressive power and precise control over character details—voice, gesture, and inner rhythm.
• His ease moving between black comedy and psychological drama made him an acting icon of his generation.
• The Kit Kat remains a defining milestone in his career, as do the roles in which he explored the worlds of the marginalized and richly layered characters.
• Nicknamed “Al-Saher” (“The Magician”), which is also the title of one of his films.