A career spanning 60 years, during which Adel Imam presented nearly 126 films, 11 plays, and 16 series.. Could the end be “Alzheimer’s”?
“Since then, I have been saying”… He beats himself on the stage three times announcing the raising of the curtain, preceded by his presence before the theatrical performance by more than three hours, during which he watches the play’s preparations, then is alone for an hour reading the Qur’an and recalling the scenes. Adel Imam’s rituals before his plays seem sacred and express his sincerity and closeness to the audience for decades, but did he expect when he first went on stage and was ignored by the audience, that his presence would one day witness resounding applause that would not stop shouting his love?
Adel Imam.. a tragic beginning
Many years have passed since the last play presented by Adel Emam, which is the play “Body Guard”, which was presented for 11 years and was recently shown on the Shahid platform, but what regarding the first play? And the first professional appearance of the leader, and the moment that was filled with doubt is greater than certainty.
“I want to be king” A childish, spontaneous response uttered by Adel Muhammad Imam Muhammad as soon as the adults surprised him with the question, “What do you want to see when you grow up?” As if the child who was born on May 17, 1940 in the village of Shaha in Mansoura (Delta Egypt) is aware that he will be a leader who owns laughter and knows its secret.
He moved with his family to Cairo because of his father’s working conditions, and during his primary and secondary school years, he used to participate in school plays. He dreamed of acting, but he didn’t know how that might happen? At the university, he joined the Faculty of Agriculture, where his destination was the university theater, he managed the theater group, and he presented performances of the works of Anton Chekhov and Jean-Paul Sartre, “and I used to take glasses from the university for these needs.”
It seems strange how Adel Imam thought that he was a tragic actor presenting world plays in classical Arabic, then he became a legend of laughter and a star of comedy, and we can thank two for that, director Hussein Kamal and artist Abdel Moneim Madbouly. His colleague Salah Al-Saadani is at the door of the college.
Expulsion of Adel Imam
“He had acting forms with him and it was the last day to apply.” He took them from him and went running to the TV theaters project, which was of a recent age at the time and was working on implementing plays that would be presented to the public and filmed to be shown on television. Adel Imam applied for the exam, performing a scene from the play “Revolution of the Dead” in Arabic classical.
Adel Imam succeeded in the test, and was included in one of the teams. “The first time I entered the meeting of the group and sat on the chair, I found them all laughing.” At that time, director Hussein Kamal (1934-2003) asked him to repeat what he presented during the test period, to surprise him, “You will act as a comedian.” In a firm tone that is not subject to retreat or discussion.
Adel Imam performed with the troupe the role of the candy seller at the birthday in the play “The Village Revolution”, and it was a simple role, only appearing in the middle of a large group calling for birthday sweets Adel Imam did not continue working in the TV theater because of his inability to complete his appointment papers because he is a student, so he was expelled.
Adel Emam “First Time Theatre”
“Tiji is playing a role in a play called Me, He, and She.” One day, Adel Emam was sitting on the steps of the TV theater trying to find a solution to the issue of his expulsion, and he found a woman telling him regarding a new play that needed an actor to play a simple role in the second act of it. He did not mind Experiment, and went to the rehearsal of the play.
Adel Imam entered to find himself among the stars of Abdel Moneim Madbouly, Shweikar and Fouad Al Mohandes, and he is just a student who came to play the role of a lawyer’s agent and perform two speeches. At the university and the head of the acting troupe there.” Madbouly convinced him to try, and indeed in the rehearsal he found Adel laughing in front of all the attendees, so he felt that it was fate.
In the premiere of the play “I, He, and She” in 1964 at the Opera Theatre, Adel Emam appears in the second act. He enters the stage and no one from the audience pays any attention to him. There is no applause or salutation, “People don’t know who I am, no one applauds.. sincerely.” He performed. The words written in the text, then he found the audience laughing, so he added other words to them, and the audience laughed, “It is difficult for me to leave people without laughing, and it is difficult for me to go and say my words, and since then I have been saying stay.” And when he left the scene, the audience greeted him with strong applause. .
After the play, his famous phrase, “A country with true testimonies,” was repeated, and every word that came out of it became stuck in the minds, and passed on by the audience. Its duration is minutes.
Adel Imam’s efforts and persistence were not in vain, as he presented plays that we still remember every “ifeh” he uttered, the most famous of which are:
- The rioters school- 1973.
- Watch He Didn’t See a Thing – 1976.
- Al-Wad Sayed Al-Shaghal – 1984.
- Leader- 1993.
- Bodyguard- 1998.
Series Adel Imam
Adel Imam believes that the goal is not to search for heroism. “All my life I have been a champion in my league, no matter how small and simple it is..and I used to enjoy every word he said on the stage.” This may seem like the password that made the audience enjoy and wait for him, so his name becomes associated with laughter and joy.
Adel Imam’s last work was the series Valentino in Ramadan 2020, following a long artistic career that spanned 60 years, while his most prominent drama series was:
- Dreams of the Flying Boy- 1978
- Tears in Insolent Eyes – 1980
- Naji Atallah Ensemble – 2012
- Al Arraaf- 2013
- His Excellency – 2014
- Professor and Head of Department – 2015
- Mamoun and Partners – 2016
- Goblins Adly Allam- 2017
- Hidden Worlds- 2018
Adel Imam presented nearly 126 films, 16 series and 11 plays, during which he was able to carve for himself a special and untouchable position. He presented it with courage, intelligence, and times in which he experienced failure and others in which he tasted the taste of success, and everyone can only consider him a legend that is difficult to repeat. .
The death of Adel Imam
The death of Adel Imam seems to be a rumor that cannot end, since the beginning of the new millennium, and every year an unknown source reports on the death of the leader, which shows that the great benevolent career and the overwhelming stardom have dark sides, which can expose its owner and his loved ones to painful news. regarding his passing away.
The rumor spreads with the emergence of news or inquiries regarding the leader Adel Imam’s absence from the artistic scene, and it appeared clearly following the artist Amr Saad announced his intention to present a dramatic work on Adel Imam as “one of my most important upcoming projects.” It was also reported that the reason for the leader’s absence is his Alzheimer’s disease. This was previously denied by journalist Akram Al-Saadani.
About a year ago, producer Issam Imam, Adel Imam’s brother, announced that the leader was preparing a new movie entitled “The Valley and His Father”, and it was scheduled to bring together Adel Imam and his youngest son, Muhammad Imam, while Ramy Imam directed it, which has not happened so far.
