CAIRO, March 27 (UPI) -- One of Egypt's top movie stars, Ahmad Zaki, died Sunday at the age of 55 following a 14-month battle with cancer.
Zaki, who acted and starred in 54 films since 1974, died at Dar al-Fuad Hospital in Cairo one week after slipping into a coma, officials said.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in January 2004, after which he was treated at a Paris hospital before he returned to Cairo to continue chemotherapy.
Despite his illness, Zaki insisted playing the role of Egypt's late pop singer, Abdul Halim Hafez, in the movie "Halim, the Voice of the People."
The producers of the film, Good News Productions, said Zaki completed almost his entire role in the movie, except for the scenes of Hafez's death in 1977.
He was renowned for playing the roles of Egypt's late presidents, Gamal Abdul Nasser in the film "Nasser 1956," and Anwar Sadat in "The Days of Sadat."
Zaki was born to a poor family in al-Zakazik, 53 miles (85 kilometers) north of Cairo November 18, 1949.
He is survived by an only son. His wife also died of cancer at the age of 34.
