Ahlan أهــْــلاً, Arabic lovers! As Google celebrated today the 127th birthday of Naguib El-Rehani نجيبالريحاني, I thought it might be interesting to write about his legacy especially for those of you who have never heard of him. Naguib El-Rehani was a famous Egyptian actor and comedian. He is considered the Father of Comedy زعيم مسرح الفكاهة in Egypt. He had a great influence on many famous modern Egyptian comedians.
Google celebrating El-Rehani’s 127 Birthday
Birth and Early Childhood:
Elias El-Rehani was a catholic Iraqi who was a horse expert and trader. He finally settled in Cairo where he married a Christian Egyptian woman. They had three sons and one of them was Naguib. So, Naguib Elias El-Rehani was born on January 21, 1889 in Bab El-Sheriyah بابالشعرية, a popular district of Cairo. Naguib went to a French primary school in Cairo named “Les Frères” which enabled him to master the French language.
When Naguib finished his High School (The baccalauréat شهادة البكالوريا), his father’s trade was not doing very well so Naguib didn’t finish his studies and searched for work to support his family. Naguib was a shy boy but also was very sarcastic like his mother. He used to make fun of the social contradictions in many situations. Although he managed to get a good job with good money in a reputable sugar company in Upper Egypt صعيدمصر, he was not satisfied and resigned. He moved back to Cairo where he started his artistic career.
In a famous street in Cairo, Naguib met one of his friends and agreed to start a theatre group that presents comedy sketches in night clubs. That was the start of Naguib El-Rehani. His most works was to the theater and was not videotaped that is why most of them did not reach us like his later works for the cinema. There are six films for Naguib El-Rehani that critics consider as one of the deepest ironic and sarcastic serious farces in the Arabian cinema. El-Rehani was known by many names of the characters he presented in his films like “كشكشبيه Mr. Kishkish”. He worked with the giants of the Egyptian theater and cinema. He also wrote many works some of which were made into films after his death. Naguib El-Rehani died on June 8, 1949 while he was shooting his last film “غزلالبناتGhazal El-Banat”.
Naguib El-Rehani married the Syrian actress and dancer بديعةمصابني Badi’a Masabni. He established her cabaret; “Casino Badi’a كازينوبديعة“. Their marriage was full of ups and downs till they divorced. They did not have children. Then, It is said that he married a German woman and had a daughter called Jeana.
Theater
Naguib and his best friend Badie Khairi بديعخيري produced 33 plays for the theater that mostly were adapted from the French theater. El-Rehani resigned from the theater in 1946. Here is a list of some of his plays:
الجنيه المصري (The Egyptian Pound) (1931)
الدنيا لما تضحك (When Life Laughs) (1934)
الستات ما يعرفوش يكدبوا (Women Can’t Tell Lies)
حكم قراقوش (The Reign of Qaraqoush) (1936)
قسمتي(My Destiny) (1936)
الرجالة ما يعرفوش يكدبوا (Men Can’t Tell Lies)
كشكش بك فى باريس (Mr. Kishkish in Paris)
حسن و مرقص و كوهين (Hassan, Marcus and Cohen) (1945)
Towards the end of his life, Naguib El-Rehani focused more on the cinema producing 10 films. The character of Mr. Kishkish was present in all these films.
صاحب السعادة كشكش بيه (His Highness Mr Kishkish) (1931)
Naguib El-Rehani was not just a comedian who made us laugh, but also he was a real talented artist who gave his life to his career. He showed us the very details of his society and gave us a great life experience for the art of Drama. He is the founder of critical comedy in Egypt and the Arab world.
Well, I was born near the city of Rasheed or Rosetta, Egypt. Yes, the city where the Rosetta Stone was discovered. It is a small city on the north of Egypt where the Nile meets the Mediterranean. I am a Teacher of EFL.
