Iran Press/Iran: "I hereby offer my condolences to the esteemed Ezzatollah Entezami, the cultural community of the country and all art lovers, and pray to the Almighty for his mercy and his family’s patience and health", Iranian President Hassan Rouhani noted in his message.
"The passing of capable veteran actor, the late Ezzatollah Entezami caused great grief and sorrow", Rouhani added.
Ezzatolah Entezami
“We are all from Allah and to Him we shall return” (Holy Quran). This popular, hard-working actor of cinema and theatre created superb, memorable works of art and played an exceptional role in excellence of arts in our dear Iran", the massage continued.
Also, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a message expressed condolences to the Iranian nation and Entezami's bereaved family over his demise, calling it a source of great sorrow.
Ezzatolah Entezami in The Cow
Zarif also described Entezami as a popular and knowledgeable artist who had dedicated his life to the profession of acting.
Iranian celebrated actor Ezzatollah Entezami passed away at 94 on Friday at Bahonar Hospital in north of Tehran.
Entezami, who had retired due to ill-health, died of cardiac arrest early in the morning on Friday.
According to his famous musician son Majid, the veteran actor suffered from kidney, liver and brain problems in recent years.
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 1924, he started his theater career in his 20s and later moved to Hanover, Germany, to study theater and cinema in a boarding school. After graduation in 1958, he returned to his homeland and appeared in over 50 feature films, a number of TV series, and dozens of plays.
Ezzatolah Entezami
Entezami was the first-ever Iranian actor to win an international award. In 1971, he received the Chicago International Film Festival’s Silver Hugo for Best Actor for his debut performance in Dariush Mehrjui’s acclaimed movie The Cow.
In this film, he played the role of a naive villager who cannot endure the death of his beloved cow and starts to believe that he is the cow himself.
Throughout his career, he worked with many prominent Iranian filmmakers including Dariush Mehrjui (eight films), Ali Hatami (four films), Nasser Taqvaee, and Bahman Farmanara, among others.
Ezzatolah Entezami
Mr. Naïve (1971), The Tenants (1986), and Hamoun (1989) by Mehrjui, Hajji Washington (1982) and Kamalolmolk (1983) by Hatami, The Blue-Veiled (1994) by Rakhshan Banietemad, and A House Built on Water (2001) by Farmanara were among his most important films.
Many Iranians know Entezami for his role in Ali Hatami’s memorable TV series Hezardastan (1978 to 1987).
From 1969, when he started his cinema career, to 2010 when he appeared in his last movie, Entezami won four Crystal Simorghs and a diploma of honor from the Fajr International Film Festival.
