JEDDAH, 16 May 2006 — With the demise of Ahmad Farrag, 75, Sunday night of heart failure, the Arab world has lost one of its media stalwarts, who dominated the past half a century. The Egyptian media doyen was most famous for his work on Channel One’s “Nur Ala Nur” (Light on Light). Funeral prayers are to be held at the Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque in Al-Mohandeseen District in Cairo.
His notable achievements include the presentation of programs with the legendary Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum and broadcast of Radio Egypt’s external services. He presented countless TV and radio programs including “Police in the Service of Common Man,” and “Round Table” from 1955 to 1977. One of his most popular programs, “Light on Light” was first aired in 1960 and lasted until 1977 involving around 1,000 episodes. After his return from Saudi Arabia he began the reproduction of the program in the light of a changing world at the turn of the new millennium.
Farrag was working as the secretary-general to the Saudi poet Muhammad Hassan Faqi Prize instituted by the Ahmad Zaki Yamani Charitable Foundation. He was also the first secretary general of the Jeddah-based Islamic States Broadcasting Organization. He also served as adviser to the Egyptian prime minister and the Parliament speaker.
Farrag is survived by four children. His first marriage was with the Arab singer Sabah in 1961, which lasted only two years. He had worked with her in the film “Three Men and a Woman.”