CAIRO, 22 January 2008 — Suad Makkawi, one of Egypt’s popular film actresses and singers, died at the age of 70 following a fatal blood clot at her home in Cairo on Sunday night. A number of musicians and actors expressed their deep sorrow at the news of Suad’s death.
Describing the death as the first sad news of the year, composer Muhammad Sultan Ali said: “All the Arab music composers agree that Suad’s was one of the sweetest voices on the stage.”
Egyptian Radio would devote a full day to feature her songs and monologues. Born in a family of artists in 1938, Suad started singing at a very early age with the encouragement from her father Muhammad Makkawi, a well-known composer. Her duets with Ismail Yasin and Karim Mahmoud were remarkable. Mindeel Hulw (Sweet Scarf), Asmar wa Jameel (Dark and Beautiful), Jazirat Al-Ahlam (The Island of Dreams), Lisank Hesanak (the Tongue Protects You), Millionaire Al-Muzayyif (Fake Millionaire) Naharak Saeed (Good Day) are the most notable of her 18 films.
She married three times, first to actor Abbas Al-Mougi, second to director Abbas Kamil and lastly to musician Muhammad Ismaeel. After keeping away for several years from the stage, Suad returned to singing in the 1990s, but failed to attract any serious attention. Then she returned to a life of unemployment.
