The actor's son Majid Entezami confirmed the death of his father on Friday. The great actor succumbed to prolonged illness.
Born in 1924, he began his activities in theater in his 20s and later moved to Hanover, Germany, to study theater and cinema in a boarding school. After graduating in 1958, he returned to his homeland and appeared in over 100 feature films, a number of TV series and dozens of plays.
In 1941, he started a career on stage and in 1969 he moved on to cinematic activities.
His debut performance in Dariush Mehrjui’s film, 'The Cow', received the Silver Hugo in Chicago International Film Festival in 1971. Entezami was the first Iranian actor to win an international award. In this film, he played the role of a naïve villager who could not bear the death of his beloved cow and started to believe that he is the cow himself.
Throughout his career, Entezami worked with many prominent Iranian filmmakers including Mehrjui (eight films), Ali Hatami (four films), Nasser Taqvaee, and Bahman Farmanara, among others.
'Mr. Naïve' (1971), 'The Tenants' (1986), and 'Hamoun' (1989) by Mehrjui, 'Haji Washington' (1982) and 'Kamalolmolk' (1983) by Hatami, 'The Blue-Veiled' (1994) by Rakhshan Banietemad, and 'A House Built on Water' (2001) by Bahman Farmanara were among his most notable films.
Most Iranians know Entezami for his role in Hatami's memorable TV series 'Hezardastan' (1978-1987). From 1969, when he took up a career in cinema, to 2010 when he appeared in his last movie, Entezami won four Crystal Simorghs and a diploma of honor from the Iran's prestigious Fajr International Film Festival.
Iranian officials and artists and cineastes have sent messages of condolences on the legendary actor's death.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi have expressed their heartfelt condolences on the passing away of veteran Iranian actor Entezami.
In separate messages on Friday, Zarif and Qasemi noted that the demise of the popular artist Entezami is a source of great sorrow and offered their condolences over the great loss to the family of the deceased, art community as well as the Iranian nation. They recalled the artist as a person who had dedicated his life to the profession of acting.
They also asked God to bestow His divine mercy to the venerable artist who committed his lifetime to art.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, Iran's Culture Minister Abbas Salehi, Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, Health Minister Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi, Cinema Organization of Iran Director Mohammad-Mehdi Heidarian, two-time Academy Award winner Asghar Farhadi were among the top figures who offered condolences to the nation in separate messages.
President Rouhani said, “The great veteran actor Entezami who was innovative in his field played a very important role in advancing Iran’s art of cinema.”
In his message, Salehi expressed condolences to the Iranian nation and Entezami's bereaved family on his demise, calling it 'a great tragedy for contemporary art of Iran. He dedicated almost 70 years of his life to Iran's cinema and theater. He created many unforgettable memories in Iranian minds and became an ever-lasting figure in cinema.'
Meanwhile Heidarian said, 'He was an honorable person, a great man and a popular artist who left this world and entered into eternal life.'
Farhadi said that not only was Entezami a great person in cinematic field, but also his fatherlike and respectful behavior will be everlasting in the minds of Iranians.