Youssef Abdullah Hadib Wahbi Qutb, better known as Youssef Wehbe (July 17, 1898 - October 17, 1982), is an Egyptian actor, author, producer, and theater and film director, considered one of the first pioneers in the fields of cinema and theater in Egypt and the Arab world.
He was born in the city of Fayoum on the shore of Bahr Youssef and was named after him. His father (Abdullah Pasha Wehbe) worked as an irrigation inspector in Fayoum, and he lived in a house located on the shore of Bahr Youssef (next to Bahr Tersa Street now).
He began his education in Kuttab Al-Osaily in Fayoum, and it was at the top of Al-Osaily Mosque before its renovation on Al-Hurriya Street in front of the “Sheikh Salem Bridge” in Fayoum City. (Abdullah Wahbi Canal) in Fayoum, which transformed thousands of acres of desert lands into agricultural lands. He also established the mosque known as (Abdullah Bey Mosque) overlooking the Marziban Bridge in Fayoum city, which was considered the largest mosque in Fayoum until recently. Youssef worked as a wrestler in (Hajj Suleiman's Circus), where he was trained by the eastern champion in wrestling at the time, the wrestler Abdel Halim Al-Masry.
its beginning
Youssef Wehbe's passion for acting was for the first time in his life when he saw the band of the Lebanese artist Salim Al-Qardahi in Sohag, and he began his hobby by reciting monologues and performing skits at Al-Ahly Club and the school.
He traveled to Italy after the First World War, tempted by his old friend Muhammad Karim, and was apprenticed by the Italian actor Chiantoni, and returned to Egypt in 1921 after the death of his father, where he obtained his inheritance ten thousand golden pounds equally with his four brothers, then joined to work in the Hassan Fayek bands And Aziz Eid as the beginning of his artistic life as a hobby and not as a profession, but these theater groups faced many financial problems, so Aziz Eid went with Mokhtar Othman to Youssef Wehbe in Italy in an attempt to persuade him to return to Egypt and follow the artistic project for which they seek, and Youssef Wehbe was the first funder of this project With the money he inherited, Wehbe aimed at what he believed to rid the theater of the abyss that he saw had resulted from the dance poetry of Najib al-Rihani and Ali al-Kassar, so he established a theater company called the Ramses Troupe at the end of the twenties of the last century.
Founding and success of the Ramses band
Youssef Wahbi founded the Ramses Theatrical Troupe with a number of great actors such as Aziz Eid, Mukhtar Othman, Hussein Riad, Ahmed Allam, Fattouh Nashati, Zainab Sedky, Amina Rizk, Fatima Rushdi, and Alawia Jamil. The Ramses Theater opened on March 10, 1923.
The band started with the play Al-Majnun as the first of its theatrical works, as it was shown on Radio Theater in 1923. Most of its early plays were translated from international works by Shakespeare, Molière and Ibsen. After that, the troupe presented a large number of more than 300 plays written and adapted in Arabic or in other languages, including French, and transferred many of the troupe’s plays to the cinema, such as: Confession Chair, Rasputin, The Green Table, Girls of the Streets, Boys of the Poor, and Bayoumi Effendi. Most of the band's plays were characterized by melodrama, which made them different from the plays at that time presented by artists such as Naguib Al-Rihani, Ali Al-Kassar and others, which had a comedic, satiric, or lyrical character. Thus, what he used to present from plays, including: Khalifa al-Sayyad, Harun al-Rashid, Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, The Truth of Brotherhood, and Bad Friends.
Youssef Wehbe was interested in educating the theater audience, and changed the interest in the humorous theater to the interest in art and serious theatre. He prohibited smoking in the exhibition halls, worked to respect the dates for raising the curtain, and set an etiquette for the actor, represented in keeping appointments, adhering to the text, and implementing the director’s instructions, which is what The government prompted him to assign him in 1933 AD to form its theater group, which was the nucleus of the National Theater later. Besides playing the main roles in his plays, Youssef Wehbe deliberately composed and directed. In total, Youssef Wehbe represented 302 international plays, directed 185 of them, and authored 60 plays. He aimed from his works to spread social awareness and criticize the flaws of society, as he presented problems such as: marriage to foreign women, street children, children of sin, and the conflict between conscience and passion, as well as fighting colonialism and corruption.
The Prophet Muhammad movie crisis 1928 AD
At the height of his brilliance, he was exposed to a crisis that almost ravaged his artistic success, as an Iranian magazine published in 1928 that the French Cinematograph Company came to Egypt, and agreed with the Dean of Arab Theater to represent the Prophet Muhammad movie, and stipulated that he move with some members of his band to Paris, and that the film A Turkish production, and the producer came to Cairo, accompanied by director Togo Mizrahi, and after the interview, Wehbe was preparing to perform his role and made photographs of the form that would appear in the film, a picture not different from Rasputin's, to open the gates of hell from all sides, and a campaign was launched. fierce against him, and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar sent a letter to the Ministry of the Interior the next day, demanding that it investigate the matter and prevent this person from playing the role, even if it was necessary to prevent him from traveling by force and imprison him. He also demanded that the Paris government address the Egyptian embassy there to confiscate this story The Ministry of Interior summoned Youssef Wehbe, interrogated him, and sent a response to Al-Azhar saying that Youssef Wehbe will apologize in the newspapers for accepting this role under popular pressure and under the threat of King Fouad to withdraw his Egyptian citizenship. Because of this crisis, Youssef Wehbe was delayed in entering the world of the Cinema.
The beginning of his entry into the world of cinema (1930-1939)
In 1930, in cooperation with Muhammad Karim, Wehbe established a film company called Ramses Film, which began its work with the movie Zainab in 1930, which was produced and directed by Muhammad Karim. Where he wrote the script and starred in the film, and Mohamed Karim also directed it, then wrote his film The Defense in 1935, to direct it this time himself, in cooperation with director Niazi Mustafa, until the artistic integration reached him in composing the songs of this film. Then in 1937 he presented his third film, The Immortal Glory, and this time he was the writer, hero, and director. Then he presented the movie The Hour of Execution 1938, starring, writing and directing. Thus, Youssef Wahbi presented a group of the first Egyptian cinema films. The number of film actors was few, and the films were often starring Youssef. Wehbe or Najib al-Rihani or Ali al-Kassar in the thirties.
After that, Youssef Wehbe began presenting a successful duet with the young singer and actress at the time, Laila Murad, where he participated with her in three successive films: A Rainy Night 1939, Leila the Country Girl 1941, and Leila the School Girl 1941. These films were directed by Togo Mizrahi.
Youssef Wehbe also did not prevent his entry into the world of cinema from completing his theatrical career, as he presented in 1939 AD six plays, namely: Naker and Nakir, The Shabeh, The Beloved Enemy, Ibn al-Falah, The Hand of God, A Thousand Laughter and a Laughter.
The stage of cinematic brightness (1943-1947)
The stage of cinematic brilliance for Youssef Wehbe was when he began to pay attention to cinema and continue his purposeful mission of discussing social issues, criticizing the flaws of society and seeking to solve them. During this period, Wehbe presented some of his most important and immortal films.
The stage of artistic maturity and the combination of cinema and theater (1948-1953)
At this stage, Youssef Wehbe moved to another level, embodying older, more mature and wise characters in most cases, embodying the personality of a father or a mature person in his forties or fifties. During this period, he presented a group of distinctive works aimed at raising the cultural and social level. He also returned at this stage to interest in theater And the combination of films and plays under the melodramatic framework.
The stage of inclusion, diversity, and the participation of new stars in the tournament (1954-1969)
At this stage, Youssef Wehbe had begun to grow relatively old. By July 1953, he had reached the age of 55 years. Of course, the quality of the roles and works that he presented varied. Romance, suspense and thriller films, as well as his main field of melodrama, and at this stage, the number of films written or directed by Youssef Wehbe decreased by a large percentage, and his absolute heroism for works was rare, but he was participating in an important role “such as the role of a father or an elderly person” in the business championship in front of an actor or actress Among the stars of the first row of his generation or the new generation, such as Imad Hamdi, Yahya Shaheen, Shukri Sarhan, Rushdi Abaza, Farid Shawqi, Omar Sharif, Salah Zulfikar, Ahmed Ramzy, Kamal Al-Shennawi, singer Farid Al-Atrash, comedy star Fouad Al-Mohandes, and among the actresses Faten Hamama, Souad Hosni, Madiha Yousry, Zubaida Tharwat, Shwikar, Shadia, and Nelly.
Youssef Wehbe began in 1954 with one of his most famous roles, which is the role of (Hakamdar Al-Asima) in the movie Life or Death, one of the most famous Egyptian films, directed by Kamal Al-Sheikh and starring Imad Hamdi, Madiha Yousry, Youssef Wehbe, Hussein Riad, Rushdi Abaza, and the girl Duha Amir,
The disappearance of stardom (1969-1975) and secondary roles (1976-1982)
At this stage, Youssef Wehbe had advanced in age and exceeded his seventy years, so the lights began to move away from him and the starring roles moved away from him, but he continued to participate in artistic works with stars he participated with before, such as Hind Rostom, Souad Hosni, Shukri Sarhan and Farid Shawqi, or a group of stars of the generation The most recent ones that appeared in the late sixties and early seventies, such as Najla Fathi, Mervat Amin, Ezzat Al-Alayli, Adel Imam and others.
his personal life
Youssef Wahbi married three times in his life and did not have any son or daughter.
his death
He died on October 17, 1982, after entering the Arab Contractors Hospital, after suffering a fracture of the pelvic bones as a result of falling in the bathroom. In his hometown of Fayoum, an association bearing his name was formed, the "Youssef Wahbi Friends Association". A statue of him was erected in front of the headquarters of this association in the university district of Fayoum at the head of the street bearing his name.
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