Amidou

From Wikipedia Hamidou Benmessaoud Arabic حميدو بنمسعود 2 August 1935 19 September 2013 best known as Amidou was a MoroccanFrench film television and stage actor Born in Rabat at 17 Amidou moved to Paris to attend the CNSAD In 1968 he made his debut on stage in Jean Genets Les paravents Amidou is probably best known for his association with director Claude Lelouch with whom he has shot eleven films including the Lelouchs film debut Le propre de lhomme 1960 He made his debut in a Maroccan film in 1969 starring in Soleil de printemps directed by Latif Lahlou His career includes roles in Spaghetti Westerns like Buddy Goes West and several American productions including William Friedkins Sorcerer John Frankenheimers Ronin and John Hustons Escape to Victory In 1969 Amidou was awarded best actor at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival for his role in Life Love Death by Claude Lelouch later he won best actor awards at the Cairo Film Festival for Pursuit by Leila Triquie and at the Tangier Film Festival for Rachid Boutounes Here and There In 2005 he received at the hands of Martin Scorsese a Lifetime Career Award at the International Film Festival of Marrakech He was also the first Moroccan actor to have won an acting award at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Art Amidou died on 19 September 2013 in Paris France He was 78