Syria: On Friday, the Syrian Artists Syndicate announced the death of the great artist Bassam Lotfi at the age of 82.
The Syndicate of Artists mourned the late artist, who was one of the founders of Syrian drama. He was born in the Palestinian city of Tulkarm in 1940. He is considered one of the most prominent Arab actors and one of the pioneers of Syrian drama, and one of its founders.
Bassam Lutfi’s artistic career began in the theatres of Damascus in 1957, when he began presenting his first theatrical and artistic works and contributed to the establishment of a number of Syrian art institutions, such as the Arab Youth Club, the Syrian National Theatre, the Syrian Military Theatre, and the Palestinian National Theatre.
Bassam Lotfi presented many acting roles in theatre, radio, television and cinema in a path he started through the play “The Stranger”, which was the first dramatic work shown on television in 1960, and he also participated in many important works in the history of Syrian drama, such as A hero from this Time, Brothers of Dust, The Diary of a General Manager, and The End of a Brave Man.
Bassam Lutfi returned to the city of Tulkarm for a period of time in the year 1967, but the return lasted only several months, as he left it again to Syria after Israel occupied the West Bank.
The late artist married from outside the artistic community and had three children, including the artist Iyas Abu Ghazaleh.
