The son of renowned musician Ahmed Shafik Abou Ouf, Ezzat Abou Ouf, who was born on 21 August 1948, showed his passion for music and arts at an early age, and despite graduating from the Faculty of Medicine he went on to establish several independent music bands as a keyboardist, composer, arranger and vocalist.

He quickly showed signs of success, collaborating with now-legendary musicians, including pianist Omar Khairat who played the drums for Les Petits Chats.

Then Abou Ouf formed his smash-hit band The 4M in the late 70s.  

Together with the 4M, named after the initial letter of his four sisters, Ezzat gained fame locally and across the Arab region after releasing a few albums covering traditional songs as well as creating unforgettable originals like El-Wala Dah and La Agbak Keda Wala Keda in addition to their record-breaking album for children Dabdouba El-Tekhienah.

Being one of the first to use a synthesizer in Egypt, Abou Ouf became highly requested for TV scoring; his unforgettable soundtrack for the 1977 TV series, 'Hekayet Mizo', starring Samir Ghanem and Esa'ad Yunis, gained him much fame. 

He also produced music for the theatre, such as the music he wrote for the 1979 play 'El-Dokhould Bel-Malabes El-Rasmeya'. 

He also wrote music scores for films including  'El-Qefl' (1981) and 'El-Magnouna' (1985). 

It didn't take him long before he decided to turn towards acting, starring in several films, TV series, and theatre plays alongside A-lister stars and directors. 

Abou Ouf appeared alongside the film stars of the 70s and 80s, including  Adel Emam, Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, Ahmed Zaki, Nour El-Sherif and Yehia El-Fakharany, and with younger stars such as Mohamed Henedy, Ahmed El-Sakka, Aser Yasin, Ahmed Helmy, Ahmed Mekky and Amir Kararah. He also collaborated with singers  Amr Diab, Mohamed Fouad, and Tamer Hosni.

Ezzat Abou Ouf masterfully played any role, whether in comedies or drama. He could portray any character, whether a protagonist or antagonist, aristocratic or wretch, funny or silly. He even played himself in a few films and served as the president of the Cairo International Film Festival for six years (2006-2012).

Some of his remarkable films include Ice Cream in Gleam (1992), Bakhit wa Adeela 1 and 2 (1994 and 1997), Ismailia Rayeh Gai (1997), Edhak El-Sora Tetla Helwa (1998), Ard El-Khouf (2000), Asrar El-Banat (2001), Matab Sena'y (2006), Hassan W-Morqos trilogy (2008, 2009 and 2012), La Tarago' Wala Esteslam (2010), Les Petits Chats (2016), and Horob Edterary (2017).

Moreover, he presented several successful TV shows, including one of the oldest talk shows in the region: Al-Qahera Al Youm.  

He appeared for the last time four years ago in a Ramadan TV commercial alongside pop icon Amr Diab. On 1 July 2019,  Abou Ouf, who was working on Tamer Hosni's film Kol Sana Wenta Tayeb, died of heart and liver diseases. His demise came as a shock to his fans. 

"The chain of Egyptian creative artists lost one of its beads," stated former Culture Minister Inas Abdel-Dayem after his death, adding that "his creation in music and drama has expressed the ambitions and dreams of a whole generation."

Still, his legacy is powerfully present today, and his fans and friends still express how they miss the joy he spread through his art and his personality.

Parts of this article were originally published in 2019