Zia Mohyeddin Age, Death, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Profession(s)	• Actor • Producer • Director • Television Broadcaster
Famous for	Zia Mohyeddin Show (1969–1973) (Pakistani television talk show)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 175 cm in meters- 1.75 m in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Eye Colour	Black
Hair Colour	Salt & Pepper
Career
Debut	Film (actor): Lawrence of Arabia (1962) (English) as Tafas Rahguzar (1960)(Urdu) TV: The Adventures of Sir Francis Drake (1962) as King Philip of Spain
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) Award given by the Government of Pakistan in 2003 • Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) Award presented by the President of Pakistan in 2012 • Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Pakistani community living in Dubai and given by the Pakistan Ambassador in United Arab Emirates (UAE) on 29 November 2017
Personal Life
Date of Birth	20 June 1931 (Saturday)
Birthplace	Lyallpur, British India (now Faisalabad in Pakistan)
Date of Death	13 February 2023
Place of Death	Karachi, Pakistan
Age (at the time of death)	91 Years
Death Cause	Chronic illness
Zodiac sign	Gemini
Nationality	He had duel citizenship, British and Pakistani.
College/Institution	• Central Training College Dramatic Club, Lahore • Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London
Educational Qualification	Graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (1953-1956)
Relationships & More
Marital Status (at the time of death)	Married
Marriage Date	Year 1994 (third marriage)
Family
Wife/Spouse	Sarwar Zemani (first wife) Nahid Siddiqui (Kathak dancer; second wife) Azra Mohyeddin (Pakistani actress; third wife)
Children	Son- 3 • Minos Ameer and Risha Ameen (from his first wife Sarwar Zemani) • Hassan "Moyo" Mohyeddin (percussionist and music producer; from his second wife Nahid Siddiqui) Daughter- Aaliya Mohyeddin (born in 2002; from his third wife Azra Mohyeddin)
Parents	Father- Khadim Mohyeddin (mathematician, musicologist, playwright, and lyricist)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Zia Mohyeddin

• Zia Mohyeddin was a British-Pakistani actor, producer, orator, and television broadcaster. He was the first actor from Pakistan to work in British cinema. On 13 February 2023, the actor died in Karachi, Pakistan.

• After spending his early life in Kasur and Lahore, he moved to London to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Later, he started working in stage plays there.

• Before entering the film industry, he used to perform in stage plays. He made his West End debut with the play “A Passage to India” at the Comedy Theatre from 20 April 1960-3 December 1960, after performing in the play “Long Day’s Journey into Night” and “Julius Caesar.” The play ran for 302 performances.
  

  Zia Mohyeddin (left) in the play ‘A Passage to India’

• After returning to Pakistan in the late 1960s, the actor hosted the celebrity talk show “The Zia Mohyeddin Show,” between 1969-1973. The show is best known for Mohyeddin’s rap-style song segment, which he begins with his trademark phrase “zara theka lagaiye.”

• After making his acting debut with the Urdu language film “Rahguzar” (1960), he appeared in the Urdu film “Mujrim Kaun” in 1971.

• He has appeared in various English language films among which some of the most notable performances include as The Syrian in ‘Sammy Going South’ (1963), as Zobeir Pasha in ‘Khartoum’ (1966), as Dr Aly Narayana in ‘Work is a Four-Letter Word’ (1968), and as Shehzada in ‘Immaculate Conception’ (1992).

• Apart from films, Mohyeddin also worked in various television shows in English as well as Urdu languages. Some of his most notable performances in English-language television series include as Prince Ali in “The Avengers” (1966), as Sheikh Abdul in “Adam Adamant Lives!” (1967), as Iqbal Khan in “Gangsters” (1978), and as Adnan Rashid in “Bergerac” (1984).

•  In 1999, he appeared in the Urdu-language television drama series “Dhun Hamari Tumharay Naam Hui.”

• In 1973, Mohyeddin was appointed as the director of the PIA Arts Academy, where he worked till 1977.

• In the late 1970s, he returned to the UK, following his dissension with the military regime of General Zia-ul-Haq. In the 1980s, he worked in Birmingham and Great Britain, where he produced the weekly magazine program “Here and Now” (1986-1989), Central Television’s flagship multicultural programme.

• In an interview, Mohyeddin was asked by a Pakistani reporter, when he was in Britain in the 1980s, whether he missed Pakistan or not, to which, he replied that he missed the people of Pakistan and his friends there.

• Mohyeddin has worked for almost 47 years in the UK.

• Mohyeddin later went on to travel the world, giving recitations of Urdu Poetry and prose, following which he was considered the foremost reader of Urdu literature. He was also known for reciting English letters and literature.
  

  Zia Mohyeddin during a recitation

• In February 2005, he was invited by Pervez Musharraf, the then-president of Pakistan, to form the National Academy of Performing Arts in Karachi. Mohyeddin was the president of the academy since its establishment.

• The actor left the world on 13 February 2023 at the age of 91 after suffering from a long-time illness.