Mehmood birth anniversary: Facts about ‘King of comedy’ that you probably didn’t know
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Mehmood Ali, popularly known as just Mehmood and ‘King of Comedy’ began working from the age of eight as a child actor in Kismet (1943), where he was cast as a young Ashok Kumar.
He essayed short roles in CID (1956) and Pyaasa (1957), and also played lead roles in a few films before he hit it off as a comedian in the Rajendra Kumar starrer, Sasural (1961).
After this film, the doors of the world of comedy opened up for him in a big way and he kept making people laugh through his innumerable films, some of which he produced and directed.
Actor, singer, director and producer, Mehmood was Bollywood’s best-known comedian. On his 88th birth anniversary, here’s looking at lesser-known facts about him.
Mehmood was popularly known as the ‘King OF Comedy’ in Indian cinema. He has acted in more than 300 films and debuted from the film ‘CID’ in Bollywood.
Before making his career in Bollywood, he was a tennis coach of Meena Kumari. He was also a driver of filmmaker PL Santoshi.
During Amitabh Bachchan’s struggling phase in Mumbai, it was Mehmood who helped him and offered him a room at his own house.
He shared a very close friendship with R D Burman and Kishore Kumar. It was Mehmood who gave the legendary music director R D Burman his first break in the movie Chhote Nawab.
This legendary comedian died in his sleep on 23rd July 2004 in Pennsylvania, U.S. He was not keeping well for a few years and was in the US for the treatment of his heart disease.