Yehia Chahine was born in Imbaba Giza His fathers name was Yehia Chahine too He received a diploma in performing arts and started acting in theatre His first performance was in the play Murtafat w Darag Heights and Stairs In 1935 he acted in his first film He acted in numerous films but his most notable role is that of AlSayyid Ahmad Abd alJawad a Cairene patriarch in the Cairo Trilogy films The three films Bayn alQasrayn Palace Walk which is based on the Palace Walk novel in 1964 Qasr alShawq Palace of Desire in 1967 and AlSukkariya Sugar Street in 1973 were set in Cairo and followed the family of Abd alJawwad across three generations from World War I to the overthrow of King Farouk in 1952 They were well received and successful in Egypt and the Arab world Additionally he has acted in many other successful films He starred in film director Youssef Chahines Ibn alNile Son of the Nile along with Faten Hamama in 1951 He played a leading role in the 1954 film Gaalouni Mujriman I Have Been Made a Murderer which was based on a novel by Naguib Mahfouz In 1957 he starred in La Anam Sleepless a film that was chosen as one of the best 150 Egyptian film productions His last film role was in 1988 in the film Kul Hatha alHub All This Love Chahine received several awards for his film roles In 1993 he received the Sciences and Arts prize He died at the age of 76 on 18 March 1994