CAIRO, Egypt Farid Shawqi, the Egyptian actor known as the ``King of the Screen'' died Monday night. He was 76. Shawqi died in a Cairo hospital where he had been connected to a pacemaker for several days, the Egypt's official Middle East News Agency said. His funeral was held at noon Tuesday, Egyptian television said. Shawqi had been sick for a number of years and underwent several heart operations abroad.

Egyptian state-run television mistakenly announced his death, interrupting its programs, on June 17. Shawqi's family protested, and the Information Minister sacked the head of the channel. Shawqi was well known in the Arab world for playing the tough guy. He began his career in 1949 and got his first break as the second male lead in ``The Angel of Mercy.'' In 1951 he starred in the film Ista Hassan, or Foreman Hassan, by director Salah Abu Seif. He went on to act in more than 400 films during the golden days of Egyptian movie-making.

He also acted in a large number of television series, stage plays and radio soap operas. A heavy-set actor, Shawqi was the favorite star of low-income earners, which earned him the title of ``King of the Front Rows'' - where the cheapest tickets are. Among his best known films are ``They Made Me a Criminal,'' directed by Atef Salem, and ``The Bully,'' by Salah Abu Seif, which took a prize at the Berlin Cinema Festival in 1956.

Together with a group of Egyptian actors, Shawki set up a private film company that produced movies and owned cinemas. He was married to Huda Sultan, an Egyptian actress and singer, but he divorced her to marry Soheir el-Turk. He is survived by four daughters, two from each wife. (AP)