Famous Egyptian comedian Younis Shalabi was born in Mansoura, Daqahlia. He studied at the Institute for Theatrical Arts in Cairo.
Shalabi first attracted the attention of audiences with his role in madraset al-moshaghbin (School of the Naughty), in which he played Mansour alongside other big names such as Saeed Saleh, Adel Imam, and Ahmed Zaki.
In that play, as well as in other performances such as el eyal kebret (The Kids Have Grown Up), Shalabi played a stupid, immature young man.
Shalabi had minor roles in 77 other movies. He also starred in a few commercial films, criticized of having little artistic value, including askari shabrawy (Officer Shabrawy), raya w sekina( Raya and Sekina), and others. But his critics say Shalaby’s most notable roles came in movies whose success depended on other great actors, such as al-Karnak, Shafiqa w Metwally, and ehna beto’ el otobees (We are the People from the Bus).
Shalaby’s last role was in 2002 as a guest star in amir al-zalam (The Prince of Darkness), headlined by Adel Imam.
Shalabi took part in more than 20 TV series, including oyoun (Eyes) and ana elli astahel (I Deserve It).
He was famous for playing the character of Boogie in Boogie w Tamtam (Boogie and Tamtam), a popular children’s puppet show screened during the holy month of Ramadan in the 1990s.
Shalaby’s activities diminished during his illness in the final years of his life. He died on 12 November 2007 at the age of 66.
