Parviz Sayyad (Persian: پرویز صیاد, romanized: Parviz Sayyād; born 22 March 1939)[1] is an Iranian-born American celebrated actor, director, translator, and screenwriter of Iranian cinema. He was one of the earliest television stars in Iran.[1]
Throughout the 1960s Sayyad starred in many plays that were adapted for television; and he was in the first Iranian television program titled Amir Arsalan alongside Mary Apick.[1]
His first film, a comedy, Hasan Kachal (1970), or "Hasan the Bald", is well remembered. He gained more fame starring in one of the oldest Iranian television series Octopus [fa] (1975; Persian: اختاپوس, romanized: Okhtapus) playing the role of a well mannered, diplomatic sneaky and soft-spoken board member.[2]
He is best known for his role as Samad on the television series Sarkar Ostvar [fa].[1] The character Samad was a naive, street smart country boy (somewhat reminiscent of the American "Ernest" series). After this, Sayyad went on to star in the famous "Samad" film and television series. His character, Samad (or Samad Agha, as he demanded others call him), was a prominent comedic icon of Iran during the 1970s. The Iranian Revolution took place shortly after his 7th feature-length "Samad" film was released. Sayyad would spend the money he made on commercially successful films (such as Samad) to fund the creation of independent and intellectual films.[3]
Sayyad migrated to the United States shortly after the Iranian Revolution, where he continued to act, write, direct and produce. He received a PhD from the City University of New York (CUNY).[1]
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