El-Bakkar was a noted tenor and appeared in several Arabic-language films, mostly in the Egyptian cinema. He appeared in Mahmoud Zulfikar’sMy Father Deceived Me (1951). He moved to the United States in 1952 and lived in Brooklyn. He released several LPs of Arabic music in the United States. He also played a singing oriental rug salesman in the Broadway musicalFanny, in the Oriental bazaar scene; the production ran from 1954 to 1956.