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THE SMART NEWS SOURCE | Mar 14 2010 09:58 | LAST UPDATED Mar 14 2010 09:58 |
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Writer and actor John Matshikiza, a long-time contributor to the Mail & Guardian, died in Johannesburg on Monday night, said his daughter, Lindiwe. He was 54 He collapsed in a restaurant in Melville at about 8.30pm. "He suffered a massive heart attack and couldn't be resuscitated," she said. Matshikiza was born in Johannesburg in 1954 and grew up in Lusaka and London. While in London, he trained in drama and also worked in theatre, television and film as an actor, director and writer. He also lived in the United States, Amsterdam and various African countries including Senegal, where he was director of the department of culture of the Gorée Institute for some time, according to an entry on the University of KwaZulu-Natal's website. He returned to South Africa in 1991 and directed plays at the Market and Windybrow theatres, wrote and directed documentaries and dramas for television and appeared in various films. Among others, he was seen in Hijack Stories, Leon Schuster's There's a Zulu on My Stoep, Cry Freedom and 1987's Mandela, in which he played the role of Walter Sisulu. One of Matshikiza's last acting roles was the villain in the third series of the television series Hard Copy. He was also a columnist and feature writer for newspapers including the M&G, where his With the Lid Off column ran from several years from the mid-Nineties. In 2002 he won the regional and national Vodacom Journalist of the Year Award in the specialist category for his column, which appeared in a collection of his and his father Todd's works titled With the Lid Off: South African Insights from Home and Abroad, published in 2000.  CONTINUES BELOW Matshikiza's published works also include South Where Her Feet Cool on Ice (1981) and Prophets in the Black Sky (1986). Matshikiza's father, Todd, was a renowned jazz pianist, composer and journalist. He was one of the first contributors to Drum magazine in the early 1950s, and shot to fame in 1958 with his musical King Kong, which had an all-black cast. Read some of Matshikiza's last columns for the M&G TOPICS IN THIS ARTICLE
Comments
That's a real shame. I loved his early columns in the M&G; they were very well written. My condolences to his family.
Carl M on September 16, 2008, 7:50 am
Hamba Kahle, Bra John.
Travis Lyle on September 16, 2008, 8:07 am
R.I.P my brother, your expertise will really be missed
Ghost Ghost on September 16, 2008, 10:00 am
The passing of John Matshikiza is lamented. He was a literary titan - his work at m&g bore testimony to this.
We shall sorely miss his wit.
malose nyatlo on September 16, 2008, 10:41 am
My deepest condolences to the Matshikiza family. The writer, the columnist; actor is no more. What a sad moment indeed. O death were is your strength, O death were is power. We will remember his for what he was passionate about and lived for. My his soul rest in peace.
peter mukheli on September 16, 2008, 10:45 am
"Death be not proud, thou some have called thee mighty and dreadful" kufa wena ulitshaba. Its really painfully to loose someone of bra John's calibre. Bra John, in many ways, have helped to intellectually shape some of us. through his thought provoking articles we were introduced to the world of critical thinking. His articles really provoked our cereberal gymnastics and challenged us to revisit the "metaphoric boxes" through which we view the world around us. His voice was always emblematic of the voice of reasoning. Bra John is one of the South Africans who really helped in shaping our public discourse. He also helped in opening up the political landscape by drawing on different critical discourses.
It is a great loss, not only to the Matshikiza family but also to the whole South Africa
Thembani Mbadlanyana on September 16, 2008, 10:46 am
So sorry to hear the news. I did not always agree with his views but he always knew what he was talking about - a real loss for us all who read the M&G. My condolences to his family.
Bovril24
Bovril 24 on September 16, 2008, 10:55 am
Fare Thee Well, Hamba Kahle, TRUE Son-of-the-soil, John MATSHIKIZA!
All the elements in the short life you lived with us in this big, buzzing, booming world, were so well mixed in you that Nature might stand up, and say to all the world, "THIS WAS A MAN!" Hamba Kahle, Go Well, TRUE Son-of-the-soil, John MATSHIKIZA!
John MKHIZE on September 16, 2008, 11:45 am
Hamba kahle John. Will miss your well written and thought provoking articles.
Seth Sibanda
on September 16, 2008, 5:30 pm
What a shock to hear of John Matshikisa's untimely death. My deepest sympathy to his family and friends. I loved his columns in the M&G; they were the one thing I always read, no matter how little time I had. He had a way of reflecting on situations which was so sensitive, deeply-felt and quirky. Go well, John. I salute you. Ingrid
on September 17, 2008, 8:25 pm
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