John Matshikiza dies

2008-09-16 08:30

Johannesburg - Well-known South African actor and newspaper columnist John Matshikiza has died of a heart attack at the age of 54.

The SABC reported that Matshikiza collapsed in a restaurant in Melville on Monday night and could not be revived.

He had apparently been feeling unwell and disorientated over the past week, and had been due to visit a doctor on Tuesday.

The son of late Drum Magazine writer Todd Matshikiza, he was born in Johannesburg but grew up in Lusaka and London, and lived in the USA, Netherlands and various African countries.

He returned to South Africa in 1991, and worked in the theatre, film and television industries.

His latest acting role was in the SABC3 series Hard Copy, but he appeared in numerous films, including Cry Freedom, Mandela and There's a Zulu On My Stoep. He also appeared with Kevin Bacon in The Air Up There and Angelina Jolie and Clive Owen in Beyond Borders, the Times reported.

Matshikiza was also a regular columnist for the Mail and Guardian newspaper, and at the time of his death, was writing for Business Day and The Weekender.

He was director of culture at the Goree Institute in Senegal and a Fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand.

Matshikiza is survived by two daughters, a mother and a sister.

- News24