|
Mynhardt 'one of the best'
25/10/2007 19:02 - (SA)
|
|
|
 |
|
| Well-known actor Patrick Mynhardt poses for a photo during a 2002 interview. (TV Plus/John Liebenberg, Images24.co.za) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Johannesburg - Legendary actor Patrick Mynhardt, who died on Thursday, was "one of the best in the entertainment world", the National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) said.
Mynhardt died in London in the morning, at the age of 75, during a two-week season of his one-man autobiographical show Boy from Bethulie at the Jermyn Street Theatre.
"He has only brought joy and laughter to many South African homes," Nadeco spokesperson Margaret Arnolds said in a message to Mynhardt's family.
"Some of us will remember him back to when there was still Springbok Radio," she said, adding that the country had lost a "dynamic person".
"Rest in peace. We have only good memories of you which will live on," said Arnolds. 'Natural causes'
Mynhardt was found dead by an old friend he was staying with during his London run. His publicist, Bridget van Oerle said he died of "natural causes".
"This is a very sad end to a 30-year working relationship, it was a great privilege to work with Patrick, he died doing what he loved most - performing," said Colin Law, the producer of Boy from Bethulie.
The Free State town was the birthplace of Mynhardt, the son of an Afrikaans father and an Irish mother, according to his website.
South Africans might remember him chiefly for his television performances as "Pappa" in the prison series Vyfster and as "Hempies" in Suburban Bliss.
However, he was also known far and wide for his one-man shows, including A Sip of Jerepigo, More Jerepigo, Just Jerepigo, Another Sip of Jerepigo, The Boy From Bethulie and The Best of Bosman and Bethulie. Worked with Michael Caine, Judy Dench, Peter Sellers
Mynhardt spent the early years of his long career on stage abroad, where he not only met, but worked with acting luminaries such as Tyrone Power, Sir Donald Wolfitt, Peter Sellers, Terry Thomas, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, Sir Michael Caine and Dame Judy Dench.
He settled in South Africa in 1960.
"We are completely and utterly gutted," said Jermyn Street Theatre general manager and trustee Penny Horner.
"There was certainly nothing to indicate he was ill," she said.
Horner said Mynhardt had performed three of his one-man shows of two hours each since the first week of his run opened on October 22. 'Chatting and laughing'
After his final performance on Wednesday night, he had spent time on stage having photographs taken with young people and signing autographs, she said. "...They were chatting and laughing on stage."
"As we all went up the stairs together, he was bouncing off..." she said, adding that he had a lunch date with a friend on Friday.
"It was tour de force for him... he was delighted to return to the United Kingdom to perform on stage in the West End," said Horner.
"We are deeply, deeply upset," she said, describing Mynhardt as a "lovely, lovely man who was always telling jokes and stories".
Mynhardt is survived by his son, Johann, grandchildren Liam Patrick and Euan Frederick and a brother and sister, said Van Oerle.
Boy from Bethulie: An autobiography
Celebrating Bosman: A Centenary Selection of Herman Charles Bosman's Stories
- SAPA
|
