by Thinus Ferreira
The actor Malcolm Terrey; the South African actor, singer, composer and writer Graham Weir; as well as the musician Jason Green (45) have died.
The iconic actor and musical theatre star Malcolm Terry who lived on his own and had diabetes, has passed away. The cause of his death is unknown.
In a message on Facebook Pieter Toerien Productions on Wednesday said "Thank you, Malcolm Terrey, for all the laughter and hard work over the eyars. So many years. You deserved all of the applause and acclaim because you always put the audience first. We will miss you, but will remember you fondly. Sail on Sir."
Born and educated in Bournemouth, England, Malcolm Terrey first moved to Lesotho and then to South Africa in 1982. Over decades Malcolm Terrey excelled as the star in cabaret, musical comedy plays, variety shows and radio plays.
TV viewers saw him as the over-the top TV game show host in Take a Break on the SABC's then TV1 channel while he showed a more serious side in the BBC TV dramas with roles in Young Leonardo and I, Claudius.
Since arriving in South Africa in 1982, Malcolm Terrey appeared in a seemingly never-ending parade of playbills from Uproar in the House to Pieter Toerien's Who Goes Bare?, Move over Mrs. Markham, Jo'burg Follies that he also wrote, Canterbury Tales and Tom Lehrer's Tom Foolery, Dear Liar.
Other stage appearances include Jeeves Takes Charges for which he was nominated for a Fleur du Cap in the best actor category in 1985, My Fat Friend, Sheer Madness, Peril at End House, Funny Peculiar, and A Handful of Keys that he created and helped to write in 1994. Until recently he was on stage as the shoe factory manager in Kinky Boots.
Malcolm Terrey directed The Unexpected Guest, Damsels in Distress, was part of the cast of 2007's operetta The Merry Widow in The State Theatre, and designed the costumes for From Door to Door, Honour, The Judas Kiss, My Fat Friend, Absurd Person Singular, The Other Side of the Swamp and We All Fall Down.
He toured South Africa and internationally in productions such as The Mousetrap, The Sound of Music, Dirty Dancing, Show Boat, We Will Rock You and The Phantom of the Opera, while other South African credits include Cinderella at the Joburg Theatre, Grin and Bare It and Ying Tong at Theatre on the Bay and Montecasino.
Bearded brilliance
The highly acclaimed actor, composer, singer and writer Graham Weir died on Tuesday morning after he had apparently suffered a stroke.
His sister Christine Weir on Facebook said that "it's with deepest sadness that I need to announce the passing our our beloved brother/partner/uncle Graham Weir, who unexpectedly passed away this moring".
"He suffered what seems to have been a stroke and was taken to Tygerberg hospital. The hospital staff reported that he passed away softly and peacefully in the early hours of this morning."
On television he appeared as Oom Dirk in kykNET's (DStv 144) Hotel, and Captain Naft in Black Sails on History (DStv 186) while his filmography also included roles in TV series and films like Spud and again in Spud 3: Learning to Fly, Crusoe, Goodbye Bafana, Bentley, Boesman & Lena, Van der Merwe P.I., Merchants of War, Pursuit and many more.
The music writer and composer was part of the a capella group Not the Midnight Mass and won a Fleur du Cap in 2009 for his role in Not the Midnight Mass as a cabaret performance, while he was also on stage in musicals like Jesus Christ Superstar, Sweeney Todd and Queen at the Opera. Over decades he also worked with prominent artists and music groups like the Cape Town Opera.
For his extraordinary performance in his one-man show Dead Yellow Sands in 2016, that he also wrote, Graham Weir bagged a double Fleur du Cap that included the prize for best performance in a one-person show.
In an interview with the People's Post published in February 2019 Graham Weir said that "I grew up in Benoni where my parents started an amateur drama club and ran a choir, which is where I started developing a love for theatre and performing." He joked that being confident in his beard is what made him stand out from his peers in the industry.
TV band virtuoso
The bass guitar and double bass player Jason Green who over many years formed part of several TV bands appearing on SABC2 and M-Net (DStv 101) died on Saturday from Covid-19. He was 45.
Jason Green was a full-time music lecturer and session bassist in South Africa for over 20 years. After graduating from the Pretoria Technikon with a National Diploma in Light Music in 1995 he pursued a dual career as a music lecturer and performer.
Jason Green was part of the house band for SABC2's Noot vir Noot from 2003 until 2009, The Voice South Africa on M-Net for the 2016 and 2017 seasons, as well as M-Net's Dancing with the Stars South Africa in 2018.
He taught at The National School of the Arts in Johannesburg from 1997 till 2003 and then helped launch the Campus of the Performing Arts in Kensington, Johannesburg in 2004 and was a lecturer as well as head of campus till 2011. He also lectured at the Academy of Sound Engineering from 2012 till 2016.
On stage Jason Green performed in productions ranging from Joseph's Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Cabaret, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sister Act, Saturday Night Fever and Evita and he has been an international examiner for Rockschool UK and South Africa since September 2015.
Jason Green's wife Bronwen in a Facebook posting said "Jason and I loved the movie Lala Land and called our relationship after the opening number ... Another Day of Sun". She said that Jason "passed at a hospital in Modderfontein overlooking our most favourite reserve to visit and where he proposed to me."
