by Thinus Ferreira
Cliff Simon, the veteran South African actor and former model, Olympic swimmer, and Mr South Africa 1992, known for his roles in M-Net's Egoli and later as Ba'al in the science fiction series Stargate SG-1 after he went to Hollywood, has died after a kiteboarding accident. He was 58.
Most recently Cliff Simon was the presenter of Into the Unknown for Travel Channel in the United States with the series distributed internationally as Unchartered Mysteries on A+E Networks's History (DStv 186) in South Africa and elsewhere.
Cliff Simon died on Tuesday, 9 March after he was involved in a kiteboarding accident in the Topanga Canyon in California.
On her husband's Facebook page, his wife Colette Simon announced his death and said "To friends, family and fans, It is with unimaginable heartbreak that I am sharing with you, that my beloved husband, Cliff Simon, passed away at 12:30pm on Tuesday March 9, 2021."
"He was at Topanga Beach, California and sadly passed away after a tragic kiteboarding accident. He was known to most of you on this page as the villain you loved to hate, Ba'al, from Stargate SG-1. But as he said, "acting is what I do, it's only a part of who I am."
"And he was SO much more - a true original, an adventurer, a sailor, swimmer, dancer, actor, author. There is a gaping hole where he once stood on this earth. He was loved by too many to mention and had a great impact on so many lives. He was an amazing and much-loved brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend."
"He was and always will be the love of my life and there is unimaginable heartbreak. A small saving grace to this tragedy is that he was doing one of the things he loved most and passed away on the beach near the water, which was his temple."
"I know this is a shock and will hit hard but we hope you can respect our need for privacy at this time."
"I will end with this verse which Cliff loved and lived his life by: I would rather be ashes than dust! I would rather that my spark should burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot. I would rather be a super meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet, The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time."
The shirt-ripping heartthrob played Gregory Mitchel in Franz Marx's Egoli between 1992 and 1997 and emigrated to the United States where multiple roles followed like his iconic Ba'al in Canada's Stargate SG-1, Hans in The Americans, Tropical Heat, Dirk in Nash Bridges and appearances on Days of Our Lives as Count Wilheim, 24, Castle, NCIS and others.
He also wrote the book Paris Nights: My Years at the Moulin Rouge about his time at the famous troupe stage production that he joined in 1989.
Born in Johannesburg as the youngest of four children, he was the only son of Emmanuelle and Phyllis Simon who were of Polish and Lithuanian descent.
Cliff Simon qualified as a swimmer for the British International Olympic Squad in 1984 after he aspired to become the first South African swimmer to win an Olympic Gold medal after his parents emigrated to the United Kingdom when he was 15.
He returned to South Africa and entered the South African Air Force where he continued his swimming and achieved the highest athletic award given in the Air Force, the Victor Ludorum.
That led him to perform in stage productions across the world and eventually Moulin Rouge in Paris in 1989.
On his return to South Africa, a modelling career in print and TV commercials followed while he was studying drama, after which he won Mr South Africa 1992 and was then snapped up by Egoli for several years after which he moved to America.
