28 February 2007

The Ministry of Arts & Culture joins the nation in mourning the passing on of a veteran artist, Mr. Sam Williams who passed away recently after a long illness.

As a people we are very thankful for the life of an African composer, singer, playwright, director and actor whose work expressed the resilience of the human spirit under one of the most brutal systems in the world.

With very little, other than his inner strength and determination to make it against the odds, the life of Mr. Sam Williams is itself a lesson in the political history of South Africa before the advent of freedom and democracy in 1994.

Sam Williams began his career when he founded a musical group, the Boston Brothers, who gave voice to a people’s lament and offered solace to battered black souls.

Between the winter of 1948 and the summer of 1994, Sam Williams became a living repository of the aspirations, struggles and achievements of the African people. Building on the successes and the inspiration of talented Africans who preceded him, his artistry transcended the slums of Johannesburg and went on to conquer the world.

More specifically, it was during the 1960s and 1970s that Sam Williams made his mark in the theatre and music. He was among the founding playwrights and composers of that era. He helped lay a solid foundation for future international stars who have gone on to fly the flag of a liberated South Africa. Sam Williams was amongst those who survived the worst efforts of the apartheid regime to reduce African originality and creativity to a state of wreckage.

The 1980s were the high water mark of his artistry. His television work endeared him to young and old alike, who would even stop him in the streets to inquire about his role as Velaphi, the humorous character of a “messenger boy” as they were called in apartheid South Africa.

Sam Williams’ confidence in the inevitability of a non-racial society persuaded him to act in the first multi-racial TV sitcom, “Oh! George.” His life and career in the theatre, for which he won the Best Actor award for his role in the one-hander, “Report to an Academy”, stands out as a highpoint. He remained a renowned and sought-after artist who helped introduce live theatre to the African townships by taking plays such as “Cincinnati”, “Phiri”, “Madiepetsane and the Milk Bird” and “Waiting for Godot”, to African audiences. His exceptional talent caught the attention of international talent scouts who cast him alongside international stars in movies like “Game for Vultures”, “Whispering Death” and “Funeral for an Assassin”.

Through the contribution he made he opened the doors of opportunity for African talent on the global stage.

We, as a nation, were truly blessed to have had a man of his calibre among our leading artists.

Mr. Sam Williams will be buried on Saturday, 3 March 2007 in Eldorado, Kliptown.

Lala Ngoxolo Madiba,! Dlomo, Sopitsho, Myem-Yem, Ngqolomsila, Vela Bembhentsele!

Ends

For further details, call Sandile Memela, Spokesperson for the Minister of Arts & Culture at 082 800 3750 or Premi Appalraju, Media Liaison Officer at 082 375 2939

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