Octogenarian playwright, actor, poet, singer, dramatist, and folklorist, Olujimi Solanke has died at 81 years.
The renowned thespian and cultural icon was said to have breathed his last on Monday, February 5 while being rushed to a hospital in Ogun State, South-West Nigeria.
“Jimi Show” as fondly called by Theater Arts industry folks, was born in Lagos State on July 4, 1942 but hailed from Ipara Remo in Ogun State.
He had been playing leading roles in theatre arts as far back as the 1960s. His roles in the plays “Death and the King’s Horseman”, “Kurunmi”, “Chattering and the Song”, “Kongi’s Harvest”, “The Divorce” and many more cannot be forgotten.
The cultural icon starred in several programmes on the network of the Nigerian Television Authority, NTA such as “The Bar Beach Show”, “For Better for Worse”, “Village Headmaster”, Children’s Half Hour and Storyland, African Stories.
The late Jimi Solanke whose storytelling career began in Los Angeles, California in the United States earned the name “Master Storyteller” by the CNN for his brilliance in the world of theatre arts.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
