Wale Ogunyemi
Chief Wale Ogunyemi, OFR (12 August 1939–December 2001) was a Nigerian veteran seasoned dramatist, film actor, prolific playwright and Yoruba language scholar[2]
Wale Ogunyemi | |
---|---|
Born | 12 August 1939 Osun State, Nigeria. |
Died | December 2001 |
Nationality | Nigerian |
Citizenship | Nigerian |
Occupation | playwright |
Years active | 1963–present |
Known for | The Lion and the Jewel Kongi's Harvest Sango Langbodo[1] |
Early life
He was born in August 12 1939 at Igbajo, a city in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria to Samuel Adeosun and Mary Ogunyemi .[3] He attended the University of Ibadan in 1967 for a year course in drama, the same year he was appointed as a research assistant at Ibadan Institute of African Studies where he later retired.[4][5][6]
Career
He began his acting career as a seasonal actor with the new western Nigerian television service in the early 1960s.[7] He later worked with professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate and became a foundation member of Soyinka Orisun Theatre.[8] His credible performance made him a choice for the role he played as "The bale" in The Lion and the Jewel[9] and Dende in Kongi's Harvest by professor Wole Soyinka.[10] He also featured in The Beatification Of Area Boy, a play by Wole Soyinka premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 1995.[11] He had written and co-scripted several drama before his death in December 2001.[12][13]
Filmography
- The Lion and the Jewel
- Kongi's Harvest
- Sango (1997)
- The Beatification Of Area Boy[14][15]
- The Ijaye War (1970)[16]
- Kiriji (1976)[17]
- The Divorce (1975)[18]
- Aare Akogun (1968) and Everyman *Eniyan, published in 1987)
- Langbodo (1979)[19]
Awards
- Member of the Order of the Niger awarded in 1982 by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
- Majeobaje of Okuku, a chieftaincy title conferred on him by the Olokuku of Okukuland[20]
References
- "Set to battle demons on mount Langbodo". The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Black African Literature in English, 1997-1999. google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Ọdún. google.com.ng. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Relocating Agency. google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- The Columbia Guide to West African Literature in English Since 1945. google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "The Nostalgic Drum". google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "WHY WALE OGUNYEMI STILL LIVES ON NIGERIA'S STAGE-DIRECTOR OF LANGBODO". thenigerianvoice.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre. google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Childhood in African Literature. google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "Obituary: Wale Ogunyemi". the Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Fertile Crossings. google.com.ng. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "Student Encyclopedia of African Literature". google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "Wole Soyinka". google.com.ng. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "Menacing Shadows Greet Dawn In Nigeria". nytimes.com. 11 October 1996. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Yoruba Creativity. google.com.ng. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Kiriji. google.com.ng. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre. google.co.za. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- Pre-colonial and Post-colonial Drama and Theatre in Africa. google.nl. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- "Wale Ogunyemi, eminent playwright dies". World News. Retrieved 18 January 2015.