CCRP honours Oliver Samuels on his 50th anniversary in theatre
JAMAICAN ICON of comedy, Oliver Samuels, CD, was honoured for his 50 years of excellence in theatre with the Living Legacy Award of the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons (CCRP) on Wednesday, November 11.
Celebrated both locally and internationally as the King of Comedy, Oliver Samuels’ interest in theatre started at the tender age of seven and he believes that he did not choose comedy, rather “it chose me”.
The event was emceed by Joan McDonald, who had a lively conversation with Oliver about his early years growing up on a banana plantation in St Mary and what inspires his altruistic spirit: “I am very familiar with sufferation,” he says, “I cannot know a child is hungry and not help them.”
After attending St Mary High School and Dinthill Technical High School, he worked in several clerical jobs at the Orange River Agricultural Station before venturing to Kingston.
Samuels then decided to pursue his ambition, studying at the Jamaica School of Drama from 1971 to 1973, and doing odd jobs to earn his keep.
While studying drama, a nervous young Oliver Samuels attended an audition at the Little Theatre; this is where his theatre career began. Oliver’s highly successful 1971-72 National Pantomime debut put him on the map, when he played Moondrop in Music Boy, headlined by Louise Bennett and Ranny Williams. He went on to perform in 13 national pantomimes.
The medium of television was enormously successful for Oliver Samuels. In Jamaica, his comedy series on JBC during the 1980s and 1990s – Oliver, Oliver at Large, and Large and In Charge – brought him thousands of new fans at home and overseas. They laughed uproariously at his alter ego Olivius Adams’ antics, basically playing himself. He has also appeared in more than 20 other overseas productions, including several with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).
UNIQUE POSITION
Samuels occupies a unique position as a household name representing Jamaican theatre – and specifically, Jamaican humour – overseas. He quickly established a warm rapport with audiences across the Caribbean, and was adopted by the Jamaican diaspora in the United States and the UK, where he has toured regularly to highly receptive audiences. He has acted in a number of films, including the 1976 adaptation of Trevor Rhone’s Smile Orange, and the cult classic Countryman in 1982. He has also appeared in Canadian, Italian and German films.
Jamaican Patois is a critical part of Oliver’s persona and performance. He describes cultural icon, Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou), as his mentor. After a pantomime performance early in his career, he recalls Miss Lou asking him, “Likkle boy, where yuh come from?” He was thrilled when his idol told him that his recital of her poem Love Letta was the best interpretation she had ever heard.
Among his many awards, Oliver Samuels was conferred with the with the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer (OD) in 1978, and earlier this year, he was upgraded to the rank of Commander Class (CD). Oliver Samuels’ innate generosity and empathy with “ordinary Jamaicans” is a quality that has remained with him throughout his career. He has donated proceeds of his productions to several good causes. He has been a mentor for many young people – his own children, as well as many others he has “taken under his wing”. He regards his children as his greatest blessing in life.
CCRP board chair Jean LowrieChin and directors Michael Fraser, Sethuraman Kumaraswamy and Patricia Reid-Waugh presented Oliver with his Living Legacy Award. Sponsors of the CCRP Living Legacy event, Gallagher Insurance Brokers, represented by Mrs Saundra Bailey, and Jamaica National General Insurance, represented by Chris Hind, presented special gifts to Oliver. COKSodality Credit Union, represented by Ambassador Aloun Assamba, also presented tablets to Oliver to donate to a charity of his choice. Lowrie-Chin, CCRP’s founder and executive chair, in her welcome speech, urged everyone to “Be an ‘Oliver’ in the lives of your elders. Share those light-hearted moments and grace them with positive conversations – so that even if you have to be physically distant, you are close in spirit.” Christine McDonaldNevers of the Jamaican Folk Singers, backed by Stephen Shaw Naar, gave a rendition of Jamaican folk songs at the event which was streamed live f rom the PBCJ studio.