Ken Gampu (

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a small city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as ...

, August 28, 1929 –

Vosloorus Vosloorus is a large township situated south of Boksburg and just east of Katlehong in Ekurhuleni, just 30 kilometres south-east of Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. It was established in 1963 when Black Africans were removed from Stirtonville ...

, November 4, 2003) was a South African actor. Before he began his career, Gampu was a physical training instructor, salesman, interpreter and police officer. His first acting job was in

Athol Fugard Athol Fugard, Hon. , (born 11 June 1932), is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apart ...

's play, ''No Good Friday'' (1958). His big break came in the 1965 film ''

Dingaka ''Dingaka'' is a 1965 film by South African director Jamie Uys with the soundtrack by Bertha Egnos, Eddie Domingo and Basil Gray. Synopsis ''Dingaka'' tells the story of a tribesman, Ntuku Makwena, who avenges the murder of his daughter accordi ...

'' by

Jamie Uys Jacobus Johannes Uys (; 30 May 1921 – 29 January 1996), better known as Jamie Uys, was a South African film director, best known for directing the 1980 comedy film ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'' and its 1989 sequel ''The Gods Must Be Crazy II''. ...

. The same year, he had a significant role in

Cornel Wilde Cornel Wilde (born Kornél Lajos Weisz; October 13, 1912 – October 16, 1989) was a Hungarian-American actor and filmmaker. Wilde's acting career began in 1935, when he made his debut on Broadway. In 1936 he began making small, uncredited app ...

's African adventure film, ''

The Naked Prey ''The Naked Prey'' is a 1965 American adventure film produced and directed by Cornel Wilde, who also stars in the lead role. Set in the South African veldt, the film's plot centers around a safari guide trying to survive in the veldt's harsh envi ...

''.

Background

Gampu was the son of Morrison Gampu, a former Bantu government interpreter who later became an actor himself.

Career

1950s to 1970s

In the 1973 action film, '' Joe Bullet'', Gampu was featured in the lead role playing the part of a strong action man, Joe Bullet. The character was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as being modelled on something between Shaft and James Bond. Bullet drank alcohol, drove sports cars, did karate, threw knives and climbed up mineshafts. It was independently released in 1973, and it played at the Eyethu cinema in Soweto. It was screened twice then the film was banned. This was done because the South African government at the time were concerned how it might influence the aspirations of black South Africans. For about 40 years the original film reels were stored in a box in the back of producer Tonie van der Merwe's garage gathering dust. He hung on to the reels during the course of 40 years. ''Channel24.co.za'' announced on January 24, 2017, that after 44 years of absence, the film was to be screened at the Bioscope Independent Cinema in Johannesburg on January 24 and at The Company Gardens in Cape Town on January 25. In ''

Death of a Snowman Death is the Irreversible process, irreversible cessation of all biological process, biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whol ...

'', Gampu played a no-nonsense beat reporter trying to get the scoop on mysterious Mr. X. He is aided by a detective friend he has on the police force (played by

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

1980s - 2000s

Playing the part of Khumalo, Gampu co-starred with Ian Yule and

Tamara Franke White Zimbabweans are people in Zimbabwe who are of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, these Zimbabweans of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers and a small minority ...

in the 1982 film ''

Shamwari Shamwari Game Reserve is located 75 km outside Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha), Eastern Cape, South Africa. It has been voted the World's Leading Safari and Game Reserve and Conservation Company for several consecutive years. An essential f ...

''.

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Shamwari (1980)
/ref>

Filmography

References

External links

Obituary
in

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

Obituary
in

*
Filmography
in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Rotten Tomatoes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gampu, Ken 1929 births 2003 deaths South African male stage actors South African male film actors