Cliff Simon (7 September 1962 – 9 March 2021) was a South African athlete and actor, best known for his portrayal of

Ba'al Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to ...

in ''

Stargate SG-1 ''Stargate SG-1'' (often stylized in all caps, or abbreviated ''SG-1'') is a military science fiction adventure television series within Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's ''Stargate'' franchise. The show, created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, is ...

''.

Early life

Simon was born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, the fourth child of Emmanuelle and Phylis Simon. Both of his parents are of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

ancestry from Poland and Lithuania. From a very young age, Simon dreamed of becoming the first South African swimmer to win an

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal. His training started early under the guidance of his mother, a

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

teacher. By age 6, he showed some talent as a gymnast. By age 15, Simon had reached a national level in South Africa in both swimming and

gymnastics Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, s ...

, but discontinued gymnastics to better focus on swimming. In 1975, Simon's parents decided to emigrate to the United Kingdom, due to the then-current turmoil in Africa. It was there that Simon completed his schooling and was chosen to swim on the British international squad. He competed in Olympic trials and qualified for the 1984 Summer Olympics in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. The

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

and

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , pr ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

offered him scholarships, where he trained with the United States swimming team, the Mustangs. This could have culminated in his competing in the 1984 Olympic Games. However, he never made it into the games. Back in South Africa, Simon entered the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

where he continued his swimming and achieved the highest athletic award given in the air force, the '' Victor Ludorum''.

Acting career

In 1982, after serving his two-year term in the

, he landed a job teaching

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing g ...

and

waterskiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffici ...

at a resort hotel. A stage show was in production at the resort, and Simon was informed by one of the performers that the

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

was looking for a gymnast. Taking that job, he performed worldwide in various stage productions as a dancer/acrobat, culminating as a performer at the

Moulin Rouge Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche. In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Paris Oly ...

, Paris, in 1989; he later authored ''Paris Nights: My Year at the Moulin Rouge'', a book about his time in Paris. Whilst studying drama, Simon secured himself a modelling agent and enjoyed success in ramp, print and television commercials. Simon received recognition as a model in South Africa and was asked to enter the Mr. South Africa talent and action man competition. On winning this competition in 1992, Simon was offered an audition on the television series, '' Egoli: Place of Gold''. After three months as

guest star In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or othe ...

on the show, he accepted a lead role which he continued for six years. He immigrated to the US in 2000, arriving in

. Simon secured an agent, and landed a guest star role with

Don Johnson Donnie Wayne Johnson (born December 15, 1949) is an American actor, producer and singer. He played the role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s television series '' Miami Vice'', for which he won a Golden Globe, and received a Primetime ...

on the hit TV series, ''

Nash Bridges ''Nash Bridges'' is an American police procedural television series created by Carlton Cuse. The show stars Don Johnson and Cheech Marin as two Inspectors with the San Francisco Police Department's Special Investigations Unit (SIU). The se ...

''. A short time after that, he acquired the guest star role of

on ''

''. Ba'al became a recurring character for six seasons and was featured in the 2008 Stargate movie '' Stargate: Continuum''. In 2015, Simon appeared in a video as Ba'al for the conservation group,

Sea Shepherd The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

. In July 2015, Simon was cast in a supporting role in the sci-fi/thriller film ''Project Eden''. In 2019, Simon presented the travelogue documentary '' Into the Unknown'' (''Uncharted Mysteries'' UK title) which premiered on The History Channel in the UK on 24 February 2020. The premise of that show was solo global travel, searching for hidden clues to "history's most nightmarish myths."

Personal life

In 1997, Simon and his wife Collette were married in a game lodge in South Africa. In 2005, Simon became a

United States citizen Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constitut ...

. He was killed in a

kiteboarding Kiteboarding or kitesurfing is a sport that involves using wind power with a large power kite to pull a rider across a water, land, or snow surface. It combines aspects of paragliding, surfing, windsurfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and ...

accident in

Topanga, California Topanga () ( Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is a census-designated place (CDP) in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow ...

, on 9 March 2021, at the age of 58.

Filmography

* '' Egoli: Place of Gold'' – Gregory (Mitch) Mitchel (unknown episodes, 1992–1999) * '' Operation Delta Force 5: Random Fire'' – Austin (2000) * ''

'' – Dirk van der Goes (1 episode, 2000) * ''

'' – Ba'al (15 episodes, 2001–2007) * '' Stargate: Continuum'' – Ba'al (2008) * '' 24'' – Russian Sniper (Season 8 Episode 1, 2009) * '' Undercovers'' – (season 1, episode 4: "Jailbreak", 2010) * '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' – Hans Christian Kemp (season 2, episode 13: "Archangel", 2011) * ''

The Americans ''The Americans'' is an American period spy drama television series created by Joe Weisberg that aired on the FX television network for six seasons from January 30, 2013, to May 30, 2018. Weisberg and Joel Fields also serve as showrunners a ...

'' – Yossi * '' NCIS: New Orleans'' – Dmitry Babakov (Season 1, Episode 03: "Breaking Brig", 2014) (Credit as Cliff Marc Simon) * ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

'' – Polkovnik (Season 7, Episode 04: "Child's Play", 2014) (Credit as Cliff Marc Simon) * '' Into the Unknown'' (''Uncharted Mysteries'' UK title) – Himself (2020)

Published work

References

Notes

References

External links

Official homepage
*
Who is Cliff Simon?
Video. * This is an unseen interview of Cliff Simon from the Cal Mah 2.0 Unofficial Stargate Fan Event. {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Cliff 1962 births 2021 deaths 20th-century South African male actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century South African male actors American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent American people of Polish-Jewish descent Jewish American male actors Jewish male actors Naturalized citizens of the United States People from Johannesburg South African Air Force personnel South African male television actors South African people of Polish-Jewish descent South African people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent South African emigrants to the United Kingdom South African emigrants to the United States South African Jews Sports deaths in California Swimmers from Johannesburg 21st-century American Jews