- Johnny Sekka
Lamine (Johnny) Sekka (
July 21 ,1934 -September 14 ,2006 ) was an English-African film and televisionactor .Sekka was born in Dakar in
French West Africa (nowSenegal ), the youngest of five siblings. His Gambian father died shortly after his birth. When he was still young, his Senegalese mother sent him to live with an aunt in Georgetown (nowJanjanbureh ) inThe Gambia , but he ran away to live on the streets in the capital, then known as Bathurst (nowBanjul ). In theSecond World War , he worked as an interpreter at an American air base in Dakar.He then worked on the docks, and, aged 20, he stowed away on a ship to
Marseilles , and lived for three years inParis . He arrived in the UK in 1952, and served in theRAF for two years, but then West Indian actor Earl Cameron persuaded him to become an actor, and he attendedRADA . He became astagehand at theRoyal Court Theatre , and appeared on stage in various plays from 1958. He had a small part in the 1958 film version of "Look Back in Anger", directed byTony Richardson , who had seen him on stage. He took a leading role in the 1961 film "Flame in the Streets ", playing theJamaica n boyfriend of the (white) daughter (played bySylvia Syms ) of a liberal working-classtrades union ist (played byJohn Mills ). He lived for a period in Paris, where he met his wife,Cecilia Enger .He continued in British films during the 1960s, portraying stereotypical roles, such as a
butler in the film "Woman of Straw " (1964), and in other films, such as "East of Sudan " (1964), "Khartoum" (1966) and "The Last Safari " (1967). He also appeared on television, in programmes such as "Z Cars " and "Dixon of Dock Green ", and a 1968 episode of "The Avengers". In 1968, he also played the lead role in a West End production of "Night of Fame ". According to his obituary in "The Times", this was the first time that a black actor had played a role written for a white man in English theatre. He was seen as a British equivalent toSidney Poitier , and was frustrated that actors who started out at around the same time as him - such asSean Connery ,Terry Stamp ,Michael Caine ,Tom Courtenay andJohn Hurt - had become stars, and he had not.Sekka eventually moved to the
United States with the aim of getting better roles. He had a minor part in the films "A Warm December " (1972) and "Uptown Saturday Night " (1974), both directed by Poitier. The first also featured Earl Cameron and the secondBill Cosby andRichard Pryor . These roles led to a more memorable role in the sitcom "Good Times ", where he portrayed "Ibe", Thelma's (BernNadette Stanis ) African love interest. In 1976, he starred in the movie "Mohammad, Messenger of God" (also known as "The Message") about the origin ofIslam and the message of Muhammad, in which he played Muhammad'sEthiopia n disciple Bilal. He was not cast in "Roots" (1977), being considered insufficiently American, but secured a role in the sequel, ' (1979), playing an African interpreter. Sekka is widely known among science fiction fans for his role as Dr. Benjamin Kyle in the television seriesBabylon 5 's pilot movie, ' (1993).Recurring health problems forced him to decline a future role in the series and retire from acting altogether. He died of
lung cancer at his ranch inAgua Dulce, California , survived by his wife Cecilia and son Lamine.External links
*imdb name|id=0782885|name="Johnny Sekka"
* [http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=upsell_article&articleID=VR1117950308&cs=1 Obituary at Variety.com (subscription required)]
* [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article1768811.ece Obituary] , "The Independent ",29 September 2006
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1883580,00.html Obituary] , "The Guardian ",29 September 2006
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,60-2388785,00.html Obituary] , "The Times ",5 October 2006
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