Ken Gampu

Ken Gampu (Germiston, August 28, 1929 – Vosloorus, November 4, 2003) was a South African actor.

Ken Gampu
Born	(1929-08-28)28 August 1929 Germiston, South Africa
Died	4 November 2003(2003-11-04) (aged 74) Vosloorus, South Africa
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1958 - 2001
Spouse	Violet

Before he began his career, Gampu was a physical training instructor, salesman, interpreter and police officer. His first acting job was in Athol Fugard's play, No Good Friday (1958). His big break came in the 1965 film Dingaka by Jamie Uys. The same year, he had a significant role in Cornel Wilde's African adventure film, The Naked Prey.

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 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, 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.

1980s - 2000s

Playing the part of Khumalo, Gampu co-starred with Ian Yule and Tamara Franke in the 1982 film Shamwari.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1961	Tremor
1961	The Hellions	Kanna	Uncredited
1964	Dingaka	Ntuku Makwena
1965	The Naked Prey	Leader of the Warriors
1966	All the Way to Paris	Sudanese Delegate at Conference	Uncredited
1972	Rogue Lion	Mashoda
1973	Joe Bullet	Joe Bullet
1974	Pens en Pootjies	Diamond seller
1974	La diosa virgen	Gampu
1975	Forever Young, Forever Free	Thomas Luke
1976	Death of a Snowman	Chaka
1977	Target of an Assassin	Minister Manga
1977	Mister Deathman	Sue
1978	Slavers	Musulma
1978	The Wild Geese	Alexander
1979	Zulu Dawn	Mantshonga
1979	King Solomon's Treasure	Umpslopogas
1979	Game for Vultures	Sixpence
1980	The Gods Must Be Crazy	President
1980	Flashpoint Africa	Matari (Eddie Nkoya)
1981	Kill and Kill Again	Gorilla
1982	Shamwari	Khumalo
1982	Bullet on the Run	Joe Bullet
1982	Tuxedo Warrior	Inspector Nderi
1985	Morenga	Morenga
1985	Van der Merwe P.I.	Wiley
1985	King Solomon's Mines	Umbopo
1986	Jake Speed	Joe Smith
1987	Scavengers	Dr. Nduma
1987	Operation Hit Squad	Ken
1987	City of Blood	Black Leader
1988	The Emissary	Beamish
1988	Diamonds High	Zwide
1988	Bush Shrink	Gapu
1988	Act of Piracy	Herb Bunting
1988	The Rutanga Tapes	President Mbule
1989	Enemy Unseen	Malanga
1989	Laser Mission	Hotel Clerk	Uncredited
1990	American Ninja 4: The Annihilation	Dr. Tamba
1990	Voice in the Dark	Caxton
1990	Fatal Mission	President Tembu
1990	Kwagga Strikes Back	Tjicombo
1992	Lethal Ninja	Ndumo
1994	The Air Up There	Itumbo
1994	Cyborg Cop II	Police Chief
1995	Hearts & Minds	Chopper-Xuza
1996	Le complot d'Aristote	Policeman
1997	Fools	Elder 1
1999	A Reasonable Man	Headman
2001	Malunde	Baba Gusha
2001	Askari	Ndhlovu	(final film role)

External links

• Obituary in The Times
• Obituary in The Guardian
• Ken Gampu at IMDb
• Filmography in the New York Times
• Rotten Tomatoes