Johnny Sekka
Johnny Sekka (* July 14, 1934 in Dakar, † September 14, 2006 in Agua Dulce, California ) was a British film and television actor.
Life and career
Sekka was born Lamine Sekka in Dakar, Senegal, the youngest of five siblings. His father, a native of Gambia, died shortly after birth Sekka. Sekka grew up with an aunt in Georgetown, now Janjanbureh, Gambia, but he ran away and lived in the streets of the capital Banjul, then Bathurst. During World War II he worked as a translator at a U.S. military airfield in Dakar.
He later worked on the docks in the port of Dakar. At the age of 20 he came as a stowaway on a ship to Marseilles and lived for three years in Paris. In 1952 he came to Britain and served two years in the Royal Air Force until the actor Earl Cameron persuaded him to become an actor. Then Sekka attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he was a stage hand at the Royal Court Theatre from 1958 and entered into films. He had a small role in 1958 in the film adaptation of the play Look Back in Anger, in which Tony Richardson directed, who had already seen him on stage. 1961, Sekka represented a major role in the film Flame in the Streets, in which he Jamaican friend of the white daughter (played by Sylvia Syms ) a trade unionist (played by John Mills ). Sekka lived for some time in Paris again, where he met his future wife Cecilia Enger.
He worked during the 1960s continues in British films, where he played stereotypical roles, such as the Butler in The Straw Doll (1964) and in other films, such as East of Sudan ( 1964), Khartoum (1966 ) and The Last Safari (1967 ). Even in television roles he appeared in television series such as Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, Gideon 's Way and 1968 in an episode of The Avengers and melon. In 1968 he played the lead role in a West End production of the play Bakke 's Night of Fame by John McGrath. Sekka's obituary in The Times pointed out that this was the first time that a black actor played on an English theater stage, a role that was not specifically written for a black actor. Sekka was seen as a British equivalent of Sidney Poitier and was frustrated that actors who at the same time as he began, stars were, for example, Sean Connery, Terence Stamp, Michael Caine, Tom Courtenay and John Hurt, and he did not.
Sekka moved to the U.S., with the aim to get better roles. He had small roles in the films A Warm December 1972 and Saturday nights up in the city from 1974; in both films, led Poitier directing. In the first film played Earl Cameron, with in the second had Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor. These roles led to a more memorable role in the sitcom Good Times, where he played Ibe, the African friend of Thelma ( BernNadette Stanis ). In 1976, he starred in the movie Muhammad - the Messenger of God, also known as The Message, about the origins of Islam and the message of Muhammad, in which he played Muhammad Bilal al - Ethiopian trailer Habashi. Sekka occurred in 1982 in the comedy The spirits flyer on.
In 1977, he was not occupied in Roots, because he was considered not American enough, but played in 1979 in the sequel Roots: The Next Generations with where he portrayed an African translator. Sekka is known for his role as Dr. Benjamin Kyle in the pilot episode of the television series Babylon 5, The Gathering, 1993 under Science fiction fans. Recurring health problems forced him to reject further participation in the series.
Death
He was eventually forced his health completely retire from acting. He died at his ranch in Agua Dulce (California ) at the age of 72 years to lung cancer. His wife Cecilia and their son survived him.