By Clevil James Irving Burgie played a major role in the popularization of calypso music in the 1950s, when he wrote 8 of the 11 songs on Harry Belafonte’s 1956 album called Calypso; the first album to sell one million copies, which included the Burgie’s interpretation of the Jamaican banana boat folk song Day-O. […]
Well-known Jamaica-born barber Ronald Ashford Wisdom, popularly known as Jimmy, died on Thursday of a suspected heart attack. He was 72. Wisdom collapsed at his home in North York and was rushed to Sunnybrook Hospital where he was pronounced dead, his daughter, Ninfa, told the Caribbean Camera. She said her father who was born in Montego Bay, […]
Michael Anthony Fray faced the starter on earth for the last time last Tuesday, en route to a journey to the land beyond. The Jamaican Olympian, who was found dead on November 6 in Kingston under still unclear circumstances, was hailed by multiple speakers at a thanksgiving service for his life at the Church of […]
John Kam, 68-year former bandleader, carnival king and festival executive, passed away last week and was buried on Friday. The funeral was held at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, in Scarborough, followed by a burial at the York Cemetery. As this photograph by Tang Canada of a Caribbean dancer shows, Mr. Kam’s church service included […]
Jamaican playwright Paul Oneil Beale died last Friday of a suspected heart attack. He was 57. Beale was reported to have collapsed at his home in Jamaica and was rushed to the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston where he was pronounced dead. Five years ago, Beale suffered a stroke and had been hospitalised […]
He was the first black dramatist to have his work performed in the West End, and he championed black writing through his theatre company Mustapha Matura, who has died aged 79, was the pioneering Trinidadian dramatist who became the first black playwright to show in the West End and who co-wrote the first black sitcom […]
By: SW. Photos By: Herman Silochan Long considered the soul of Caribana and the Toronto Caribbean Carnival, John Kam, 68-year former bandleader and festival executive, passed away last Monday after a lengthy illness. The funeral will be held on Friday (tomorrow) November 22, at 10 am at the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Sheppard Avenue East […]
Secretary General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), Satnarayan Maharaj, has died. He passed away shortly before midnight last Friday. Maharaj, 88, suffered a stroke in early November. Maharaj was one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most easily recognised personalities. This is owed to his prolific public speaking on matters he believed negatively impacted Hindus […]
Actor John Witherspoon, who starred alongside rapper Ice Cube in the hit “Friday” comedy movie franchise, died last Tuesday at the age of 77, his family said. “We love you “POPS” always and forever,” his family said on his Twitter account, referring to another of his roles – John ‘Pops’ Williams on the long-running […]
When you went to hear her sing, you always knew exactly what you would get. Sumptuous, creamy and voluptuous tone was Norman’s trademark, along with a meticulous attention to text and expression. For some, it was all too grand and undifferentiated, like a meal in which the richness of the food was overwhelming and unchanging […]
