Chief Wale Ogunyemiⓘ, OFR (12 August 1939 – December 17, 2001) was a Nigerian veteran seasoned dramatist, film actor, prolific playwright, and Yoruba language scholar.[2][3]
Wale Ogunyemi | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 12, 1939 |
| Died | December 17, 2001 (aged 62) |
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Citizenship | Nigerian |
| Alma mater | University of Ibadan |
| Occupation | playwright |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Known for | The Lion and the Jewel Kongi's Harvest Sango Langbodo[1] |
Early life edit
Ogunyemi was born on 12 August 1939 at Igbajo, a city in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria to Samuel Adeosun and Mary Ogunyemi.[4] He attended the University of Ibadan in 1967 for a year course in drama, the same year he was appointed as a research assistant at Ibadan Institute of African Studies where he later retired.[5][6][7]
Career edit
Ogunyemi began his acting career as a seasonal actor with the new western Nigerian television service in the early 1960s.[8] He later worked with professor Wole Soyinka, a Nobel Laureate and became a foundation member of Soyinka Orisun Theatre.[9] His credible performance made him a choice for the role he played as "The bale" in The Lion and the Jewel[10] and Dende in Kongi's Harvest by professor Wole Soyinka.[11] He also featured in The Beatification Of Area Boy, a play by Wole Soyinka premiered at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 1995.[12] He had written and co-scripted several drama before his death in December 2001.[13][14]
Filmography edit
- The Lion and the Jewel
- Kongi's Harvest
- Sango (1997)
- The Beatification Of Area Boy[15][16]
- The Ijaye War (1970)[17]
- Kiriji (1976)[18]
- The Divorce (1975)[19]
- Aare Akogun (1968) and Everyman *Eniyan, published in 1987)
- Langbodo (1979)[20]
Awards edit
- Member of the Order of the Niger awarded in 1982 by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria
- Majeobaje of Okuku, a chieftaincy title conferred on him by the Olokuku of Okukuland[21]
References edit
- ^ "Set to battle demons on mount Langbodo". The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ "Wale Ogunyemi - Library of Congress". id.loc.gov. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
- ^ Lindfors, Bernth (2003). Black African Literature in English, 1997-1999. James Currey Publishers. ISBN 9780852555750. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Boscolo, Cristina (2009). Ọdún. Rodopi. ISBN 978-9042026803. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Gérard, Albert S. (1986). European-language Writing in Sub-Saharan Africa. John Benjamins. ISBN 9630538326. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ George, Olakunle (February 2012). Relocating Agency. State University of New York Press. ISBN 9780791487761. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Owomoyela, Oyekan (21 October 2008). The Columbia Guide to West African Literature in English Since 1945. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231512152. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Osofisan, Femi (2001). The Nostalgic Drum. Africa World Press. ISBN 9780865438064. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "WHY WALE OGUNYEMI STILL LIVES ON NIGERIA'S STAGE-DIRECTOR OF LANGBODO". thenigerianvoice.com. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Meyer-Dinkgrafe, Daniel (20 May 2003). Who's Who in Contemporary World Theatre. Routledge. ISBN 9781134767861. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Jones, Eldred D.; Jones, Marjorie; Gikandi, Simon; Gibbs, James Morel (1998). Childhood in African Literature. Africa World Press. ISBN 9780865436732. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "Obituary: Wale Ogunyemi". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Deandrea, Pietro (2002). Fertile Crossings. Rodopi. ISBN 9042014784. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Killam, G. D.; Kerfoot, Alicia L. (2008). Student Encyclopedia of African Literature. Bloomsbury Academic. ISBN 9780313335808. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ Jeyifo, Biodun (13 November 2003). Wole Soyinka. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781139439084. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ "Menacing Shadows Greet Dawn In Nigeria". The New York Times. 11 October 1996. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Falola, Toyin; Genova, Ann (2005). Yoruba Creativity. Africa World Press. ISBN 9781592213368. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Ogunyẹmi, Wale (1976). Kiriji. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Banham, Martin (7 March 1996). The Cambridge Paperback Guide to Theatre. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521446549. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
- ^ Losambe, Lokangaka; Sarinjeive, Devi (2001). Pre-colonial and Post-colonial Drama and Theatre in Africa. New Africa Books. ISBN 9781919876061. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "Wale Ogunyemi, eminent playwright dies". World News. Retrieved 18 January 2015.