Difference between revisions of "Siegfried Mynhardt"

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(“Siegie”).
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'''Siegfried Mynhardt''' (1909-1996) was a venerated bilingual ([[Afrikaans]] and English) actor and director. (Often known simply as “[[Siegie]]”).  
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(1909-1996) Venerated bilingual (Afrikaans and English) actor and director. * Began his career as actor for the [[Hanekom Geselskap]] (Company) at the age of 17. A sought after performer, he worked for most of the Afrikaans companies in the 1930s, including the [[André Huguenet Company]] (1933). Later founded his own company ** to do **. Went to England in 19*, where he worked for the Charles Hickman Company and performed at London's Old Vic. During the war years, he returned to South Africa to perform for the [[Krugersdorp Municipal Dramatic and Operatic Society]] ([[KMDOS]]) and the [[Gwen Ffrangçon-Davies-Marda Vanne Company]] between 1941 and 1946. In 1947 he co-directed and performed in the Afrikaans ''[[Hamlet]]'' with [[Anna Neethling-Pohl]], playing Laertes*? himself. Over the years he performed for the [[Cockpit Players]], [[PACT]] and the [[NTO]], acting in a huge number of roles and often under the direction of [[Leonard Schach]], [[Leontine Sagan]], and many more. Plays include ''[[Blithe Spirit]]'' (1944), ''[[Altyd my Liefste]]'' (1947/8), ''[[Dear Brutus]]'' (1948), [*?''[[Nag het die wind gebring]]'' (1948/49), ''[[An Inspector Calls]]'' (1948/49), ''[[Minnaar onder die Wapen]]'' (''[[Arms and the Man]]'', 1949), ''[[Die Indringer]]'' (The Outsider, 1949),  ''[[The Guardsman]]'' (1949), ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'' (??* 1949), ''[[M acbeth]]'' (in Afrikaans, 1950), ''[[Hassan]]'' (1950)*???] ''[[Volpone]]'' (1952), ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' (1953), ''[[The Caretaker]]'' (1960), ''[[Beyond the Fringe]]'' (1961), ''[[The Birthday Party]]'' (1962), ''[[The Night of the Igauna]]'' (1962), ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' ([[PACT]], 1963), ''[[Heartbreak House]]'' (1967) and ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead]]'' (1968). His film career is equally distinguished, and includes such Afrikaans hits as **, ** and Oupa Brompie (19**). Similarly he did a number of telev ision dramas, including ** MYNHARDT, Siegfried. Actor who performed for the [[Gwen Ffrangçon-Davies-Marda Vanne Company]] which presented seasons of plays during the war years at the [[Standard Theatre]]. Formed his own company in 1942. Performed ''[[Die Rooi Pruik]]'' and an Afrikaans translation of ''[[Ladies in retirement]]'' with [[Berdine Grunewald]] and [[Lydia Lindeque]]. Was so popular, it was taken North to be performed for the South African troops in the war. Starred in ''[[Blithe Spirit]]'' in 1944 with [[Gwen Ffrangçon-Davies]], [[Marda Vanne]] and [[Margaret Inglis]]. Performed in ''[[Laburnum Grove]]'' in 1946 which was staged by [[Wensley Pithey]] and company. Directed [[Laura]] at [[The Standard]] for the [[REPS]] in 1947. Starred in [[Somerset Maugham]]'s ''[[Lady Frderick]]'' in 1947. It was presented by [[The Munro-Inglis Company]], and was their last [[Standard Theatre]] production. Directed an Afrikaans production of ''[[Hamlet]]'' in 1947. It was staged at [[His Majesty's Theatre]] and starred [[André Huguenet]] as the Prince of Denmark, and [[Michal Grobbelaar]] as Marcellus. He toured with the [[National Theatre]] throughout 1948 with a company including [[André Huguenet]], [[Leon Gluckman]], [[Frank Wise]], [[Lorna Cowell]], [[Vivienne Drummond]], [[Mathilda Hanekom]] and [[Enone van den Bergh]] performing many productions. He starred in [[Ben Jonson]]’s hit show ''[[Volpone]]'' which was directed by [[Leonard Schach]] for the [[National Theatre]] at the [[Reps Theatre]] in 1952. Also starring [[Pieter Geldenhuys]], [[Gerrit Wessels]], [[Edna Jacobson]], [[Frank Wise]] and [[Vivienne Drummond]]. ''[[Volpone]]'' enjoyed another run at the [[Benoni Town Hall]] later that same year. He starred in [[Shakespeare]]’s ''[[Hamlet]]'', produced, directed and played in by [[Margaret Inglis]] at the [[Windmill Theatre]] in 1955. He played Dauphin in [[Shaw]]’s ''[[Saint Joan]]'', which [[Leon Gluckman]] directed for the [[National Theatre]] in 1959, also starring [[Kita Redelinghuys]]. He starred in the hit musical comedy ''[[Irma la Douce]]'', staged by the [[Brooke]] company in 1960. [[Frank Staff]] did the choreography for this musical starring [[Heather Lloyd-Jones]], [[John Whiteley]] and [[Robert Haber]]. It toured all the major cities and the Rhodesias. He played in the [[Cockpit Players]] productions of [[Harold Pinter]]’s ''[[The Caretaker]]'' and [[Paddy Chayefsky]]’s prizewinning ''[[The Tenth Man]]'' at the [[Playhouse]] in 1961 with actors [[Michael McGovern]] and [[Nigel Hawthorne]]. He starred in [[Harold Pinter]]’s ''[[The Birthday Party]]'', followed by [[Tennessee Williams]]’ ''[[The Night of the Iguana]]'' which was staged at the [[Playhouse]] by the [[Cockpit Players]] in 1962. [[Leonard Schach]] directed, and in his company of actors for these plays were [[Michael McGovern]], [[Margaret Inglis]], [[Marjorie Gordon]], [[Diane Wilson]] and [[Kerry Jordan]]. He starred in [[John Fernald]]’s production of [[Chekhov]]’s ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' which was staged for [[PACT]] at the [[Alexander]] in 1963. It also starred [[Patrick Mynhardt]], [[Jenny Laird]], [[Arthur Hall]], [[Estelle Kohler]] and [[Fiona Fraser]]. He directed the famous [[Ben Travers]] farce, ''[[Rookery Nook]]'' at the [[Civic Theatre]] for [[PACT]] in December 1963. He starred in [[Joan Brickhill]] and [[Louis Burke]] production of [[Molièr]]’s ''[[The Miser]]'' for [[PACT]] in 1964. He was kept in steady employment by [[PACT]] in 1966. (See [[PACT]]) He starred in [[Leonard Schach]]’s production of [[Shaw]]’s ''[[Heartbreak House]]'' for [[PACT]] at the [[Alexander]] in 1967. It also starred [[Joan Blake]], [[Alec Bell]], [[Elizabeth Meyer]], [[Kerry Jordan]], [[François Swart]], [[Frank Lazarus]] and [[Maggie Soboil]]. He starred in ''[[Hadrian VII]]'', directed by [[Robert Mohr]] for [[PACT]] at the [[Alexander]] in 1969. He starred in ''[[A Month in the Country]]'', which [[Leonard Schach]] directed for [[PACT]] at the [[Alexander]] in 1969. It also starred [[Erica Rogers]], [[Kerry Jordan]] and [[Vivienne Drummond]]. He starred in [[Charles Marowitz]]’s ''[[A Macbeth]]'' which was staged at the [[Alexander]] in 1973. It also starred [[Molly Seftel]], [[Billy Matthews]] and [[Ken Leach]]. He starred in [[Shakespeare]]’s ''[[Troilus and Cressida]]'', directed by [[John Hussey]], together with [[Annelisa Weiland]], [[James White]] and [[Eckard Rabe]] for [[PACT]] in 1974. [[Anthony Farmer]] designed an intimate dinner theatre in the place of the [[Siegfried Mynhardt Theatre]] (the old [[Academy]]) which was ravaged by fire circa 1984.  The opening production was ''[[Oh! La! La!]]'' conceived and directed by [[Siegfried Mynhardt]]. MYNHARDT, Siegfried, & [[Lydia Lindeque]] stig geselskap om troepe in Egipte te vermaak met ''[[Die Rooi Pruik]]''. ''[[Die jakkalsstreke van Scapino]]'', vertaal deur [[Bartho Smit]], [[Jannie Gildenhuys]] (regie), [[Tilana Hanekom]], [[Siegfried Mynhardt]], [[Pieter Geldenhuys]], [[Kita Redelinghuys]], [[Cobus Rossouw]], [[Anton Grobler]], [[Leonora Nel]], [[Johan van Zyl]], [[Frank Graves]] (dekor) [[Doreen Graves]] (kostuums), [[Peter Rorke]] (musiek gekomponeer).
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== Biography ==
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Born [[Siegfried Charles Ferdinand Mijnhardt]] in Johannesburg, the son of the minister of religion and translator [[C.F. Mynhardt]].  
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The family adopted the local spelling of Mynhardt, so the son became known as [[Siegfried Charles Ferdinand Mynhardt]] or simply [[Siegfried Mynhardt]]) Affectionately known as "[[Siegie Mynhardt]]" or "[[Siggie Mynhardt]]". 
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''There is some conflicting information on his dates birth and death: while both the [[Wikipedia]] entry and the [[IMDb]][https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0617069/] entry on Mynhardt have them as 5 March 1906 to 28 March 1996, (making him 90 years old at the time of his passing), the [[Afrikaans]] [[Wikipedia]] gives his death as 29 March and the [[GENi]] website has birth and death as 15 March 1909 – 5 March 1996 (making him 86, other sources reckoning it at 87) A 1990 interview with Siegie in his 81st birthday confirms the 1909 year of birth and probably the 1996 year of demise.[https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=309785326878552]. So for the purposes of this article we use those dates.''  
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Mynhardt grew up in the Wynburg area of Johannesburg and  began his career as actor for the [[Hanekom Geselskap]] (Company) at the age of 17, going on to become a professional actor and  a sought after and highly regarded performer on stage and screen.
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He was married to Jocelyn Rose Fenton (1919-1981) and they had three children (one source says two). Siegie died of pneumonia in Johannesburg on 28 March, 1996.
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==Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance==
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It is calculated that Mynhardt eventually participated in more than 500 productions, as well as a large number of films and TV productions, still working shortly before his death.
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===Companies worked for===
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[[Siegfried Mynhardt]] initially worked for most of the [[Afrikaans]] companies in the 1930s, including the [[Die André Huguenet Geselskap|André Huguenet Company]] (1933) and the [[Hanekom Geselskap]]. Later founded his own company in the 1940s.
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Before the war he went to England for a while, where he worked for the Charles Hickman Company and performed at London's Old Vic. During the war years, he returned to South Africa however, to perform for in both [[Afrikaans]] and English for the [[Krugersdorp Municipal Dramatic and Operatic Society]] ([[KMDOS]]), the [[Gwen ffrangçon-Davies / Marda Vanne Company]] (at the [[Standard Theatre]]) and his own company between 1941 and 1946. (The latter was formed in 1941, its first production being ''[[Die Rooi Pruik]]'' in that year).
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Later on he also performed in plays put on by the [[National Theatre Organisation]] ([[NTO]] , 1947-1961), for example serving as part of their first touring company throughout 1948, working with people like [[André Huguenet]], [[Leon Gluckman]], [[Frank Wise]], [[Lorna Cowell]], [[Vivienne Drummond]], [[Mathilda Hanekom]] and [[Enone van den Bergh]].  
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He also did work for the [[Cockpit Players]] and the newly established [[Transvaal Performing Arts Council]] ([[PACT]].
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===Plays performed in===
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He started his career as a stage actor in the play ''[[Onskuldig Veroordeel]]'' ([[Hendrik Hanekom]] 1929).  Other early plays were ''[[Napoleon se Wasvrou]]'' (1930), ''[[Die Swart Hand]]'' (1933) and ''[[Johannes van Wyk]]'' (1933).
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In the 1940s he did ''[[Die Rooi Pruik]]'' (an [[Afrikaans]] translation of ''[[Ladies in Retirement]]'', translated by his father), working with [[Berdine Grunewald]] and [[Lydia Lindeque]]. Was so popular, it was taken North to be performed for the South African troops in the war. Other plays done in these years were ''[[What Every Woman Knows]]'' (1943), ''[[Blithe Spirit]]'' (1944), ''[[Milestones]]'' (1944), ''[[Squadron X]]'' (SAAF 1944), ''[[Flare Path]]'' (1943-4), ''[[Laburnum Grove]]'' (1946), ''[[A Man With Red Hair]]'' (1946), ''[[A Month in the Country]]'' (1946), ''[[Lady Frederick]]'' (1947, presented by The [[Munro-Inglis Company]], their last [[Standard Theatre]] production).
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In 1947 he co-directed and performed in the [[Afrikaans]] ''[[Hamlet]]'' with [[Anna Neethling-Pohl]], playing Laertes himself. It was staged at [[His Majesty's Theatre]] and starred [[André Huguenet]] as the Prince of Denmark, and [[Michal Grobbelaar]] as Marcellus. The immense success of this production would be influential in the founding of the [[National Theatre Organisation]] ([[NTO]]) in South Africa.
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He then appeared a number of productions in the [[NTO]]'s inaugural season, including ''[[Minna von Barnhelm|Altyd my Liefste]]'' (NTO 1947/8), ''[[Dear Brutus]]'' (NTO 1948), ''[[Nag het die Wind Gebring]]'' (1948/49) and ''[[An Inspector Calls]]'' (1948/49). 
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During the 1950s he continued working for [[NTO]] and other companies, appearing in '[[Macbeth]]'' (in [[Afrikaans]], 1950), ''[[Hassan]]'' (NTO 1950), ''[[L'Avare|Die Vrek]]'' (NTO 1951), ''[[Volpone]]'' (1952), (''[[Volpone]]'' enjoyed another run at the [[Benoni Town Hall]] later that same year), ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' (1953), ''[[Someone Waiting]]'' (Reps 1954), Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]'', produced, directed and played in by [[Margaret Inglis]] at the [[Windmill Theatre]] in 1955, ''[[Periandros van Korinthe]]'' (NTO 1956), ''[[Bitter Einde]]'' (NTO 1956-7), ''[[A Hundred Years Old|Oupa Kanniedood]]'' (NTO 1957), ''[[Krach um Jolanthe|Bohaai oor .n Otjie]]'' (NTO 1956), ''[[The School for Scandal]]'' (NTO 1958), ''[[Die Jakkalsstreke van Scapino]]'', 1958, ''[[Voorlopig Vonnis|Voorlopige Vonnis]]'' (NTO 1958), he played Dauphin in Shaw's ''[[Saint Joan]]'', which [[Leon Gluckman]] directed for the [[National Theatre]] in 1959, also starring [[Kita Redelinghuys]] and in ''[[Moeder Hanna]]'' (1959).
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The 1960s, after the demise of [[NTO]], he initially worked for a wider range of companies, though later working more frequently for the [[Transvaal Performing Arts Council]]'s prestigious main company. His many roles included appearances in  ''[[The Caretaker]]'' (1960), ''[[Rookery Nook]]'' (Cockpit Players 1960), in the hit musical comedy ''[[Irma la Douce]]'', staged by the [[Brian Brooke Company]] in 1960, in the [[Cockpit Players]] productions of [[Harold Pinter]]’s ''[[The Caretaker]]'' and Paddy Chayefsky's prizewinning ''[[The Tenth Man]]'' at the [[Playhouse]] in 1961 with actors [[Michael McGovern]] and [[Nigel Hawthorne]]. He also appeared in ''[[Wie de drommel is Paskwaal?]]''  (NTO 1961), ''[[Beyond the Fringe]]'' (Cockpit Players, opening October 1961), Harold Pinter's ''[[The Birthday Party]]'', followed by [[Tennessee Williams]]’s ''[[The Night of the Iguana]]'' which was staged at the [[Playhouse]] by the [[Cockpit Players]] in 1962, ''[[Dear Liar]]'' (1962), ''[[The Affair]]'' (PACT 1963), ''[[The Cherry Orchard]]'' ([[PACT]], 1963), ''[[The Playboy of the Western World]]'' (PACT 1963), ''[[Roméo et Jeanette|Romeo and Jeanette]]'' (PACT 1963), ''[[L'Avare|The Miser]]'' for [[PACT]] in 1964, ''[[Ring Round the Moon]]'' (PACT 1964), ''[[A Sleep of Prisoners]]'' (PACT 1965), ''[[Der kaukasische Kreidekreis|The Caucasian Chalk Circle]]'' (PACT 1965), ''[[Rashomon]]'' (PACT 1965), ''[[The Devils]]'' (PACT 1966), ''[[Faust]]'' ([[H.B. Thom Theatre]] 1966), ''[[The Beaux' Stratagem]]'' (PACT 1966), ''[[The Mask and the Face]]'' (PACT 1967), ''[[Mourning Becomes Electra]]'' (PACT 1967), ''[[[[Le Malade imaginaire|The Imaginary Invalid]]]]'' (PACT 1967), ''[[Heartbreak House]]'' (PACT 1967), ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead]]'' (PACT 1968) ''[[You Never Can Tell]]'' (PACT 1968), ''[[The Fighting Cock]]'' (PACT 1968), ''[[Hadrian VII]]'', directed by [[Robert Mohr]] for [[PACT]] at the [[Alexander Theatre]] in 1969, ''[[A Month in the Country]]'', which [[Leonard Schach]] directed for [[PACT]] at the [[Alexander Theatre]] in 1969, ''[[The Magistrate]]'' (PACT 1969).
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From 1970 onwards followed ''[[The Proposal|Ouers-Vra]]'' (CAPAB]] 1970), ''[[King John]]'' (PACT 1970), ''[[Child's Play]]'' (PACT 1971), ''[[King Lear|Koning Lear]]'' ([[CAPAB]] 1971), ''[[Hotel Paradiso]]'' (1971), ''[[Gentlemen]]'' (1972), ''[[Kennen Sie Die Milchstrasse|Do You Know the Milky Way?]]'' (PACT 1972), ''[[Black Comedy]]'' (PACT 1972), ''[[Gentlemen]]'', ''[[Skoene-skoene]]'' ([[PACT]], 1973) ''[[Sagmoedige Neelsie]]'' (1973), ''[[Iemand Om voor Nag Te Sê]]'' (PACT 1973), ''[[Die Verhoor]]'' (PACT 1973), ''[[Charley's Aunt]]'' (PACT 1973), ''[[A Macbeth]]'' which was staged at the [[Alexander Theatre]] in 1973, ''[[Twigs]]'' (PACT 1974), ''[[Three Sisters|Drie Susters]]'' (KRUIK 1976), ''[[Die Nag van Legio]]'' (CAPAB 1976), ''[[Plaston: DNS-Kind]]'', 1981, ''[[Comrades]]'' (PACT 1986).
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===His work as director===
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'''As director''': He produced ''[[Mademoiselle]]'' in 1942, he directed ''[[Laura]]'' for the Reps in 1947, directed ''[[As ons twee eers getroud is]]'' (1952) and the famous Ben Travers farce, ''[[Rookery Nook]]'' at the [[Civic Theatre]] for [[PACT]] in December 1963.
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[[Anthony Farmer]] designed an intimate dinner theatre in the place of the [[Siegfried Mynhardt Theatre]] (the old [[Academy]]) which was ravaged by fire circa 1984.  The opening production was ''[[Oh! La! La!]]'' conceived and directed by [[Siegfried Mynhardt]].
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===Film===
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His '''film and TV''' career is equally distinguished, and includes such [[Afrikaans]] hits as  ''[[Die Skerpioen]]'' (film 1946), ''[[Oom Willem en die Lord]]'' (1976),  (the first [[Afrikaans]] made-for-TV film), ''[[Die Vlindervanger]]'' (film,, 1976), ''[[Dingaka]]'', ''[[Debbie]]'', ''[[Moeder Hanna]]'', ''[[Die Klimop]]'',  ''[[Die Kersietuin]]'', ''[[Troudag van Tant Ralie]]'', ''[[Rienie]]'', ''[[Kootjie Emmer]]'', ''[[Daar Kom Tant Alie]]'', ''[[Majuba: Hill of the Doves]]'', ''[[Dr. Kalie]]'', ''[[Danie Bosman]]'', ''[[Tekwan]]'', ''[[Die Houtbord]]'', ''[[Ingqumbo Yeminyanya]]'' ("Wrath of the Ancestors"), ''[[Dans van die Flamink]]'' and ''[[The Emissary]]''.
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[TH, JH]
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== Awards, etc ==
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The  Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award for his contribution to SA theatre  in the 1950s, the [[Erepenning vir Toneelkuns]] of the [[Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns]] in 1957, die [[Stewart Leith-trophy]] twice, the Order for Meritorious Service (Gold class, 1989) and various other awards as best performer.
  
 
== Sources ==
 
== Sources ==
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Binge, 19**, Du Toit,  1988; Tucker, 199 [TH, JH]
 
  
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Return to [[ESAT Personalities M]]
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https://www.geni.com/people/Siegfried-Mynhardt/6000000000063107577
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Mynhardt
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https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Mynhardt
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https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=309785326878552
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[[Ludwig Wilhelm  Berthold Binge]]. 1969. ''Ontwikkeling van die Afrikaanse toneel (1832-1950)''. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik
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[[P.J. du Toit]]. 1988. ''Amateurtoneel in Suid-Afrika''. Pretoria: Academica
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[[Temple Hauptfleisch|Hauptfleisch, Temple]] (ed.). 1985. ''The Breytie Book: A Collection of Articles on South African Theatre Dedicated to [[P.P.B. Breytenbach]]''. Johannesburg: [[The Limelight Press]].[http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/85403]
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[[Loren Kruger]] 1999. ''The Drama of South Africa: Plays, Pageants and Publics Since 1910''.  London: Routledge
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''[[Lantern]]'', August 1991.
 +
 
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[[André le Roux|Le Roux, André I.]] and [[Lilla Fourie|Fourie, Lilla]]. 1982. ''Filmverlede. Geskiedenis van die Afrikaanse speelfilm''. Pretoria: [[Universiteit van Suid-Afrika]].
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[[SACD]], 1973.
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[[Percy Tucker]]. 1997. ''Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business''. Johannesburg: [[Witwatersrand University Press]]. 
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Go to [[ESAT Bibliography]]
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== Return to ==
 +
 
 +
Return to [[ESAT Personalities M]]  
  
 
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]]
 
Return to [[South_African_Theatre/Personalities|South African Theatre Personalities]]
 +
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Return to [[The ESAT Entries]]
  
 
Return to [[Main Page]]
 
Return to [[Main Page]]

Latest revision as of 08:07, 25 March 2024

Siegfried Mynhardt (1909-1996) was a venerated bilingual (Afrikaans and English) actor and director. (Often known simply as “Siegie”).

Biography

Born Siegfried Charles Ferdinand Mijnhardt in Johannesburg, the son of the minister of religion and translator C.F. Mynhardt.

The family adopted the local spelling of Mynhardt, so the son became known as Siegfried Charles Ferdinand Mynhardt or simply Siegfried Mynhardt) Affectionately known as "Siegie Mynhardt" or "Siggie Mynhardt".

There is some conflicting information on his dates birth and death: while both the Wikipedia entry and the IMDb[1] entry on Mynhardt have them as 5 March 1906 to 28 March 1996, (making him 90 years old at the time of his passing), the Afrikaans Wikipedia gives his death as 29 March and the GENi website has birth and death as 15 March 1909 – 5 March 1996 (making him 86, other sources reckoning it at 87) A 1990 interview with Siegie in his 81st birthday confirms the 1909 year of birth and probably the 1996 year of demise.[2]. So for the purposes of this article we use those dates.

Mynhardt grew up in the Wynburg area of Johannesburg and began his career as actor for the Hanekom Geselskap (Company) at the age of 17, going on to become a professional actor and a sought after and highly regarded performer on stage and screen.

He was married to Jocelyn Rose Fenton (1919-1981) and they had three children (one source says two). Siegie died of pneumonia in Johannesburg on 28 March, 1996.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

It is calculated that Mynhardt eventually participated in more than 500 productions, as well as a large number of films and TV productions, still working shortly before his death.

Companies worked for

Siegfried Mynhardt initially worked for most of the Afrikaans companies in the 1930s, including the André Huguenet Company (1933) and the Hanekom Geselskap. Later founded his own company in the 1940s.

Before the war he went to England for a while, where he worked for the Charles Hickman Company and performed at London's Old Vic. During the war years, he returned to South Africa however, to perform for in both Afrikaans and English for the Krugersdorp Municipal Dramatic and Operatic Society (KMDOS), the Gwen ffrangçon-Davies / Marda Vanne Company (at the Standard Theatre) and his own company between 1941 and 1946. (The latter was formed in 1941, its first production being Die Rooi Pruik in that year).

Later on he also performed in plays put on by the National Theatre Organisation (NTO , 1947-1961), for example serving as part of their first touring company throughout 1948, working with people like André Huguenet, Leon Gluckman, Frank Wise, Lorna Cowell, Vivienne Drummond, Mathilda Hanekom and Enone van den Bergh.

He also did work for the Cockpit Players and the newly established Transvaal Performing Arts Council (PACT.

Plays performed in

He started his career as a stage actor in the play Onskuldig Veroordeel (Hendrik Hanekom 1929). Other early plays were Napoleon se Wasvrou (1930), Die Swart Hand (1933) and Johannes van Wyk (1933).

In the 1940s he did Die Rooi Pruik (an Afrikaans translation of Ladies in Retirement, translated by his father), working with Berdine Grunewald and Lydia Lindeque. Was so popular, it was taken North to be performed for the South African troops in the war. Other plays done in these years were What Every Woman Knows (1943), Blithe Spirit (1944), Milestones (1944), Squadron X (SAAF 1944), Flare Path (1943-4), Laburnum Grove (1946), A Man With Red Hair (1946), A Month in the Country (1946), Lady Frederick (1947, presented by The Munro-Inglis Company, their last Standard Theatre production).

In 1947 he co-directed and performed in the Afrikaans Hamlet with Anna Neethling-Pohl, playing Laertes himself. It was staged at His Majesty's Theatre and starred André Huguenet as the Prince of Denmark, and Michal Grobbelaar as Marcellus. The immense success of this production would be influential in the founding of the National Theatre Organisation (NTO) in South Africa.

He then appeared a number of productions in the NTO's inaugural season, including Altyd my Liefste (NTO 1947/8), Dear Brutus (NTO 1948), Nag het die Wind Gebring (1948/49) and An Inspector Calls (1948/49).

During the 1950s he continued working for NTO and other companies, appearing in 'Macbeth (in Afrikaans, 1950), Hassan (NTO 1950), Die Vrek (NTO 1951), Volpone (1952), (Volpone enjoyed another run at the Benoni Town Hall later that same year), Twelfth Night (1953), Someone Waiting (Reps 1954), Shakespeare's Hamlet, produced, directed and played in by Margaret Inglis at the Windmill Theatre in 1955, Periandros van Korinthe (NTO 1956), Bitter Einde (NTO 1956-7), Oupa Kanniedood (NTO 1957), Bohaai oor .n Otjie (NTO 1956), The School for Scandal (NTO 1958), Die Jakkalsstreke van Scapino, 1958, Voorlopige Vonnis (NTO 1958), he played Dauphin in Shaw's Saint Joan, which Leon Gluckman directed for the National Theatre in 1959, also starring Kita Redelinghuys and in Moeder Hanna (1959).

The 1960s, after the demise of NTO, he initially worked for a wider range of companies, though later working more frequently for the Transvaal Performing Arts Council's prestigious main company. His many roles included appearances in The Caretaker (1960), Rookery Nook (Cockpit Players 1960), in the hit musical comedy Irma la Douce, staged by the Brian Brooke Company in 1960, in the Cockpit Players productions of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker and Paddy Chayefsky's prizewinning The Tenth Man at the Playhouse in 1961 with actors Michael McGovern and Nigel Hawthorne. He also appeared in Wie de drommel is Paskwaal? (NTO 1961), Beyond the Fringe (Cockpit Players, opening October 1961), Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party, followed by Tennessee Williams’s The Night of the Iguana which was staged at the Playhouse by the Cockpit Players in 1962, Dear Liar (1962), The Affair (PACT 1963), The Cherry Orchard (PACT, 1963), The Playboy of the Western World (PACT 1963), Romeo and Jeanette (PACT 1963), The Miser for PACT in 1964, Ring Round the Moon (PACT 1964), A Sleep of Prisoners (PACT 1965), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (PACT 1965), Rashomon (PACT 1965), The Devils (PACT 1966), Faust (H.B. Thom Theatre 1966), The Beaux' Stratagem (PACT 1966), The Mask and the Face (PACT 1967), Mourning Becomes Electra (PACT 1967), [[The Imaginary Invalid]] (PACT 1967), Heartbreak House (PACT 1967), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (PACT 1968) You Never Can Tell (PACT 1968), The Fighting Cock (PACT 1968), Hadrian VII, directed by Robert Mohr for PACT at the Alexander Theatre in 1969, A Month in the Country, which Leonard Schach directed for PACT at the Alexander Theatre in 1969, The Magistrate (PACT 1969).

From 1970 onwards followed Ouers-Vra (CAPAB]] 1970), King John (PACT 1970), Child's Play (PACT 1971), Koning Lear (CAPAB 1971), Hotel Paradiso (1971), Gentlemen (1972), Do You Know the Milky Way? (PACT 1972), Black Comedy (PACT 1972), Gentlemen, Skoene-skoene (PACT, 1973) Sagmoedige Neelsie (1973), Iemand Om voor Nag Te Sê (PACT 1973), Die Verhoor (PACT 1973), Charley's Aunt (PACT 1973), A Macbeth which was staged at the Alexander Theatre in 1973, Twigs (PACT 1974), Drie Susters (KRUIK 1976), Die Nag van Legio (CAPAB 1976), Plaston: DNS-Kind, 1981, Comrades (PACT 1986).

His work as director

As director: He produced Mademoiselle in 1942, he directed Laura for the Reps in 1947, directed As ons twee eers getroud is (1952) and the famous Ben Travers farce, Rookery Nook at the Civic Theatre for PACT in December 1963.

Anthony Farmer designed an intimate dinner theatre in the place of the Siegfried Mynhardt Theatre (the old Academy) which was ravaged by fire circa 1984. The opening production was Oh! La! La! conceived and directed by Siegfried Mynhardt.

Film

His film and TV career is equally distinguished, and includes such Afrikaans hits as Die Skerpioen (film 1946), Oom Willem en die Lord (1976), (the first Afrikaans made-for-TV film), Die Vlindervanger (film,, 1976), Dingaka, Debbie, Moeder Hanna, Die Klimop, Die Kersietuin, Troudag van Tant Ralie, Rienie, Kootjie Emmer, Daar Kom Tant Alie, Majuba: Hill of the Doves, Dr. Kalie, Danie Bosman, Tekwan, Die Houtbord, Ingqumbo Yeminyanya ("Wrath of the Ancestors"), Dans van die Flamink and The Emissary.

[TH, JH]

Awards, etc

The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Award for his contribution to SA theatre in the 1950s, the Erepenning vir Toneelkuns of the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns in 1957, die Stewart Leith-trophy twice, the Order for Meritorious Service (Gold class, 1989) and various other awards as best performer.

Sources

https://www.geni.com/people/Siegfried-Mynhardt/6000000000063107577

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Mynhardt

https://af.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried_Mynhardt

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=309785326878552

Ludwig Wilhelm Berthold Binge. 1969. Ontwikkeling van die Afrikaanse toneel (1832-1950). Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik

P.J. du Toit. 1988. Amateurtoneel in Suid-Afrika. Pretoria: Academica

Hauptfleisch, Temple (ed.). 1985. The Breytie Book: A Collection of Articles on South African Theatre Dedicated to P.P.B. Breytenbach. Johannesburg: The Limelight Press.[3]

Loren Kruger 1999. The Drama of South Africa: Plays, Pageants and Publics Since 1910. London: Routledge

Lantern, August 1991.

Le Roux, André I. and Fourie, Lilla. 1982. Filmverlede. Geskiedenis van die Afrikaanse speelfilm. Pretoria: Universiteit van Suid-Afrika.

SACD, 1973.

Percy Tucker. 1997. Just the Ticket. My 50 Years in Show Business. Johannesburg: Witwatersrand University Press.



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