Joe Mafela

Joe Mafela (1942-2017)was a South African actor, comedian, storyteller, writer, producer, director, singer and businessman.

Biography

Joe "Sdumo" Mafela was born 1942 in Sibasa, Transvaal, and was brought up in Kliptown and White City Jabavu, in Soweto, near Johannesburg. His family remained in the Tshiawelo Township, that had been set aside for Venda people under apartheid, until 1990.

Mafela died following a car accident on 18 March, 2017.

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

Film work

He started acting in movies at the age of 22, playing the role of an editor in the movie, Real News. The actor co-starred in the first all-black movie made in South Africa, as Peter Pleasure in Udeliwe in 1974. And went on to work with director Peter R. Hunt in the 1976 film, Shout at the Devil. He also featured in films such as Escape from Angola and Tigers Don't Cry.

He then went on to join the South African film company SA Films, for whom he worked as producer, director and film actor for 20 years.

Mafela co-owned the production company, Penguin Films where he worked as Creative Producer

He also managed the multi-ethnic dance troupes Mzumba, Sangoma, and the Gold Reef Dancers, which all performed in feature films, theatres and hotels.

Television

In 1986 he was cast as the unemployed lodger "S'dumo" in the Zulu language comedy series [[Sgudi 'Snaysi, which ran for 78 episodes on the SABC.

Other notable SABC TV programmes in which he had leading roles are 'U' Deliwe,'? 'Going Up', 'Kululeka' 'Madam and Eve' and the drama series 'Stokvel', of which he came up with the concept, SABC 1 soapie 'Generations: The Legacy', .

Composer, musician and singer

Mafela conceptualised and starred in early Chicken Licken TV ads, and authored the company's "It's good, good, good, it's good its nice" jingle during the making the commercial in 1986.

In 1996, Gallo Records released the album Shebeleza Felas, with the popular hit Shebeleza (Okongo Mame). It was a huge success, and Shebeleza was a theme song during the Africa Cup of Nations in 1996. He went on to record and released several other Zulu language albums.