Alvon Collison
Alvon Collison (circa 1941-2021). Actor, dancer and singer.
His name is occasionally wrongly spelled Alvin Collison (1941-2021)
Contents
Biography
He was born 25 April 1941 in Woodstock, Cape Town. His mother, Angela was a mid-wife and his father, George, a barman. Alvin's first job was at Holmes Motors and then Greatermans. During the 1950s he moved to Salisbury (now Harare, Zimbabwe) with his family, where he got involved with amateur theatre and eventually started singing professionally.
Joan Brickhill then discovered him there and persuaded him to come to South Africa, and appear in one of the Joan Brickhill and Louis Burke extravaganzas and thus kicked of his career.
He lived with Faried Swartz, his partner of 27 years, and passed away in his house in Milnerton, Cape Town, on 22 January, 2021, at the age of 79.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
Besides his numerous appearances as singer in cabarets and as compére, he starred in a number of major musicals. Perhaps the best known of these has been his appearance as "Pharaoh" in Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat which was directed by John Hussey, choreographed by Geoffrey Sutherland and also starred Bruce Millar and Richard Loring for PACT at the Alexander Theatre in 1974. He replaced Richard Loring as the "Narrator" in another run of Joseph by PACT at His Majesty’s Theatre in 1976.
To celebrate the His Majesty's Theatre's 30th birthday Brickhill-Burke staged Follies Fantastique, starring Joan Brickhill, Collison and Beni Mason on 30 November 1976. Brickhill-Burke were responsible for the sets and costumes.
Other shows include South Pacific, Fiddler on the Roof, Evita, Jesus Christ Superstar.
He also produced, directed and starred in The Way it Was – With Elvis and Friends.
Awards
He received numerous awards over the course of his career, including including a Three Leaf Award for Best Supporting Actor, a Gallo Award for Best Musical Performance, as well as varous others (e.g. a Cape Town metro Award, a Naledi Award, a Fleur de Cap and a kykNET Fiësta Award.
In March 2018, he received a Fleur du Cap Lifetime Achievement award.
Sources
Tucker, 1997.
Limelight 1975/76; 1977/78; 1978/79; 1982/83.
Cape Argus, 18 February 2000.
Die Burger, 19 March 2018.
IOL [1].
Die Rapport Weekliks, 31 January 2021
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