Actor pays tribute to fallen star!

Share current article via FacebookShare current article via PinterestShare current article via WhatsAppShare current article via TwitterShare current article via LinkedInCelebsActor pays tribute to fallen star! By: Jabulani Langa • 20m agoAdd as a preferred source on GoogleFollow on Google NewsListen to this article-00:00lead-art-block.fullscreen-enterExpandMusician Sandile Dlamini pays heartfelt tribute to late actor Mfana-Jones Hlophe. Mfana-Jones remembered for iconic roles in Mzansi’s top productionsMUSICIAN and actor Sandile Dlamini has paid an emotional tribute to late actor Mfana-Jones Hlophe.

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He revealed how he saved his friend’s career when he nearly missed a life-changing audition.

Sandile (60), from Umlazi, south of Durban, still vividly recalls how he helped Mfana-Jones break into the late legendary Mbongeni Ngema’s productions in the late 1980s, after he’d initially been turned away from auditions.

Hlophe (53), who became a household name playing the problematic Nimrod on SABC1’s Generations: The Legacy, passed away on Wednesday, 7 October, after a long battle with Type 1 diabetes, leaving the entertainment industry heartbroken.

He made his name in some of Mzansi’s biggest productions, including Township Fever, Sarafina!, Uzalo and Imbewu: The Seed, among others, after being nurtured by the late Mbongeni Ngema in the late 1980s.

Dlamini, who first joined Mbongeni Ngema’s productions as an instrumentalist, told Daily Sun that Mfana-Jones nearly missed the chance to join the production everyone wanted to be part of.

“We were very close because we grew up together at my home where there was a church. My father was a pastor, and his father was a junior pastor. He learnt how to play guitar at our home.

“He arrived in Joburg in 1989 from Umlazi. I was the one who helped him join Mbongeni Ngema’s play, Township Fever, after he didn’t get a chance to be auditioned.

“When I arrived, they were already giving him R50 for bus fare back to Durban because auditions had closed. I went straight to Mbongeni in his office and asked him to audition Mfana-Jones because I knew that if he saw him perform, he’d love him.

“Mbongeni auditioned him, and after that, he asked him to come back,” he said.

Dlamini, who also played Phakade on Imbewu: The Seed and appeared in Sibongile & The Dlaminis, said he and Mfana-Jones grew up together in Umlazi, although Mfana-Jones was younger than him.

“During my birthday on 28 September, he recorded a video singing a happy birthday song for me and telling people that I nurtured him,” Dlamini said.

“I’m heartbroken that he is no more because I was still expecting so much more from him as an artist. May his soul rest in peace.”

Generations: The Legacy PR and social media manager Eugene Cele-Kings also paid a heartfelt tribute to Mfana-Jones.

“On behalf of the producers, cast and crew, we’re deeply saddened by the untimely passing of Mr Mfana-Jones Hlophe. We’d like to send our condolences to the family. We hold you close in our thoughts during this painful time,” he said.

A multi award-winning entertainment journalist at Daily Sun, specialising in celebrity news, television, music, and major entertainment events. He covers some of the biggest entertainment moments in the country, bringing audiences fast, accurate and engaging storytelling across digital platforms.

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