Charles Eglerton Hyatt OD (14 February 1931 – 1 January 2007) was a Jamaican actor, playwright, director, author and broadcaster. Hyatt was best known as a character actor and comedian who appeared in numerous films and television shows, beginning in the 1960s.

Early life

Hyatt was born in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

, to Herbert Hyatt, a taxi-driver, and Ruth Burke, a homemaker. He attended St Aloysious Boys' School and St Simon’s College.

Career

After making his movie debut in the 1965 film '' A High Wind in Jamaica'', Hyatt had notable performances in the films '' The Bushbaby'' (1969), '' Crossplot'' (1969), ''

Freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

'' (1971), ''

Love Thy Neighbour Love Thy Neighbor or Love Thy Neighbour may also refer to: Film * Love Thy Neighbor (1940 film), ''Love Thy Neighbor'' (1940 film), an American film * Love Thy Neighbour (1967 film), ''Love Thy Neighbour'' (1967 film), a Danish-German comedy fil ...

'' (1973), ''

Club Paradise ''Club Paradise'' is a 1986 American comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and starring Robin Williams, Twiggy, Peter O'Toole and Jimmy Cliff. Set in a fictional Caribbean banana republic, it follows a group of vacationers' attempts to create ...

'' (1986), ''

Milk and Honey Milk and Honey may refer to: Music * The Milk and Honey Band, an English band * Milk and Honey (album), ''Milk and Honey'' (album), a 1984 album by John Lennon and Yoko Ono * Milk & Honey (Crowder album), ''Milk & Honey'' (Crowder album), 2021 * M ...

'' (1988), '' The Mighty Quinn'' (1989), ''

Cool Runnings ''Cool Runnings'' is a 1993 American sports comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub from a screenplay by Lynn Siefert, Tommy Swerdlow, and Michael Goldberg, and a story by Siefert and Michael Ritchie. It is loosely based on the debut of the J ...

'' (1993) and ''Almost Heaven'' (2005). Hyatt was the recipient of Jamaica's national honour of

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction (OD) is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Ac ...

(OD), and was awarded the

Institute of Jamaica The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

and the silver

Musgrave Medal The Musgrave Medal is an annual award by the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of achievement in art, science, and literature.Webster, Valerie J. (2000), ''Awards, Honors & Prizes, Volume 2'', Gale Group, , p. 447. Originally conceived in 1889 ...

Personal life

Hyatt was married to Vera Hyatt, an art historian,

museologist Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

, and former Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Jamaica. They had three children together, including Charlene Hyatt, now known as the actress Michael Hyatt. The marriage ended in divorce. Hyatt then married Marjorie Hyatt. Hyatt died in Florida, United States, of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on 1 January 2007.

Partial filmography

* '' A High Wind in Jamaica'' (1965) – Pirate * '' The Bushbaby'' (1969) – Gideon * '' Crossplot'' (1969) – President Maudula * ''

'' (1971) – McNair * ''

'' (1973) – Joe Reynolds * ''The Marijuana Affair'' (1975) * ''

'' (1986) – Mr. Banks * ''

'' (1988) – Village Preacher * '' The Mighty Quinn'' (1989) – Security Guard * ''

'' (1993) – Whitby Bevil – Sr. * ''Almost Heaven'' (2005) – Doctor (final film role)

References

External links

*
Official website
— Charles Hyatt Foundation 1931 births 2007 deaths 20th-century Jamaican male actors 20th-century Jamaican writers Male actors from Kingston, Jamaica Deaths from lung cancer in Florida 21st-century Jamaican male actors Jamaican male film actors Recipients of the Musgrave Medal Recipients of the Order of Distinction {{Jamaica-actor-stub