Obra Drama Group
Dontoh is best known for his long term role as "Ghanaman", the struggling archetypal middle-aged Ghanaian in the popular local comedy-drama series ''Ɔbra'' (Game Shows & Quizzes
*''Agoro'' (1998 - 2008) *''Agoro Fie'' (2011) *''By The Fire Side''Films
Dontoh's most notable movies include * ''Kukurantumi: Road to Accra'' (1983) as Bob * ''No Time to Die'' (2006) as Asante * ''Notable Projects
Dontoh has been a longstanding member of the Ghana National Theatre management team for several decades and only retired from the organisation in 2000. He co-founded the Ghana Union of Theatre Societies with Mr. Effah Nkrabea Darteh. He is also a founding member of the Ghana Actors Guild and was the Guild's first secretary. He has also been the president of the Ghana Concert Parties Union. Dontoh has also been chairman of the planning committee of theEarly years
David Dontoh was born at Gyegyeano, a suburb of Cape Coast in the Central Region of Ghana. His father was a teacher, writer and an agricultural officer with specialism in vegetable farming and animal husbandry. His mother - Elizabeth Victoria Ackon Green (Efua Beduwa) - was a fish monger. The parents never got married. His paternal grandfather (Humphrey Kweku Dontoh) was a fisherman who hails from Gomoa Fete with ancestral links to the town of Saltpond. He grew up in Cape Coast, Abakrampa and Winneba - fishery and farming towns along the central coast of Ghana. His formative years were spent within a large extended family unit, surrounded by uncles and aunties of various professions. He attributes his success in acting to everyday social situations around conflict, comedy and cohesion within the large and complex family network that he grew in. From an early age, the young David Dontoh took a keen interest in science, geography, history, literature, poetry, philosophy, classical and contemporary art, among others. He was the best geography student in 1975 and could sketch out the globe from memory. He read some of the most influential classical works by Socrates, Plato and Aristotle during school holidays. Originally, Dontoh had wanted to pursue a career either as a doctor or a pilot but fell short of the required admission grades after his Sixth Form exams. A misdemeanour in childhood spurred Dontoh's interest in medicine. He stitched the wound of a friend with whom he had gone to steal coconut fruits from a neighbour's house. The boy had injured his hand on broken glass whiles jumping over a wall to escape capture. Dontoh bravely intervened and secretly stitched the wound with common household needle and thread. Interestingly, doctors found the botched surgical job so expertly done that they felt compelled to leave the stitches in place until the wound completely healed. This remarkable episode earned him the nickname of "Doctor David", which further galvanised his interest in medicine. Despite these experiences, the prohibitive cost of pursuing medicine at the time compelled Dontoh to rethink his decision to go along his original career path. He initially worked with his father for eight years at APPLE (Association of People for Practical Life Education), a subsidiary of USAID at Atebubu in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana. At one point, APPLE held a competition for artists to design a logo for the organisation. The young Dontoh's design of the APPLE logo was adjudged the best by the panel. Thereafter, he worked with the Ghana Centre for National Culture (Ghana Arts Centre). Subsequently, he branched into acting through an uncle who was involved in amateur and semi-professional acting. His family initially disapproved of his new career choice due to the degrading and low pay nature of "concert" at the time. However, his parents gradually gave him their support and blessing when his acting flare and prowess became evident through popular acclaim. As a young man, David Dontoh dabbled in a lot of interests and hobbies on account of his wide and diversified talents and skills. Prior to becoming popular on the theatre and drama scene, he took up boxing and athletics during his secondary school days. He was an amateur boxer for six years and often trained at the Kaneshie Boxing Complex on holidays with the likes of Azuma Nelson Kpakpo Allotey, Adama Mensah, among others. Dontoh once sparred with the legendary Ghanaian boxer Azuma Nelson and claims to have once knocked the champion boxer to the canvas in a sparring session during their early years. However, his father dissuaded him from going along that path because he saw boxing as a profession which is beneath the intellectual capacities of his bright and promising son. The prevailing emphasis on white colour jobs at the time were additional compelling factors. Moreover, Dontoh's interest in boxing and athletics gradually waned when he became fully immersed in acting and started touring the country with theatre and drama groups. David Dontoh started his acting career whiles living with his aunt who lives at Dansoman. The director of USAID, Olean Hess who worked with Dontoh's aunt at the time had visited the house and noticed his incredible talent in art. The young Dontoh agreed to draw 70 illustrations for Olean Hess' new book, ''Agriculture In The Tropics'', for a small fee.Education
David Dontoh's primary education was at various schools inPersonal life
David Dontoh is married to Rebecca Dontoh. The couple have three children, two of whom are Jojo and Ewurama. There are speculations that he dated Grace Omaboe (Maame Dokono) for about four years during their days together as cast members of the popular drama group ''Obra''. The pair were often cast as husband and wife in most ''Obra'' episodes. The strong chemistry and understanding of between the on-screen couple has always been evident to audiences. In many interviews, Dontoh does not confirm or deny rumours about their romantic liaisons, but insists that the two were very good friends and particularly close during the period when Grace Omaboe was separation from her first husband. Grace Omaboe is however more candid about their relationship. She has disclosed in interviews that the two dated for a while. According to Grace, they were genuinely in love and had even considered marriage but decided against it on grounds of irreconcilable differences in expectations. Dontoh had wanted them to have a family together, but Grace already had six children from previous marriages. She had also gone beyond her 40th birthday and therefore made a personal decision not to have any more children because of possible complications with pregnancies at that age. At the time, Dontoh was the younger of the two and yet to have a family of his own. The pair therefore separated by mutual consent but have remained close friends ever since. Apart from acting, Dontoh is also a poet, scriptwriter, dramatist, playwright (television and screenplay), composer, singer, songwriter, painter, sculptor, graphic illustrator, etc. He has composed several songs and written over 300 poems in Fanti, Twi and English. He is the board chairman of the newly formed Ghana National Film Authority. He is also a judge on the Ghana 48 hours film competition.Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and recognition
* Best Actor ECRAG Award 1984,1989 and 1992 * Best Supporting and World Centenary of Film, Ghana Film Award 1999 * PAM African Film Festival * Ghana Peace Award (2017)External links
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dontoh, David Living people Ghanaian male film actors University of Ghana alumni Date of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Ghanaian male actors 1960s births Ghanaian film actors Ghanaian male actors