Tiki Nxumalo (15 November 1948 – 8 June 2015) was a South African actor most famous for acting as Sompisi the father of

shebeen A shebeen (, "home-made whiskey") was originally an illicit bar or club where accessible alcoholic beverages were sold without a license. The term has spread far from its origins in Ireland, to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Zimb ...

queen Ruby Dikobe ( Slindile Nodangala) in the soap ''

Generations A generation is all of the people born and living at about the same time, regarded collectively. Generation or generations may also refer to: Science and technology * Generation (particle physics), a division of the elementary particles * Genera ...

''.

Early life and career

Nxumalo was born in

Lamontville Lamontville is a township in eThekwini situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Township south of Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the l ...

near

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

in 1950. Nxumalo was also a musician even though he had no formal training in both music and acting. He also taught music to children to keep them occupied during the peak of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

in 1988 at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre.

Acting career

He toured internationally for the hit musical

Ipi Tombi ''Ipi Tombi'' (also produced as ''Ipi N'tombi'', both corrupted transliterations of the Zulu ''iphi ntombi'', or "where is the girl?"), is a 1974 musical by South African writers Bertha Egnos Godfrey and her daughter Gail Lakier, telling the st ...

in the late 1970s. Nxumalo also worked as a choreographer and musician for the Playhouse in

and also the

University of KwaZulu Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN; , ) is a public research university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University o ...

and

Durban University of Technology The Durban University of Technology (DUT) is a multi-campus university situated in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was formed in 2002 following the merger of Technikon Natal and ML Sultan Technikon and it was initially known as the Durban In ...

. Nxumalo shot to fame in a

KFC KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...

commercial shot in

Umlazi Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region. It is the fourth largest ...

and became a household name in 2009. He later had a minor role on Intersexions. He then landed the role of Sompisi in 2014, who is the delusional father of

owner Ruby Dikobe on Generations. His character Sompisi was also known for being flirty, charming with an insatiable love for tea.

Personal life

Nxumalo was never married and survived by one son Ntokozo Nxumalo. Nxumalo was known for being humble, modest and shy. He also claimed that "he was scared of being famous" because people would grab him and want to take pictures. He would even be too afraid to buy groceries. He loved listening to music and music by

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

and

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 19 ...

Death

Nxumalo was found dead on the floor of his house on 8 June 2015 in

from a fatal

asthma attack Asthma is a common chronic (medicine), long-term inflammation, inflammatory disease of the bronchiole, airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible Airway obstruction, airflow obstruction, and easi ...

as his medication was found on his bed.

References

1948 births 2015 deaths South African male actors Male actors from Durban {{SouthAfrica-actor-stub