Jamaican theater lost one of the stars from its golden era on July 9 with the death of actor Volier Johnson. Media reports suggest he died from an heart attack. Johnson, who was in his late 60’s, was an integral part of Jamaican theater for 50 years. He appeared in numerous plays, as well as a handful of pantomimes, television shows and movies. His first serious role was as the handcart peddler who tries to ‘pick’ Jimmy Cliff in the opening scenes of The Harder They Come. The jocular Johnson starred in hit plays such as Toy Boy, for which he won an Actor Boy Award in 1996 as Festus.
In 2013, he was awarded the Order of Distinction, Jamaica’s sixth highest honor, for services to theater. Johnson forged a successful partnership with close friend Oliver Samuels. They appeared together in several hit plays including Oliver And Pinocchio, Oliver’s Posse and Breadfruit Kingdom which were produced by Jambiz International. Lenny Salmon, a member of the Jambiz International team, said Johnson, “Was a classic comedic actor. One of the best.” He knew Johnson for 40 years. They worked together in the 1982 pantomime, Gineral B, alongside Samuels and Leonie Forbes, regarded as the queen of Jamaican theater. “Just a smile, just body movement and people would crack up. It’s one of the things that made Volier special,” said Salmon.
Johnson and Samuels belonged to a class of actors who emerged during the 1970’s, considered glory days of the Jamaican stage. Their contemporaries included Salmon, fellow actor Fae Ellington and playwright Basil Dawkins who directed Johnson in Toy Boy. Salmon says besides his boundless talent, Volier Johnson’s personality made him popular on and off stage. “I cannot recall ever seeing Volier angry, that wasn’t his character. He had a heart of gold.”
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