East London-born (and rather awesome) famous folk
It’s no secret that East London is a pretty cool place filled with rather awesome folks. Apart from the fact that it’s home to the likes of me, and you, it is also the birthplace of some other wonderful people…men and women who were born in our beautiful city but decided to share their awesomeness in other places around the country and even overseas. Perhaps some of these good folk you already knew about, but others are going to surprise you. Read on to find out more about some very well-known people you share your birthplace/home with…
Frank Rautenbach
This talented (not to mention incredibly handsome) actor was born Leon Francois Rautenbach in East London in 1972. Probably most well known for his lead role in the 2006 movie Faith Like Potatoes, he also starred in Hansie: A True Story in 2008 and The Bang Bang Club in 2010. Not entirely sure where Mr Rautenbach resides these days but apparently it’s with his (undoubtedly) equally as gorgeous wife Leigh. Sigh…
Anton Blake
By the sound of things, actor Anton Blake left East London pretty early on in life (but we shall still lay claim to him and his awesomeness), starting his professional career at the age of 16 in Cape Town. A theatre actor in his early days (he has played noteworthy roles The Beggar’s Opera, The Caretaker, Julius Caesar, Brimstone & Treacle and Emigrants), Anton Blake went on to star in the award-winning The Cask of Amontillado and has appeared in a number of film and television shows. Interesting piece of trivia: Anton’s performance in Bombay Bad Boy (a commercial for British TV) was apparently deemed incredibly risque, so much so that the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association attempted to ban it. Ooh la la!
Scot Cooper
Possessing an enormous amount of talent (plus some incredible blue eyes), actor Scot Cooper was born in East London in 1981 and, since leaving our city, has lived all over the place including Cape Town, New York, London, Vancouver and Cardiff. Scot trained at the Esper Studio in New York and won Best Actor at the Cape Town 48hr Film Festival in 2013 and 2015. He co-starred in the finale of Homeland and also had a supporting role in The World Unseen. Most recent features include the lead role in the highly-acclaimed recent release of Girl from Nowhere. Oh, and he is also related to the Swedish Royal family (hence those eyes) 😉
Norma Foster
Born Norma Vorster in East London in 1939, she went on to become an actress in movies such as Murder Ahoy in 1964, A Study in Terror in 1965 and The Spy with a Cold Nose in 1966. She was also crowned Miss South Africa in 1956, the country’s first representative in the Miss Universe pageant. Gorgeous!
Ashley Taylor
Born in East London in 1968, Ashley attended both Selborne Primary and College, honing his talents that eventually became a career. At the age of 17 he left school and, after being chosen for the Rotary Exchange Programme, he spent the year of 1985 studying in Australia and promoting South Africa. Ashley later attended Rhodes University and performed lead roles in various Grahamstown Festival stage productions, leading to a position teaching English at Selborne College and the opening of a Drama School here in East London (The A.R.T. Studio). He has toured locally and internationally with theatre productions and has become one of South Africa’s leading voice over artists in both radio and television. Let’s hear it for Ashley!
St John Legh Clowes
Born in East London in 1907, St John Legh Clowes was a writer and director, known for No Orchids for Miss Blandish, Dear Murderer and Grand Prix. He died in 1951 in London, England.
Rudy van Zyl
Born in 1973 in East London, Rudy grew up in Kwa-Zulu Natal but moved to New York in 1995. Prior to his overseas move he worked as a Game Ranger at the Kruger National Park but followed his passion for film making and began working his way up the production ranks with commercials, music videos and films. He is perhaps best known as the Assistant Director for American TV series Criminal Minds. Rudy relocated to Los Angeles in 1997 and joined the Director’s Guild of American in 2003.
Jody Scheckter
Celebrated Formula One World Drivers’ Champion, Jody Scheckter, was born in East London in 1950 and attended Selborne College. After his retirement, Jody founded FATS Inc, a company which built firearms, but he now spends his time as a Biodynamic Farmer in Hampshire, England. Last year his farm, Laverstoke Park, was the setting for ITV’s Sugar Free Farm, where a group of celebrities had to go sugar free for two weeks whilst working on the farm. A far cry from his racing days but still fabulous!
Cherry Wainer
Born in 1935 in East London, Cherry Wainer was a musician best known as a member of Lord Rockingham’s XI and a soloist on the Hammond Organ. She learnt to play the piano as a child and later, the jazz keyboard, making her first recording with accordianist Nico Carstens. Cherry featured on the 1950’s magazine programme Lunchbox in the UK and also became a session musician in Oh Boy!, one of the first British series to regularly feature rock n’ roll. Alongside her drummer husband, she appeared in a German TV series and, throughout her diverse career, she released several solo albums and a number of singles. Cherry died in Las Vegas, USA, aged 79.
Lana Marks
Lana Marks was born in East London and attended Clarendon High School, known for being a high achiever academically. Today, she is the CEO and designer of Lana Marks, a fashion accessories brand that specialises in exotic leathers. This incredible career took off after she began a handbag collection when she couldn’t find a handbag to match an outfit she wanted to wear. Lana now designs handbags for the rich and famous and was even friends with Diana, Princess of Wales! She now resides in Florida, USA.
Mark Boucher
Mark Verdon Boucher, born in 1976 in East London and educated at Selborne College, he was coached in Cricket by Richard Pybus and went on to become a well-known South African Cricketer, holding the record for the most Testdismissals by a wicket-keeper. Mark was a regular feature of the SA side since the 1997/98 Australian tour up until his retirement from international cricket in 2012, following a serious eye injury. A legend indeed!
Blaise Koch
Actor Blaise Koch was born in East London in 1952. He began his acting career at the Space Theatre in 1973 before joining the Baxter Theatre in Cape Town and was most well-known for his roles in the films Diamond Girl, The Visual Bible: Acts and The Last Hero. He was also a Vocal & Dialogue Coach for the TV show Egoli and a representative for Regional SAFTU. Blaise had lived as an HIV positive man since 1998 and is well-known for his HIV/AIDS activism work. He died in 2008 in Cape Town.
Mark Andrews
Former Rugby player, Mark Andrews, was born in 1972 in Elliott. He achieved his Junior Springbok colours in waterpolo at school but then moved over to Rugby as his main sport, achieving honours at school and university. Mark played for Natal’s winning Currie Cup team in 1995 and 1996 and made his international test debut for the country in 1994 against England in Cape Town. Mark was part of the 1995 Rugby World Cup winning team and remains a legend in the Eastern Cape.
Allan Gray
Allan WB Gray was born in East London in 1938. He attended Selborne College and then studied accounting at Rhodes University, going on to obtain a Master’s Degree at the Harvard Business School. Today, he is best known as one of the richest men in Africa and founder of Allan Gray Investment Management as well as the non-profilt Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and the Allan and Gill Gray Charitable Trust. Hmmm, 50 Shades of Gray comes to mind. Oh, and he’s married by the way. Darn.
Gibson Kente
Gibson Mthuthezeli Kente was born in 1932 and grew up in Duncan Village. He attended school at a Seventh Day Adventist college in Butterworth and relocated to Johannesburg in 1956. There, he formed a gospel jazz group called the Kente Choristers, and became a member of a black theatre group, the Union Artists. In 1963 Gibson Kente wrote and directed his first musical, Manana, The Jazz Prophet, and established his own theatre group GK Productions. He was openly HIV-positive and died in 2004 in Soweto at the age of 72.
Dr David Potter
Born in 1943 in East London, David Edwin Potter is the founder and chairman of Psion, a microcomputer systems company. He grew up in Cape Town and in 1963 went to the UK to study at Trinity College in Cambridge and then Imperial College London. He later taught at the University of London and the University of California. In 1999 Potter stood down as CEO of Psion and assumed the role of Chairman until 2009 when he retired.
Tony Assness
Born in East London, Tony Assness’s family moved to Newcastle, England when he was just 11 years old. Spurred by a love of the arts, Tony tried to find work as a stage designer in Sydney, Australia and, after a while, was hired as an unpaid intern at Nimrod. From there he attended art school and his career took a different turn, finding himself in the world of corporate events, boutique dinner parties and product launches. Tony continues to live and work in Australia where he is doing incredibly well for himself.
Tertius Myburgh
Born in 1936, Albert Tertius Myburgh was educated at Dale College in King William’s Town and later, the University of Cape Town. His career began at The Friend newspaper in Bloemfontein, followed by a number of years at the London office of the Argus newspaper group. Upon his return to South Africa, he became the political and parliamentary reporter for The Star in Johannesburg, the assistant editor of The Daily News, editor of the Pretoria News and finally, editor of the largest newspaper in the country, The Sunday Times. Tertius resigned as editor of The Sunday Times in 1990 and was suddenly diagnosed with terminal cancer. He died at home that same year.
Vinny Lingham
Born in 1979 in East London, Vinny Lingham finished high school at the age of 17 and went on to study Information Systems at the University of Cape Town. Today, he is an Internet entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of Civic, an identity protection and management startup. He is also the co-founder of SiliconCape, an NGO based in South Africa. Vinny now resides in the San Francisco Bay area in the USA.
Joan Harrison
Born in 1935 in East London, Joan Cynthia Harrison is a South African swimmer and Olympic champion. She competed in the 1952 Olympic Games in Helsinki (at the age of just 16) where she scooped the gold medal in the women’s 100m backstroke event. It was another 44 years before another South African woman won a gold medal in the pool!
Joan was later inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Source: Wikipedia, IMDB