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Nǃxau

 
Actor: N!xau
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Actors
  • Born: in Kalahari Desert
  • Died: Jul 02, 2003 in Tsumkwe, Namibia
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '80s-'90s
  • Major Genres: Comedy, Adventure
  • Career Highlights: The Gods Must Be Crazy, The Gods Must Be Crazy 2, Heonggong Ya Fungkwong
  • First Major Screen Credit: The Gods Must Be Crazy (1981)

Biography

A member of southern Africa's indigenous San tribe, N!xau would go from a life of peaceful solitude to an unexpected turn as the world's most famous bushman following the release of Jamie Uys' 1981 comedy The Gods Must Be Crazy. Born in the Kalahari Desert sometime around 1944 (N!xau himself was unsure of his exact birth date), N!xau was discovered by director Uys and immediately cast in the lead of The Gods Must Be Crazy. Paid only a few hundred dollars for his appearance in the film, N!xau's lack of knowledge regarding the value of currency resulted in the actor literally letting his payment float away in the wind. Nevertheless, the world soon fell in love with the unassuming bushman, and though he would receive the royal treatment as he toured the globe, N!xau was more comfortable sleeping on the hotel room floors than the beds provided for him. Rumored to have only seen three white people before the film was shot, and having never been in a community larger than the small village of huts inhabited by his tribe, the trappings of fame had little effect on N!xau in terms of personality, though by the time a sequel to The Gods Must Be Crazy was set to shoot, his understanding of currency led him to demand several hundred thousand dollars in order to build a home for his wives and family. The successful sequel was so popular as to spawn three more Hong Kong-produced sequels (one featuring a hopping vampire dropped into N!xau's tribe!), and the down-to-earth star would subsequently return to Namibia to be with his family. On July 2, 2003, N!xau was found dead near his home after going on an excursion to find wood. He was believed to have been 59 at the time of his death. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Nǃxau
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Nǃxau
Born circa December 16, 1944(1944-12-16)
Tsumkwe, Namibia
Died July 1, 2003 (aged 58)
Tsumkwe, Namibia
Other name(s) Gǃkau
Gcao Coma
Occupation Bush farmer, actor

Nǃxau[1] (also Gǃkau or Gcao Coma[2]) (c. 16 December 1944[3] – 1 July 2003) was a Namibian bush farmer and actor who was made famous by his roles in the 1980 movie The Gods Must Be Crazy and its sequels, in which he played the Kalahari Bushman Xixo. The Namibian has called him "Namibia's most famous actor".[3]

Biography

N!xau was a member of the San tribe, commonly known as Bushmen. He spoke Juǀʼhoan, Otjiherero, and Tswana fluently, as well as some Afrikaans.[3] He did not know his own exact age,[2][3] and before his appearance in the films he had little experience of typical "modern" living: he had only ever seen three white people before being cast[2] and was unaware of the value of paper money, allowing (according to legend) his first earnings for The Gods Must Be Crazy to blow away in the wind.[2][3] He earned only a few hundred dollars for his work in The Gods Must Be Crazy, but by the time of the first sequel he had obtained enough understanding of money to negotiate a much larger sum to appear again.[2] He is said to have wasted much of the money because "he did not have the skills to manage his income,"[3] although he used some of it to build a brick house with running water and electricity for his family.[2]

In addition to The Gods Must Be Crazy, N!xau starred in a series of sequels: The Gods Must Be Crazy II, Crazy Safari, Crazy Hong Kong and The Gods Must Be Funny in China. After his film career ended, Nǃxau returned to Namibia, where he farmed corn, pumpkins, and beans and kept several head of cattle (but no more than twenty at a time because, according to The Independent, he had difficulty counting higher).[2] On 1 July 2003, he died from multiple-drug resistant tuberculosis,[3] while he was hunting guinea fowl. He was buried on July 12 in a semi-traditional ceremony at Tsumkwe, next to the grave of his second wife.[3]

References

  1. ^ The exclamation mark in his name is a symbol for a click consonant in his native tongue, Juǀʼhoan. The spelling of his full name Gcao Coma suggests that it is a voiced dental click.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Vallance, Tom (10 July 2003). "N!xau: Kalahari bushman who became an international film star". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/nxau-755451.html. Retrieved 19 January 2009. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Tangeni, Amupadhi (11 July 2003). "Cgao Coma - bridging ancient and modern". The Namibian. Archived from the original on 31 July 2003. http://web.archive.org/web/20030731075751/http://www.namibian.com.na/2003/june/national/03E045E14E.html. Retrieved 19 January 2009. 

External links

v • d • e
The Gods Must Be Crazy series

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