Trevor Rhone, one of Jamaica’s best known playwrights and screenwriters, died earlier today in Kingston, Jamaica; he had reportedly suffered from a heart attack and was being transported to the hospital, but died while in-transit. He was 69 years old.
Born March 24 1940, Rhone is best known for his co-writing role in the movie “The Harder They Come,” a film classic that helped introduce the island’s pop culture to a global audience, and also for authoring the classic Jamaican play “Smile Orange”. He played a key role in the ‘renaissance’ of Jamaican theater in the early 1970’s, and helped to establish the very first theatre (of 150 seats) that was for the production and hosting of locally written theatrical works.
In July 2007, he was awarded third place on the top 100 all time list of black screen icons in the past 100 years. He has received numerous awards including the Jamaican government’s Commander of the Order of Distinction (CD) – one of the highest honours that Jamaica can bestow on an individual – and the 1996 Living Legend Award presented by the National Black Theatre Festival.
Learn more about Trevor Rhone here.
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