Veteran Nollywood star Olu Jacobs dies at 84: family

• Jacobs is regarded as one of the father figures in Nigeria's vibrant film industry, Nollywood, with a career that spanned over five decades in theatre, television and film.

File image of legendary Nigeria Actor Olu Jacobs. PHOTO | COURTESY

One of Nigeria's pioneering filmmakers and actors who helped bring Nollywood talent to the global stage, Olu Jacobs, has died at age 84, his family said on Wednesday.

Jacobs is regarded as one of the father figures in Nigeria's vibrant film industry, Nollywood, with a career that spanned over five decades in theatre, television and film.

Announcing the death on Instagram, his son, Olusoji Jacobs, said his was "a life well lived and fought".

Jacobs' wife, Joke Silva, who is also a renowned Nollywood actress and filmmaker, announced in 2021 that he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a progressive neurodegenerative disease.

Born Oludotun Jacobs, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and appeared in different British television shows and series in the 1970s - including "The Goodies", "The Professionals" and "The Tomorrow People".

He also featured in numerous Nigerian productions and won several awards.

"Nigeria has lost far more than a great actor; we have lost an institution, a cultural icon and one of the finest ambassadors of our creative spirit," Atiku Abubakar, Nigeria's former vice president and candidate in upcoming presidential elections, wrote in a post on X.

Nollywood is the world's second-largest, only to Bollywood in terms of output, and produces some 2,000 films annually.