Pa Orlando Martins - Nigeria's first Hollywood star
In 1947, Orlando Martins was listed among Englands top 15 favourite actors.
He was born as Emmanuel Alhandu Martins at Okesuna Street, Lagos, Nigeria, to a civil servant father with roots in Brazil and a Nigerian mother. Martins was related to the Benjamin Epega family. In 1913 he was enrolled in Eko Boys High School but dropped out. During World War I he served as a stoker on the RMS Mauretania to avenge German cruelty to his family. Following the end of the war, he moved to London; on arrival in 1919 he had no source of income and had to look for ways to earn money. Around the same time, the Lyceum Theatre was looking for "supers" at the rate of three shillings per day. Martins joined the theatre and from there took on various theatre jobs to survive. In 1923, Sanger's Circus wanted to have someone to display pythons, Martins took the part starting his performing career in the circus. He also worked as a wrestler (known as "Black Butcher Johnson").
Film making in Nigeria dates back to the 20th century with clusters of films produced by colonialists.
As the unnamed industry continued to grow by leaps and bounds with Nigerians finally getting speaking roles, a Nigerian star was being made in the United Kingdom.
Orlando Martins was born to a Brazilian father and a Nigerian mother from Ijebu. He moved to London after World War 1 and stumbled on acting in his search for a means of livelihood. At the Lyceum Theatre, Martins got his first theatre job as an actor in training.
From the 1920s till World War II Martins featured as an extra in over a handful of films including the infamous 'Sanders of the River' directed by Alexander Korda starring the legendary American actor, Paul Robeson. The actor also explored his skill in circuses and professional wrestling.
Post the second World War, Orlando's acting career shot for the skies with features in 'Men of Two Worlds' (1946), 'The Men From Morocco' (1945) , 'The Hasty Heart' (1949), 'BBC Sunday-Night Theatre' (1950), 'Where No Vultures Fly' (1951), 'Simba' (1955) among others.
By the 1940s, Orlando was already a famous actor with a 1945 poll listing him among England's top 15 favourite actors. He moved back to Lagos in 1959 where he promptly took to stage performances featuring in notable stage plays including the stage adaption of Wole Soyinka's 'Kongi's Harvest' . Martins' final film role was in the film adaptation of Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart'.
Martins died in 1985 at the age of 85 in Lagos, where he was buried at Ikoyi Cemetery.
He is the subject of the 1983 book by Takiu Folami, entitled Orlando Martins, the Legend: an intimate biography of the first world acclaimed African film actor.
Bristol-based playwright Ros Martin has been researching and developing material in connection with Martins, her great-uncle
Source: Wikipedia, Pulse ng
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