Gyearbuor Asante
Encyclopedia
Gyearbuor Asante was a Ghana
ian actor best remembered for his role in the Channel 4
situation comedy
Desmond's
in which he played the role of Gambia
mature student Matthew.
Born in Accra
, Asante appeared in a number of British
TV shows during the 1970s and 80s, where he was billed as Christopher Asante. His credits included episodes of Space: 1999
, Mind Your Language
, Hazell
and The Professionals
as well as a TV performance of Ubu Roi
in 1976. He also played the minister in the film Local Hero
.
He returned to his native Ghana in 1995 where he was made a Cultural Ambassador. He died in his home town of Accra with his funeral held in his ancestral village of Tafo in Kwahu
.
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
ian actor best remembered for his role in the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
situation comedy
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
Desmond's
Desmond's
Desmond's is a British television situation comedy broadcast by Channel 4 from 1989 to 1994. The first series was shot in 1988, with the first episode broadcast in January 1989...
in which he played the role of Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
mature student Matthew.
Born in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
, Asante appeared in a number of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV shows during the 1970s and 80s, where he was billed as Christopher Asante. His credits included episodes of Space: 1999
Space: 1999
Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...
, Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language
Mind Your Language is a British comedy television series, that premiered on ITV in late 1977. Produced by LWT and directed by Stuart Allen, it is set in an adult education college in London and focuses on the English as a Foreign Language class taught by Mr. Jeremy Brown, portrayed by Barry Evans,...
, Hazell
Hazell (TV series)
Hazell is a British television series that ran from 1978–1979, about a fictional private detective named James Hazell.-Overview:James Hazell was a cockney private detective character created by journalist and novelist Gordon Williams and footballer-turned-manager Terry Venables...
and The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
as well as a TV performance of Ubu Roi
Ubu Roi
Ubu Roi is a play by Alfred Jarry, premiered in 1896. It is a precursor of the Theatre of the Absurd and Surrealism. It is the first of three stylised burlesques in which Jarry satirises power, greed, and their evil practices — in particular the propensity of the complacent bourgeois to abuse the...
in 1976. He also played the minister in the film Local Hero
Local Hero
Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
.
He returned to his native Ghana in 1995 where he was made a Cultural Ambassador. He died in his home town of Accra with his funeral held in his ancestral village of Tafo in Kwahu
Kwahu
Kwahu is a region in south-central Ghana, on the west shore of Lake Volta. There are two common spellings, Kwawu and Kwahu. The "w" spelling is the official spelling from the African Studies Centre, University of Ghana, and more resembles the pronunciation...
.