If you are talking about the Yoruba movie
industry and what makes it special, there
are some names of actors and actresses
you would first think of. Jide Kosoko and
Adebayo Salami are one of those names,
the two started acting as children when the
movie industry was just kicking off.
The veteran actors began their acting
before people started getting used to the
idea of watching home videos on screen.
Due to the fact that the two veterans
have been in the acting scene for over
fifty years, people often wander who
started acting first between the two, but
funny enough, the friends started acting
the same year.
In 1964, Kosoko began his acting career
as a child actor in a television
production Makanjuola when he was
just 10 years. Salami, popularly known
as Oga Bello, in the movie industry also
started acting in 1964.
Adebayo Salami had started with a
group called Young Concert Party, a
dance drama group. In an interview, the
actor revealed that his first acting gig
was a stage drama Banye Banye.
He said: "No. That was not the
beginning of my acting career. I started
acting in 1964 with the group,
Youngsters Concert Party. It was a dance
drama group. It was not a movie. We
started with stage drama, not movie.
You see, the history of film industry in
Nigeria started with stage drama. It
started with Alarinjo, before we
graduated to television. My first
commercial stage drama was Banye
Banye; that was at the Global Foreign
Hall. We did the same Banye Banye in
1969. I remember very well that the
chairman of that night was Brigadier
Benjamin Adekunle. "
Kosoko on the other hand was
recommended to act in his first movie
by a man who had watched him acting
while playing with his friends.
In an interview with The Nation, he
said: “I started acting at the age of 10.
There was a neighbour, he was like an
uncle, they had a drama group near our
house. And one day, they needed a little
boy to play a role, and this man, who
had always watched me play with my
peers, simply opted for me. That was
how I started acting in 1964.â€
The 65-year-old veteran had been born
on January 12, 1954, to a royal family
in Lagos Island. As a child, he watched
how the king and his chiefs act and
tried to act the characters out with his
friends after school.
He was inspired into acting by the
success of Hubert Ogunde. He says he
wanted to know what Ogunde did, that
made him loved by many.
On the other hand, 65-year-old Adebayo
Salami who is few months older than
Kosoko was born on May 9, 1953.
The actors who have now become
household names and known by movie
lovers across Nigeria, have children in
the industry. Their children have
become as popular and talented as their
fathers.
Kosoko's daughters Bidemi and Shola
are popular actresses known for their
acting skills. Salami's sons Femi and
Tope also popular actors known for
their acting skills, while Saudiq is a
production manager and Ridwan is a
video editor. Oga Bello also has other
children who are working in the movie
industry and his first wife Ejide is a
movie marketer.
In other news, Legit.ng had reported that
veteran actor Prince Jide Kosoko
recently celebrated his birthday. The
talented actor clocked 65 years old and
celebrated with his colleagues, family
and friends him.
