Beloved and well-known actor and writer John Matshikiza, who had recently completed filming on the third season of Jacob’s Cross on M-Net, died of a heart attack in Johannesburg on Monday, September 15, 2008.

Bongiwe Selane, commissioning editor of Jacob’s Cross, says: “John Matshikiza was a veteran in the industry. M-Net deeply mourns the death of this great man and would like to extend our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.”

John played the role of Femi’s (Akin Omotoso) father in Jacob’s Cros and in the late 1990s, he was an evaluator and on the selection committee for the New Directions film initiative, a project that has since grown and is still thriving today.

At a Business and Arts (BASA) function in Durban this evening, Michelle Constant (BASA’s CEO) paid tribute to the acclaimed actor and extended the arts world’s condolences to his family and friends.