It is with great sadness that St John's College pays tribute to Ian von Memerty, one of the most gifted and memorable personalities to have come through our doors. Born in Zimbabwe, Ian previously attended Prince Edward School in Harare, where his talents were already evident. He had accompanied school hymns on the piano at morning assembly and taken the lead role in the school's annual Gilbert & Sullivan production, performing in Patience.
He joined St John's Sixth Form in 1981 and, in just two years, made an impression his classmates have never forgotten. His house, Clarke, swept the acting prizes during his time in the Sixth Form. In 1982, he was awarded the School Prize for Choir, as well as the award for Best Team Work in the Interhouse Plays, for Clarke's production of Here We Are, which placed second in the competition. He was also among the first recipients of the newly established Cultural Tie, awarded for his contributions to Drama and Music.
It was in the Major Production of 1982, Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, that Ian played Angelo, one of the Bard's most complex characters. The Johannian that year noted his "great intelligence and natural stage presence" and his "natural mastery of the verse", and observed that his exchanges with Isabella had "an electricity and tension which is true Shakespeare, and archaic language or no, had the audience sitting up and straining to follow."
Fellow student Hugh Giddy (Clarke 1982), then in UIV, wrote: "The best actor, in my opinion, was Ian von Memerty as Angelo. He successfully evoked emotion in his soliloquies and built up tremendous suspense in his dialogue with Isabella. He portrayed the evil Angelo perfectly."
Ian had also appeared in the Sixth Form play in 1981, The Middle Watch. Sarah Hawke (Sixth Form | Clarke 1983), who appeared alongside him in Measure for Measure and Pygmalion and went with him to the matric dance in full 1920s costume, remembers: "Ian and I were great mates. Even then, you could see he had massive talent. He was full of sauce, fabulously rude and a joy to be around - a force that lit up the common room."
"Ian was intelligent, witty and uber-entertaining. He was someone you could confide in, knowing he'd never divulge a secret. I think most of the Sixth Form girls had a crush on him at some point (I know I did!) because, not only was he good-looking, but he always had time for you and offered excellent advice. He was also great fun, with a wicked streak. He loved a double entendre and a dramatic eye roll! We all knew he'd end up on the stage. He was a born entertainer with a big, big personality. A shining beacon of joy," writes Belinda Barton (Sixth Form | Thomson 1983).
"Ian was cultured and worldly, with an exceptional maturity. He was able to act, sing and play the piano at a really high level, and was clearly so full of promise. He was such a lovely, jovial person, too. Our Sixth Form Director, Mr Grant-McKenzie, was really fond of him. As were we," recalls Roddy Payne (Sixth Form | Hill 1983).
"Some souls burn so brightly that even after the flame goes out, the warmth of them stays with you, in the songs you hear and the memories of every moment you were lucky to share," Nicola Faber-Hodgson (Sixth Form | Thomson 1983).
"Ian was a characterful, charismatic classmate with a larger-than-life personality and a talent to match. Even as teenagers, we knew he was destined for great things, and, boy, did he achieve them! Hamba kahle, Ian," Gill Wing (Sixth Form | Hill 1984).
Over a career spanning four decades, Ian became one of South Africa's most celebrated performers. He received fifteen national theatre awards and seventeen nominations. His two-piano revue A Handful of Keys, which he co-conceived and wrote, ran for over 1,500 performances and was seen by more than half a million people. He directed productions including The Rocky Horror Show, Umoja, Fiela's Child and Grease, and hosted Strictly Come Dancing South Africa on SABC3 and Muziek a la Carte, as well as serving as a judge on the first four seasons of SA's Got Talent.
Ian is survived by his former wife Vivienne Lawrence, and their children Oscar and Kasvia.
With thanks to Archivist Dr Mike Boyd and Old Johannian Gill Wing, who gathered the tributes.
