Cape Town – The son of the late veteran actor Jamie Bartlett has spoken about his father’s life and legacy, as he shared some of his experiences with him.
Jamie died on Monday at the age of 55.
His partner Rosa Onious revealed this week that he died of cardiac arrest..
Jamie’s son, Hector Bartlett, said during an interview with eNCA that he spent a lot of time on the road with his father.
“My father said to me, very young, to try and be interested and, therefore, interesting. I think that’s something I’ve taken forward in life in our journey together.
“We spent a lot of our time road tripping throughout South Africa, through the smallest of the small towns, spending time in India together, as a young boy. He was fascinated by food, by texture, by nature, by colour. He really did live the passion that I think he brought to the millions of screens across South Africa,” said Hector.
Watch the interview below
He also spoke about his father’s talent and how it impacted his life.
“He brought that into my life as a very young man and, I think, as an unbelievable father. He was the fire that inspired me through the most unbelievable performances on screen, on stage and through every single life that he touched. I couldn’t think of a better person to witness or learn from in terms of how you ignite someone, in terms of how you light up their world, and how you speak to their imagination,” Hector said.
According to The Citizen, Hector is Jamie’s son from his previous marriage to fellow actress Camilla Waldman.
His death sent a shock wave on social media.
According to Channel24, Jamie’s partner, Onious said that he had taken a nap on the day, as he was not working. She said that he had asked her to wake him up at 17:00 because he had plans to meet with his friends.
However, when she woke him up, Jamie wasn’t responding.
It was then when Onious and her mother who was outside the house called an ambulance.
ALSO READ: South African actor Jamie Bartlett, 55, dies
“They tried everything to resuscitate him, CPR, everything, but it was too late. We got the autopsy results, and they said it was cardiac arrest,” the report quoted Onious as saying.
Sunday Times reported that prior to his death, Jamie had told Onious that he loved her and that she was his whole world.
Jamie also spent his last moments spreading love to staff and customers at 012 Lifestyle Restaurant in Brooklyn, Pretoria where he made an appearance on Somizi’s invite.
Somizi was a Sunday resident chef at the venue on the day.
In the shared videos, Jamie could be seen greeting, hugging and kissing staff and customers.
Jamie was known for playing David Genaro on eTV’s Rhythm City until 2020 and Mike O’Reilly on SABC3’s Isidingo.
He was among SA’s most-loved actors, winning three prestigious SA Film and Television Awards in a career spanning more than three decades, the report said.
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