Entertainment
Pete Edochie Celebrates 70th Birthday
Nollywood Veteran actor, Pete Edochie clocked 70 years on March 7, 2017.
Early Life
Pete Edochie was born 7 March 1947. Edochie is considered one of Africa’s most talented actors, by both Movie Awards and Africa Magic Cable network. Although a seasoned administrator and broadcaster, he came into prominence in the 1980s when he played the lead role of Okonkwo in an NTA adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s all-time bestselling novel. Things Fall Apart Edochie descends from the Igbo people in Nigeria and is a catholic.
Career
He got into radio broadcasting in 1967 at the age of 20 as a junior programmes assistant after which he was elevated to the level of a Director. He was director of programmes, but doubling sometimes as Deputy Managing Director and occasionally acting as Managing Director. He quit ABS because the government decided to polities the affairs of their FM Station, thereby resulting in the entire management being asked to move out, including him. He was to be the immediate successor to the MD, but had to leave and enroll into the movie industry. Prior to that, he had featured in Things Fall Apart and had won an international Award. The BBC flew into Nigeria to interview him for his role in Things fall Apart.
Awards
He won the City People Entertainment Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Marriage
Pete Edochie has been married to Josephine Edochie for over 45 years and they have six children together.
Ban
In 2005 the Actor Guild of Nigeria placed Pete Edochie and several other actors, including Genevieve Nnaji, Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, Nkem Owoh, Ramsey Noah, Stella Damasus Aboderin and Richard Mofe Damijo on a one-year ban from filming after they were said to have been collecting huge fees from producers due to their A-list celebrity status. The ban placed on these actors was seen as doom in the Nigerian film business, but currently, the actors are back in filming.
Kidnap
In 2009, Edochie was kidnapped and later released by his captors unharmed.
R&B star, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has recounted the early-career challenges she faced, revealing that she was once booed out of the stage while performing at a school event.
Speaking in an interview with Newsmen, the Crazy Tings crooner shared that she wasn’t only booed but was also harassed with plastic bottles.
“I remember one time I was going to perform at my school as an up-and-coming singer and I thought I was going to receiving a standing ovation.
“But I got booed. They even threw plastic bottles at me,” she recalled.
Tems explained that despite the embarrassing incident and other such rejections, she remained determined to pursue a career in music.
The Tide Entertainment reports that Tems admitted that some of the initial rejections she faced could be due to her conviction to stick to her originality instead of doing covers or familiar sounds like most of her peers.
The Grammy-winning singer said looking back now, she is glad that she didn’t compromise her style despite the initial pressures.
A close associate of late singer Mohbad, Primeboy, has appealed for the artiste’s burial nearly three years after his death.
According to him, Mohbad’s body remains in the mortuary since September 12, 2023, pending burial arrangements.
The Tide Entertainment reports that in a statement Primeboy urged the family, public, and government to permit the burial, stating, “It’s been almost three years since Mohbad left us. His body is still in the mortuary. I’m begging the family, I’m begging the public, I’m begging the government, please let’s bury our brother. He deserves a befitting burial.”
It would be recalled that Mohbad’s death sparked public outrage, protests, and investigations. Ongoing autopsy examinations, police inquiries, and legal proceedings have delayed burial arrangements amid family disagreements and public scrutiny.