Ian von Memerty (Photo: Screenshot/Facebook Video)
The famous entertainer Ian von Memerty has died at the age of 61.
His family announced on Sunday that he had already passed away in the early morning hours of February 23. The Herald reports that Von Memerty took his own life at a hotel in Johannesburg.
“As a family, we have done everything we can to love and respect him on his journey. We ask for privacy and respect as we deal with our own pain, after losing someone we loved very much,” his family said in a brief statement on its Facebook page.
Von Memerty, who gained fame as a presenter of Strictly Come Dancing and as judge of SA’s Got Talenthas been in the news for the past few months after announcing that he was going to take his own life. He made a series of entries and videos on social media in which he disclosed reasons for the decision.
He said, among other things, that he chooses self-liberation over old age and poverty. He further said that he sees a path of hardship and pain ahead and that he sees no chance of that.
Von Memerty was born on 4 July 1964 in Zimbabwe. Among other things, he was also a pianist, theater director, writer and producer. He has received dozens of national theater nominations and awards.
He is survived by his ex-wife, Vivienne, and their two grown children. Their one daughter died already in 1998 at the age of five. She suffered from a genetic metabolic condition that caused tissue malformation and dwarfism. Her brother suffers from the same condition and has had several bone marrow transplants.
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