Isidingo’s Georgie ‘Papa G’ Zamdela dies after illness

Former Isidingo actor Darlington Michaels, who was affectionately referred to by his character name from the show, Georgie “Papa G” Zamdela has passed away.

News of Michaels’ passing broke on Friday evening.

“The SABC is deeply saddened by the passing of the legendary Darlington Michaels. His immense contribution to the entertainment industry will forever be remembered,” the public broadcaster said in a statement.

There were reports of the actor being unwell about a week ago and being admitted to the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.

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Being Papa G

Michaels joined the SABC 3 soapie Isidingo in 1997, playing the character of the flamboyant Papa G.

“My character was modelled after me – Papa G also spoke Tsotsi taal and wore expensive silk shirts and extravagant jewellery. Twenty years later, people still call me Papa G when I am out in public,” Michaels previously said in an interview.

In 2013, Michaels suffered a stroke on a work trip to Cape Town to attend the J&B Met.

“I had travelled with the cast of Isidingo when I fell ill. I spent three months at the Groote Schuur Hospital recovering while I couldn’t sit up, walk or feed myself,” he said.

“Although I didn’t think I would make it, the nurses helped me get back on my feet. The stroke left me feeling fragile; my left leg hasn’t fully recovered, and I now use a walking stick. This further impacted my ability to work. So, I decided to reduce my time on Isidingo to focus on healing.”

His appearance on the show dwindled which had an adverse effect on his financial standing.

“You can’t feed a family as a call actor,” he said in another interview. “For example: sometimes you can bring in R6 000, sometimes it’s R26 000, depending on the number of calls.”

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Fighting for actors’ rights

The thespian was outspoken about the treatment of actors following his treatment after his illness. He was critical of the structure of contracts for actors, which don’t see the creatives benefiting from the shows they worked on except through the once-off payment.

“As far as I know, you sign a contract; there is a fee that is supposed to be paid out as a royalty for the repeats of which you get 25% of what you were earning per episode.”

“People have this perception that I am expensive,” he says. “It’s not like that. We suffer. What you are witnessing is unadulterated poverty. We’re looking left, looking right. But I could still take many casual roles at my age.”

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