Esteemed Jamaican stage, television and movie actor, Munair Zacca, passed away this morning, his wife of four decades, Adelina Pedroda Zacca, confirmed to The Gleaner.
Zacca, who was diabetic and had a lung disorder, had been ailing for some time. had been ailing for some time. In recent years, he had bowed out of the theatre due to ill health.
"It was a very difficult last couple of years," Adelina shared. "When he wasn't on stage it was because he couldn't. But he got a lot of love. I have received so many calls today."
She added, "He was 79, not 80. He was a real Cancerian."
Zacca who would have celebrated his 80th birthday in June, was perhaps best known for his role as Sonny T in the Lennie Little-White-produced hit television drama, Royal Palm Estate. Set in an old sugar manor in Jamaica, Royal Palm Estate centred around the life of the wealthy Blackburn family. It aired on local television from 1994 to 2015.
"I was Mrs Sonny T," said Adelina, a former Yoga teacher and flamenco dancer, who met Zacca in the Cayman Islands four decades ago, got married and had a daughter all in one year.
Adelina became his biggest cheerleader.
"When we met I didn't know where Jamaica was or who was Bob Marley ... but bwoy did I learn quick. Did you know that [Munair Zacca] did 180 plays? He was so shy when he wasn't on stage. He worked with Miss Lou and the best of them all. He was the only actor to appear naked on stage at The Ward Theatre ... in the play Dream on Monkey Island. He would say, 'I have the fame but not the fortune,' but I didn't mind. It was destiny," Adelina said firmly.
A prolific actor, Zacca starred in movies such as Countryman (1982); Passion and Paradise (1989); Shottas (2002); Better Mus' Come (2011); Kingston Paradise (2013); and Destiny (2014). Among the numerous stage productions he was involved in were Anansi and Unsung Heroes Heroes out West; Lotto Money; and Art, for which he won Best Supporting Actor at the 2008 Actor Boy Awards.