Lari Williams… Light out on consummate dramatist

Nollywood was thrown into deep mourning last week when news broke that the essential and consummate dramatist, Babalari Williams, has braced the final curtain call. Aged 82, Lari as the legendary actor was roundly called for short, reportedly died in his maternal native hometown in Ikom, Cross Rivers State.

Family sources said the accomplished stage and screen actor who only recently relocated to Ikom from Lagos where he had spent over 50 years as a performer, died in his sleep. Lari died at a time when the industry was still mourning the exit of one of the stars of the defunct New Masquerade television series James Amuta aka Natty.

A world class actor whose relevance refused to patter off in spite of the fact that his career on screen and particularly on home video has been dormant for some time now, talk about a tested method actor with an outstanding accomplishment in acting, poetry and journalism and fingers will point to Babalari Babatunde Williams whom younger colleagues prefer to call Uncle Lari.

With a talent that could be best described as timeless and abundant, the Lagos born veteran actor, poet, drummer, writer and drama teacher is undoubtedly one of the few internationally trained actors who reigned uproariously at a time, particularly in the late 70’s and 80’s and one of those who heralded international recognition for Nigerian stage and screen offerings through his extraordinary talent.

Born to a father Tao Williams who is originally from Lagos Island Local Council and to a mum Mrs. Elizabeth Williams who is from Yala in Cross Rivers State, Uncle Lari was first known nationally for his portrayal of Ladipo, the disarmingly humble lead actor in Lola Fani Kayode’s long rested and applauded soap on television, Mirror in the Sun. The old boy of St Paul Breadfruit School and the famous CMS Grammar School all in Lagos, rode on the back of that successful soap to become one of Nigeria’s well regarded character actors starring in numerous stage and screen efforts like For Better for Worse, Village Headmaster, Adio Family, and Third Eye.

Interestingly, Lari’s first shot at a career was as a reporter with the West African Pilot; he was just 17 then. Apart from turning in reports on politics and sports related matters, Lari’s first real test as a journalist came when he was assigned to cover the late Nnamdi Azikiwe’s trip to northern Nigeria as Governor General.

Lari posted reports from Zungeru, which his employers and his parents found so impressive. So, when the opportunity came for him to travel abroad for some training in journalism at the London School of Journalism, he got all the support he needed to excel. However, it was while in the school of journalism that he developed a deep passion for acting.

“I took English lessons at Molly College in London to improve my spoken English. I later joined the college drama group for evening classes. It was while there that I met the late veteran actor Jab Adu who encouraged me to enroll for full professional training in acting at the Mountview Theatre School. I finished in 1974 and had time to establish a small African theatre ensemble, which I called ‘The Calabash Artistes’. The group used artistes such as Taiwo Ajai Lycet, Olu Jacobs, Taiwo Jegede and Femi Fatoba. They were all based in London then. That was when we produced my first full-length play Kolanut Junction. I wrote a few other plays, got a number published and I was doing all that until I got the invitation to return home for FESTAC, which Nigeria hosted.”

Lari performed at FESTAC as a musical poet. He performed his poetry to music and stayed back after FESTAC.

“I became attached to Nigeria after FESTAC,” he says of his decision to stay back home instead of returning to London.

“Besides, I had a mother who was getting old and who wanted me back home, because she felt that I had overstayed. Again, after FESTAC, I envisaged a brighter future for the arts in Nigeria. So, with all these pressures, I decided to stay hoping that I would have the chance to impart my knowledge to younger actors. But as you can see, the structures that were put on ground after FESTAC did not help matters. Really, what I expected to happen to the arts didn’t just happen, because after FESTAC, we all went to bed. We didn’t put any structure on ground to reap the benefit of hosting such a monumental event.’’

A published author whose first book, an anthology of poems called Drum Call was published in London in 1976 by 4th Dimensions, Enugu, in conjunction with a British company called Barbican Books, Lari didn’t look as though he would retire from acting any time soon.

He once declared that in the business called show business, actors rarely retire. He said: “People in this kind of business, especially actors, don’t retire. They stay on and do things that their talent and experience can still permit. I remember great actors like the late Laurence Olivier, who died at 84, without retiring. There is also Chief Ogunde who died at 76 while playing a role in the Hollywood film Mr. Johnson. So, nobody retires in show business. If you seek and don’t find me someday and they say I am gone, know that I was still ready to perform.”

Founder of Lari Williams Playhouse and much later the Academy of Dramatic Art and Music (ADAM), Lari who is married with children ran a weekly column ‘Stage and Screen’ in the Vanguard Newspaper for close to three decades. He has over the years used the column to canvass a viable and sustainable entertainment industry.

Lari is of the opinion that for Nigeria’s art to attain the professional level, government has to take more than a passive interest in its affairs. Hear Lari out in a recent opinion on the state of the arts in Nigeria: “Artistes are never remembered until the chips are down. A lot of us were remembered when we were needed to come and perform at FESTAC, but no one remembers us when the goodies are to be shared; no royalties, not even to be given a remembrance pat on the back for past performances. CBAAC’s gesture in remembering the great festival was a splash of N3 million on postage stamps, while artistes are starving and looking for ways to support their creative channels. Writers are looking for publishing avenues, producers are looking for financial support to make films and give actors jobs to keep the nation happy. Some of the joys I have experienced so far is the singular honour of bringing out Egun LAPAMPA across the bridge to perform in my stage production of Awero, and also to get the greatly revered to Chief Ajanaku II, on stage in my cast in the main bowl of the National Theatre in 1986.

I have seen the arts grow from arts for-arts-sake to arts for money. What we need now are people with the right business acumen that will help the entertainment business generate money and make Nigeria’s entertainment industry lucrative, and more viable to open up to bigger ventures.”

In one of his many interviews, Lari was asked if his involvement in show business has been rewarding, and Lari short of saying it was not, simply remarked that he has not taken much back in terms of profit.

“I would say the satisfaction of doing what I enjoy doing best is all I have gotten from my involvement. Outside that, I have not taken much back in terms of profit. If you want to reckon what I have done on financial basis, I have not gotten much, but I have had a lot of handshakes, received accolades and met a lot of wonderful people. But one needs to keep body and soul together and one has a family to take care of. So, in terms of financial rewards, I would say no, but in terms of satisfaction of doing what you enjoy doing, I would say yes.”