"The Gods Must Be Crazy" Star, Actor & Bushman, N!xau, dead at 59

Associated Press ^ | 7-5-2003 | AP

[fieldmarshaldj]

N!xau

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) - N!xau, the diminutive bushman catapulted from the remote sandswept reaches of the Kalahari Desert to international stardom in the film "The Gods Must Be Crazy" has died, police officials said Saturday.

He was estimated to have been about 59, although he himself said he did not know his exact age.

Police in the remote area of Tsumkwe in the Namibian part of the Kalahari where N!xau lived confirmed his recent death, but did not have any details of how or when he died. His name is a usual transliteration of his tribal language, which uses clicking noises that have no letter in English.

He had suffered from tuberculosis in the past.

The "Gods Must Be Crazy" became a worldwide hit and a top grossing foreign film after its release in 1980. Audiences swooned over his portrayal of an earnest bushman with a sheepish smile whose discovery of a Coca-Cola bottle sets off a comedy of errors.

N!xau starred in several sequels before returning to the familiarity of life as a herdsman raising cattle and vegetables in the Namibian bush.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Yet another loss this past month... R.I.P.

[fieldmarshaldj]

[boris]

A shame. That was a funny movie. Alas, the sequel was a stinker.

[EggsAckley]

He was adorable in that film. A natural actor. Makes me want to see it again. *add to list*

[blam]

Excellent movie. RIP N!xau.

[Scenic Sounds]

A shame. That was a funny movie. Alas, the sequel was a stinker.

Ditto. ;-)

[John H K]

Let it be noted that N!xau was a better actor than Keanu Reeves.

[mafree]

That was a funny flick- may he rest in peace.

[Radix]

My favorite part of that movie was the jeep with no brakes. It was outrageously simple, and that made it funny.

[Consort]

[HighWheeler]

I remember laughing so hard at that movie I could hardly breathe. That scene of him driving the jeep backwards was just hilarious.

Thanks N!xau for all the laughs.

[Squawk 8888]

Best part was the firefight in the banana grove. The have a terrorist slip on a banana peel, and it works!

[Monkey Face]

All I can say is this: He was unconsciously THE PERFECT ACTOR. That movie (#1) is an Absolute Staple! He is Marked by The One Who knows his worth!

[AF68]

I never laughed so hard until I saw "The Gods Must Be Crazy". I think I'll take out the old tape and watch it again, and laugh, in memory of N!xau.

[cyberaxe]

was the jeep with no brakes

.....that and the winch in the tree.....

.....(but i think it was a LR Series).....

[sine_nomine]

I loved the winch and the tree! Too funny.

[Boiler Plate]

Like so many others I never stopped laughing from beginning to end. My younger sister (a liberal) went with me to see the film. She couldn't get it. I started then thinking that liberals only find humor in the misshaps of their enemies. I have continued to find that true.

Rest in peace, N!xau.

Saddest Regards,
Boiler Plate

[jennyp]

Ah, N!xau, I want you to know: click click schgpick tick tick ouclick nmmbptick-km. And I mean it!

[unspun]

Blessings for Nixau's loved ones. Hope he's having something better than a Coke.

[oyez]

And as usual, most of the critics hated it.

They just knew people were being exploited by this flic.

[oyez]

And as usual, most of the critics hated it.

They just knew people were being exploited by this flic.

[rightwingextremist1776]

And all this time I thought it Kofi Annan that was the star in that movie! Anyway, rest in peace.

[Pravious]

After making the two "Gods Must Be Crazy" films, N!xau went on to make three HK films, "Crazy Hong Kong," "The Gods Must Be Funny in China" and the immortal "Crazy Safari," in which he is portrayed as possessed by the spirit of Bruce Lee to fight some hopping Chinese vampires!

Ah, for that alone... R.I.P.

[Liberty Valance]

Dang, i loved that movie....R!P N!xau
I must say his seemed to be a life well lived.
He will be missed.

Liberty

[breakem]

I think GMBC was the second longest running film in Sacramento filmdom. First was Return of the Jedi. As I recall, it moved twice after it's original engagement without a break in the days it showed.

[Fiddlstix]

That was one of the funniest movies I ever watched.
He was great in that movie
R.I.P N!xau

[Boiler Plate]

Yes and Mr Moore did it all for the children with his critically acclaimed Bowling for Columbine

[WVNan]

My all-time favorite movie for comedy. I've never laughed so hard at anything else. Rest in peace little man.

[UnklGene]

All I can say, N!xau is !!!. We'll ! miss you.

[Dont Mention the War]

They just knew people were being exploited by this flic.

I was pretty young at the time the first movie came out, but I seem to recall that a lot of the negative reviews were part of the liberals' overall campaign of slamming all things South African. They didn't attack it because of its content, they intentionally ginned up reasons to "hate" it in an attempt to prevent a South African white man from earning a paycheck from any sort of work whatsoever. (Remember, they were trying to shut down the entire country back then. Amusingly, they finally succeeded at doing so only after the whites abdicated sole power.)

[Kevin Curry]

My favorite part of that movie was the jeep with no brakes.

IIRC, he had named it "The Antichrist."

Funny, funny movie.

[rockfish59]

Damn! =^(

I loved the tiny bow & arrow when he knocked out the kidnappers.
One of the funniest movies ever!

R.I.P. little man!

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

I didn't see the sequel, but I thought the first one was hilarious. I recorded it off cable TV and I still watch it once in a while.

[ward_of_the_state]

Ah, N!xau, I want you to know: click click schgpick tick tick ouclick nmmbptick-km. And I mean it!

LOL - with tears streaming down my face! Jenny P, you are just too funny! By the way, I tip my Coke bottle in memory of N!xau. Godspeed little funny guy!

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Oh yeah, that was a great part. I'm going to have to dig it out of the movie collection and watch it again.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Yeah, those critics don't know jack. They always hate the movies that I like, including this one.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Right on. If you don't find this movie funny, check your pulse. You may be dead.

[rabidralph]

Ah, N!xau, I want you to know: click click schgpick tick tick ouclick nmmbptick-km. And I mean it!

Awww, that's beautiful.

[zarf]

This guy looked like a black version of my cousin or the spitting image of the lead singer in Kool and the Gang

[Boiler Plate]

The landrover up the tree was priceless. It cracks my up just thinking about it.

[AnnaZ]

!!!

 

I just mentioned this blast from the past when we had Steyn!

 

This movie was big stuff when I was in university in Ottawa. It played at a theater downtown for years and I think my dad and I saw it there at least three times.

 

RIP

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh! - This was SUCH a FUNNY movie!

[jennyp]

I guess my favorite scene is when a (baboon?) steals the Coke bottle, and he tries to explain to him that the Coke bottle will only give him bad luck.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

In spite of the libs, this movie became an international success beyond the producers' wildest dreams. I hope the libs got so mad about this that they couldn't see straight.

[eddie willers]

Let it be noted that N!xau was a better actor than Keanu Reeves.

Still is.

[Lockbar]

I loved that movie. I was laughing so hard I was crying when he was steering the jeep backwards while sitting on the hood. He was a good guy, too bad he is gone. RIP

[okimhere]

Alas, the sequel was a stinker

Like everyone here, I laughed myself silly watching this movie. And looked forward eagerly to the second one. I agree...a stinker.

It was amazing that the movie makers got such a realistic performance from that non-worldly little Bushman. I'm going right now and pull the video off the shelf.....we all need a good laugh session. (I liked the "R!P" post. Ditto!)

[Tijeras_Slim]

BUM!P for a funny movie.

The banana grove shoot out is a prefect take on 3rd world "armies".