"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!