Bio
Ian von Memerty was a Zimbabwean-born South African entertainer, actor, singer, musician, writer, director and television presenter best known for co-hosting (with Sandy Ngema) the SABC2 reality dance competition Strictly Come Dancing (2006-2008) and as a judge on SA's Got Talent, from 2009-2012.
He is also known for conceptualising and performing in the two-man piano show A Handful of Keys, which celebrated its 1000th performance in August 2009, having played to over 300,000 people.
Born in Harare, Zimbabwe Ian's performance career began in the '80s and included directing titles such as The Rocky Horror Show, Umoja, Fiela's Child and Grease.
As a stage performer he won numerous nominations and awards for his work in A Handful of Keys, Six of the Best, Crazy for You, Captain Entertainment, Big Band Blast, Femme Fatale and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
He showcased his talents as pianist, singer, dancer, comic and actor starring in Celebration, Camelot, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Return to the Forbidden Planet, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Viva Sun City, among others.
As a stage director he has directed Grease, The Rocky Horror Show and Buddy for The Barnyard Theatre Group. He also wrote and directed Umoja – the Spirit of Togetherness for its original successful international tour.
As a compiler/writer/director he created the award-winning Cadenza series for Rory Roootenberg, Rock-a-Tutu for SA Ballet Theatre, Big Band Blast, Two Thin Men Sing and numerous shows for the Barnyard including Broadway Rocks, Hollywood Rocks, Rock Me Amadeus, Roll Over Beethoven and Glory Days.
Ian wrote the score and script for three original stage musicals Fiela's Child, Jump for Joy and The Heart is Round.
He directed numerous corporate theatre pieces for every size of production from two-hander industrial theatre to large productions such as No Talent Unwasted for the 2008 Fancourt Ball, The People of the Dew for the Enthronement of the Bafokeng king, and Madiba's 85th Birthday Celebration.
Despite not working regularly on television he hosted two long-running, successful shows: Muzik a la Carte and five seasons of Strictly Come Dancing.
He also judged on four seasons of SA's Got Talent (Seasons 1 - 4).
He was married to Vivienne Lawrence and they had two children, Oscar and Kasvia.
Ian ended his own life on 23 February, 2026, having extensively written and video blogged about his desire to do so well in advance. He was 61.
The TVSA Interview: Ian von Memerty