Bio
Henry Cele (30 January, 1949 – 2 November, 2007) was a South African actor best known for his starring role as Shaka Zulu in the television miniseries of the same name, which aired in 1986.
Well known in the football world as "Black Cat Cele", a top "goalie", Cele was cast as Shaka Zulu in a stage production based on the life of the founder of the Zulu nation.
This led to his being cast by film producer William C. Faure as Shaka in the epic series Shaka Zulu. International fame soon followed and with it came a host of roles in feature films and television series, both local and international.
Lead roles in television include a convict in Running Free, a killer in Letklaka, a detective in The Tangeant Affair and a business tycoon in the glossy Zulu series Ifa Lacwanthethwa.
Features included Freedom Fighters for Cannon, Hold my Hand, I'm Dying for Jonomo, The Last Samurai, The Trackers, Lamborene, the film of the stage musical Ipi Tombi and the Paramount movie The Ghost and the Darkness.
He also appeared in a sequel to Shaka Zulu entitled Shaka — the Citadel, in 2001.
After his acting career, Cele moved from his suburban home in Glenmore, South of Durban and went back to Kwamashu township. At the time of his death he had been in hospital for two weeks after being admitted with a chest infection.
Henry Cele died on 2 November, 2007 in Durban. He was 58.