Theater icon and groundbreaking TV presenter Leonie Forbes dies
Posted: Tuesday | 25 October 2022 | 5.00

She has also starred in films such as Sons of Babylon, Paradise Club and Milk and Honey. – file photo. Leonie Forbes, theatre icon and pioneer of Jamaican television and radio, has died. She is 85 years old.

Born on June 14, 1937, Forbes was raised in Kingston as an only child. According to the National Library of Jamaica, she attended St. George’s Preparatory School, Merriwood Elementary School, Miko Practical School, Kingston High School, Excelsior College and Durham College.

Her first jobs after leaving school were with Sir Philip Sherlock’s typist, then playwright Barry Recode. In 1955, Forbes became one of the first voices on the radio station as announcer for the now-defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC).

She studied for six years at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she completed a Diploma in Radio, Television and Drama. Forbes also wrote the screenplay for the BBC’s Caribbean service.

Forbes has starred in twelve pantomimes and has appeared in plays such as “Sea Mama,” “Ropes and Crosses,” and “Old Story Time.” She has also starred in films such as Sons of Babylon, Paradise Club and Milk and Honey.

Forbes also co-authored a book with Alma Mock Yen called The Re-Entry into Sound, a standard text for training Caribbean broadcasters. Forbes is a mother of four. Awards: Government of Jamaica Medal of Honor (Officer Rank) (1980), Musgrave Silver Medal, Centennial Medal.