Veteran actor Nigel Scott dies at 73

THE local theatre arts community is mourning the passing of veteran actor Nigel Scott who died on Sunday morning at the age of 73. He passed away after having fought and survived cancer for 18 years and leaves to mourn his wife Minnie Gopaulchan, sister and Radio 97 announcer Celia Scott, children Jason, Dominic, Crystal and Kimiko and four grandchildren.

Scott was a founding member of the Trinidad Theatre Workshop and had a long relationship with its founder, the late Nobel laureate Derek Walcott since 1968. Scott acted in several of Walcott’s plays including The Joker of Seville, Pantomime, The Odyssey and O Starry Starry Night.

He also worked on film projects with Walcott including The Rig and Hart Crane, the latter for PBS television. Scott also played the role of Serge in Art, Captain Von Trapp in the Sound of Music and Cassio in Othello. He was also the voice for several documentaries, radio and television commercials.

His credits include Wild T&T, Inward Hunger and Unfinished Sentences by Mariel Brown. He also produced several plays including ManTalk and The Last of the Redmen which were both Cacique Award winners for Best Production.

In a 2015 interview, Scott said: “When you get involved in theatre as a practitioner, you bare your soul. You see others bearing their souls. You bond with people. You make lifelong relationships with people in theatre. I see my good friends pass away one by one, but those memories linger.”

Among the man people he has worked with are the late Wilbert Holder, Stanley Marshall and Errol Jones. Also sharing the stage with him were Albert La Veau, Helen Camps, Wendell Manwarren, Roger Roberts, Noel Blandin and many others.

Apart from his pursuits in the theatre, Scott was a freelance sales/marketing consultant and was in business management for over 45 years. He operated his own company Scott’s Trading Limited for 21 years. His last substantive position was chairman of a medium-sized electronics and appliance company.

He credited his success over the years to his fervent passion for delivering excellent customer service. Scott served as a director on several boards including CTC Electronics, Trinidad Theatre Workshop, Junior Achievement of T&T, and Rebirth House. He was also chairman of Hololo Club Investments Ltd — an investment company formed 22 years ago.