Bio
Greg Melvill-Smith was a South African actor, director, writer and voice artist who had major roles in numerous television series including Die Vierde Kabinet, 7de Laan, One Way and Isidingo.
Greg entered the Performing Arts after completing a National Diploma in Drama at Pretoria Technikon in 1984. He joined the Loft Theatre Company at NAPAC in 1985 and spent three years there, where the focus was primarily on physical theatre.
In 1988 he moved to Johannesburg and began his freelance career.
He acted in dozens of theatre productions, playing both lead and support characters. Highlights include Two Weeks With The Queen (1995), Love! Valour! Compassion! (1996), King Lear (1998), Vlerkdans (1999), Anthony and Cleopatra (1999) and Sella ou Storie (2004).
He performed in a staged reading of King Lear and toured to the Klein Karoo Kunstefees with a festival of Chekov Works in 2005. He appeared in Horror Scope at the 2005 Grahamstown Festival and played Tchaikovsky in a Salon Music production in Pretoria, in 2007. In 2008 he performed in an Actors Centre production of Faustus.
Greg also acted in two plays that had European tours: Kwamanzi and Horn of Sorrow.
He played substantial roles in a number of major television series including 7de Laan, Isidingo, Die Vierde Kabinet, Rhodes, One Way and Justice for All (on SABC) and Wild at Heart for the Hallmark Channel.
He also worked as a presenter on the television series In Touch.
He appeared in numerous feature films, including The Sorcerer's Apprentice for Peakviewing Productions, Mr Bones, Drum, The Bang Bang Club, Night Drive and District 9.
Greg directed a number of plays as well, mostly for festival performances. He wrote and directed Walking Tall, an educational show about palaeontology presented in conjunction with PAST, The Palaeontological Scientific Trust.
He also directed the operas Don Pasquale (2001), Lucia Di Lamamoor (2002) and De Fledermaus (2002), for Salon Music.
Greg conducted Environmental Theatre Workshops, (sponsored by Southern Life) for over six years, and worked with teachers, students and theatre professionals in these workshops. He was also involved in Early Man workshops, which explore South Africa's rich anthropological heritage.
He was involved in the conception and execution of several Industrial Theatre presentations, and was a member of the Theatre Sports team.
Greg facilitated business coaching for years and specialises in Mindset, Coaching, Leadership and Presentation Skills. Companies he has worked with include Standard Bank, Nedbank, Schering Plough, Roche, Clicks, I-Net Bridge, SAA and The South African National Blood Services.
He was also a founding member of the The South African Guild of Actors.
He died on 31 May 2016, after a battle with cancer.