Guyanese actor and comedian Henry Rodney has died at age 63 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease at The Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, New York City.
The News Room understands that Rodney suffered a heart attack about two days ago and was in critical condition at the hospital.
Best known for his role as “Franklyn” in the popular sitcom “Agree to Disagree”, Rodney’s career was born in church and inspired by the Yoruba Singers.
A truly gifted artist, his career crossed lines into theatre, spoken-word poetry, comedy, radio and television.
Rodney was an international talent gracing stages across the Caribbean, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Fittingly born on February 23, 1959, in the village of Beterverwagting on the East Coast of Demerara, a country boy through and through, Rodney had always been a fierce advocate for Guyanese arts and culture.
Despite his long illness, Rodney never gave up.
“It is Parkinson’s so I will not lie down and wait for that. I have to live so I will just live the way I know it. I ain’t changing for no sickness,” he said in a 2019 interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
Rodney leaves to mourn his wife Joan with their daughters Tamara, Tuana and Tchaiko.
