Veteran Ghanaian actor, Frimpong Manso, popularly known as Osofo Dadzie is dead.
He died early Monday morning at age 89.
Before the sad incident, Mr Beautiful said he paid a visit to the deceased just last month (July) with his colleague actor, Kohwe.
About Osofo Dadzie Drama
‘Osofo Dadzie’ was the title of a television drama series which was very popular in Ghana in the 1970s and early 1980s. It was by the ‘Osofo Dadzie’ group, a drama and concert group that were very popular in Ghana at the time the series run.
The group’s breakthrough on television came when they performed a play “Aku Sika” written by Nana Kwame Ampadu.
This was done in combination with the Nana Ampadu’s African Brothers Band. S. K. Oppong featured in this as a drag queen which turned out to be quite popular. They performed this act on a programme, Anansekrom organised by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).
This had a very good reception and also impressed one Kobina Taylor of the GBC. Nana Bosompra, a producer with the GBC, engaged Joris Wartenberg, then at the University of Ghana to be the scriptwriter for a new television series featuring the group.
This led to the start of the Akan Drama series ‘Osofo Dadzie’ on GTV which was the sole television channel in Ghana at the time. Wartenberg suggested the group change its name to the ‘Osofo Dadzie’ Group because of their new profile.
They became the most popular drama show on Ghana television. The series ran from 24 October 1972 until December 1981.
Probably the most popular character in these series was Super OD which was played by Asonaba Kwaku Darko.
Osofo Dadzie (Frimpong Manso) was the other main character. The other characters included S. K. Oppong, Fred Addai, Akua Boahemaa and Bea Kissi. Wartenberg disclosed that he created the Osofo Dadzie character as a means of enabling continuity between the various episodes as the individual episodes could cover varying topics. Asonaba Kwaku Darko died in 1984.
