Patrick Mynhardt


Patrick Beattie Mynhardt was a well-known South African film and theatre actor. He appeared in over 150 stage plays in South Africa and England, 100 local and international films, TV plays and serials as well as an opera. He died in London, where he was performing in his one-man show Boy from Bethulie at the Jermyn Street Theatre in the West End.

Early life

The son of Johannes Tobias Mynhardt, a district surgeon and Elizabeth Beattie, an Irish emigrant, Patrick was born in Bethulie in the Free State. He matriculated from De La Salle College in East London. He studied drama at Rhodes University before joining the National Theatre Organisation in 1953 and touring South Africa. In 1954, he moved to London to attend the Central School of Speech and Drama. Performing on stage and for the BBC in Britain, he worked with such luminaries as Peter Sellers, Burt Lancaster, Anthony Quinn, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole, Michael Caine and Judi Dench. At the end of 1960 he returned to South Africa.

Partial filmography