Sam Loco Efe, born on December 25, 1945, in Enugu, was a legendary Nollywood star who made families across Africa smile with his comic acting in Nigerian movies. His father, Arase Efeimwonkiyeke, hailed from Benin in present-day Edo state and worked as a prison warder in Eastern Nigeria. His mother was a petty trader who sold bean cake, locally known in Nigeria as akara.
Sam Loco Efe’s Early Life And Education
Sam Loco Efe grew up in the town of Abakaliki in present-day Ebonyi Stat, where he lived most of his life in Abakaliki. He lost his father when he was in primary school. The absence of his father placed the burden of assisting his mother on his shoulder and that became the reason why he finished his primary school later than usual.
Sam Loco Efe’s Career
Sam Loco Efe’s journey to the entertainment industry began when he joined a theatre group that came to perform a play titled “The Doctor in Spite of Himself” in school. Thereafter, he became immersed in theatre and performance arts and went ahead to discuss the subject with members of the group.
He was a member of several groups in primary school, including a drama society that performed a rendition of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at an Eastern regional arts festival in Abakaliki. The play finished last in the drama competition, but Efe was recognized as the best actor, earning him a scholarship to finish elementary school.
He attended numerous secondary schools after finishing elementary school and was active in the theater society, organizing a production of “The Doctor in Spite of Himself” and a play called Vendetta.
Sam Loco Efe joined a traveling theater group and played football after his high school, acquiring the nickname locomotive, which was later abbreviated to loco. That is how he got the name Loco.
He fought on the Biafran side during the Nigerian civil war until 1968, when he returned to Benin. While in Benin, he founded the Ovonranwen Theatre Group in the 1960s. The group’s first play was titled Ogierhiakhi’s Obaiwape.
Sam Loco Efe’s Journey To Nollywood
Sam Loco relocated from Benin to Lagos in search of better employment prospects and to pursue a career in football, as the money he was making was too small to sustain him in Benin. His first job after arriving in Lagos was with Michelin Tyres in 1972. He applied for the job despite not knowing how to drive, which was a requirement.
A day before the interview, however, he learned how to drive. Efe passed the oral interview but failed the driving test, yet his honesty about his error in judgment won over the interviewer and he was offered the job.
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He sold tyres for Michelin in Lagos, Ijebu Ode, and Abeokuta. He quickly left Michelin to work as a Senior Sales Representative in the Tyres and Allied Products division for Dunlop Tyres.
While working for Dunlop in Benin, he became a member of the cast of NTA Benin’s television series Hotel de Jordan. He also participated in a rendition of Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame, a popular novel in Nigeria.
Sam Loco left sales in 1977 to pursue a career in theater. He auditioned for and was cast in the lead role of Langbodo, a play by Dapo Adelugba, that was performed during FESTAC.
At the end of Festac, Adelugba referred him to a friend of his at the University of Ibadan about theatre opportunities. Adelugba’s acquaintance was successful in securing Efe, a place as a senior artiste at the institution.
Sam Loco would go on to become a household name and one of Nollywood’s early pioneers.
Marriage And Children
Sam Loco was married to Arase Efeimwonkiyeke, and they had six children together. Their children include Mrs. Sandra Ebun Leonardo, Bola Adesuwa Efe, Bismarck Nosa Efe, Julia Orobosa Omozusi, Precious Osariemen Efe, and Omoruyi Efe.
Some Of Sam Loco Efe’s Popular Movies
Sam Loco featured in hundreds of Nollywood movies, but of the ones the writing of this article has seen, the 8 listed below are some of the funniest movies in which the legend starred:
- Anunuebe
- Ukwa
- Long John
- My Love
- Tom and Jerry
- Akịdị
- IJELE the son of Masquerade
- Final World Cup
Death
Sam Loco Efe died in his hotel room in Amakha, Owerri, Imo State on August 7, 2011. Nobody knows what caused his death to this day. However, a Ventolin inhaler was discovered with him after the hotel authority gained entrance into his room. According to reports, Sam Loco suffered from asthma.
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