Movie critic Barry Ronge dies aged 74

Renowned film critic and arts writer Barry Ronge has died at the age of 74.

The veteran media buff reportedly passed away on 3 July at his Johannesburg home with his life partner Albertus van Dyk at his side, but requested that his death only be announced a week later.

Ronge, who retired in 2014, and Van Dyk had been together for 45 years.

eNCA reported that Ronge died of old age and natural causes, and it is believed that he was privately cremated as per his own wishes.

Ronge was born in Johannesburg and completed his studies at the Wits University.

He began a teaching career at St. Johns College before working a 10-year stint as a literature lecturer at Wits.

Ronge later went to become a journalist at The Star newspaper in Johannesburg between 1980 to 1982 and editor of entertainment supplement, Star Tonight!

Ronge’s Spit ‘n Polish column published in the now defunct Sunday Times magazine became legendary and was later turned into a book in 2006.

He also had a Sunday night radio show on 702 from 1989 to 2004, on which Van Dyk was a producer.

He then moved on to TV, doing movie reviews for M-Net’s Revue Plus.

Ronge would cement his reputation as South Africa’s most respected and feared film critic on M-Net’s Cinemagic and SABC3’s Screenplay.

He later voiced the SABC2 arts series Artcha since 2008.

In 2015 the Sunday Times renamed its prize for South African literature to the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize.

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