Tributes have been pouring in for music legend Alvon Collison, who passed away on Friday.
The 79-year-old singer and entertainer died of a heart attack around 7.30pm, shortly after returning to his Milnerton home from dialysis treatment.
His partner of 27 years, Faried Swartz, says Alvon had been on dialysis for more than five years and also suffered from crippling back pain.
Alvon was known as the King of Cabaret and shot to fame in the 1970s for his themed theatre and cabaret performances.
His career spanned five decades and included his standout performance as the Pharaoh in the 1970s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Faried said Alvon received numerous awards for his contributions to the arts.
“In April 2016, he was awarded the Naledi Lifetime Achievement Award at a glittering ceremony in Johannesburg.
“In February 2017, he received the kykNET Fiesta Lifetime Achievement and in 2018 he received the Fleur du Cap award for lifetime achievement.
“His favourite quote was, ‘God respects me when I work, but He loves me when I sing’.
Faried says Alvon was a brave man who always put others before himself.
He worked as a performer on the Oceanos cruise liner and survived the sinking of that ship on the Wild Coast in 1991.
“After the captain abandoned ship, Alvon and his fellow entertainers were instrumental in keeping the passengers calm while a rescue effort was being organised,” says Faried.
“Alvon was one of the last people lifted off the sinking vessel. The ship sank and miraculously everyone was saved.
“Alvon returned to Cape Town with a renewed spirit and gratitude for life and for his work.”
In later years, Alvon loved organising and singing at community events.
Faried added: “The last show we did was Valentine’s Day last year, and then lockdown happened so we couldn’t do a Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Spring Day show and all the other shows we did during the year.
Singer Madeegha Anders, who met Alvon in her 20s, says he always thought outside the box: “I spent years with him, he was the cabaret entertainer at The Villa Dei Cesare at The Cape Sun.
“He was that ‘I-don’t-go-by-the-book-entertainers’. Alvon had the funniest sayings and it always made me laugh.”
Actor Terry Fortune says Alvon loved to play pranks: “Once I answered the phone and heard ‘Hi, are you Zagrah, the lady that makes those nice smetteragge koesiesters?’
“I was just about to indignantly say ‘you have the wrong number’, then I recognised the voice, it was Alvon Collison,” he remembers fondly.
Terry says Alvon was charismatic and owned the stage: “Only Alvon could stop a song in the middle and say ‘Farieeeed, that's the wrong track’ or ‘This is a k@k song, I don't want to sing it’. He would then chat to his audience as if they were in his lounge.”
Singer Sophia Foster says they shared many laughs: “He was larger than life and had a different name for everybody, sometimes he would call me Joggerah, Mrs Bliggenhout, Gadija, and he liked to say ‘cholonka chongchong’.
“He was generous with his time and supported every project or production I did in my foundation.”
He is survived by Faried, his sister Novla and two nieces and nephews.
Arrangements are being made for a possible private cremation this week.
venecia.america@inl.co.za