‘I started acting in 1958’ – Lere Paimo counters Pete Edochie’s seniority claim
Lere Paimo, a veteran Yoruba actor, has stated that he began his acting career in 1958, four years prior to his colleague Pete Edochie. Paimo made this assertion during a recent interview with actor Kunle Afod, which was posted on YouTube.
This statement comes in response to Edochie, who claimed he started acting in 1962 at the age of 15. Edochie had previously challenged fellow actors to verify their claims of having launched their careers before him.
“I started acting in 1958. I met Hubert Ogunde, who was senior to me and others, and there were big movies produced back then,” Paimo said during the interview.
Edochie has pointed to his role in William Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice” in 1962 as a marker of his early career. In contrast, Paimo highlighted the rich history of Yoruba traveling theatre, particularly emphasizing the influence of the late Hubert Ogunde, to illustrate that indigenous Nigerian theatre existed before the advent of English-language film productions.
