Tommie Meyer

Thomas William Saymoir Meyer (28 February 1928 – 6 November 2017) was a South African film producer.[1][2]

Tommie Meyer
Born	Thomas William Saymoir Meyer 28 February 1928
Died	6 November 2017 (aged 89)
Nationality	South African
Occupation	Film producer
Years active	1967–1994
Spouse(s)	Emmarentia Truter
Children	6

Producing career

His first movie as producer was released on 18 June 1969. He produced 33 movies between 1969 and 1994. He joined a company belonging to Jamie Uys, but they split up after a few years. He formed his own company Tommie Meyer Films (Pty) Ltd.[3][4][5] His productions are shown below.[6]

Movies produced
Year	Movies name	Translated name	Co-Producer 1	Co-Producer 2	Director
1994	Ipi Tombi [7]		Stefan Swanepoel		Donald Hulette
1981	Birds of Paradise [8]				Rex Garner
1979	Charlie word 'n ster [9]	Charlie becomes a star			Dirk de Villiers
1978	'n Seder val in Waterkloof [10]	A tree falls in Waterkloof			Franz Marx
1977	Die winter van 14 Julie [11]	The winter of 14 July			Jan Scholtz
1976	Springbok [12]				Bob Riley
1976	Daar Kom Tant Alie [13]	Aunt Alie is on her way	Sias Odendaal		Koos Roets
1975	Somer [14]	Summer			Sias Odendaal
1974	'n Sonneblom uit Parys [15]	A sunflower from Paris	Bill Venter		Sias Odendaal
1974	Babbelkous [16]	Chatterbox			Koos Roets
1972	Pikkie [17]				Sias Odendaal
1971	Freddie's in Love [18]		Elmo De Witt	Ben Vlok	Manie van Rensburg
1971	Z.E.B.R.A.[19]		Ben Vlok		Elmo De Witt
1971	A New Life [20]		Elmo De Witt	Ben Vlok	Dirk de Villiers
1971	Lindie				Wally Green
1970	Vicki [21]		Elmo De Witt	Ben Vlok	Ivan Hall
1970	Die drie Van der Merwes [22]	The three Van der Merwes	Elmo De Witt	Ben Vlok	Dirk de Villiers
1970	Sien jou môre [23]	See you tomorrow	Ben Vlok		Elmo De Witt
1970	Lied in my hart [24]	Song in my heart	Elmo De Witt	Ben Vlok	Ivan Hall
1969	Geheim van Nantes [25]	The secret of Nantes	Elmo De Witt	Ben Vlok	Dirk de Villiers
1969	Danie Bosman: Die verhaal van die grootste komponis in Suid Afrika [26]	Danie Bosman: The story of the biggest composer in South Africa			Elmo De Witt
1967	Hoor my lied [27]	Hear my song			Elmo De Witt

Springbok (1976)

In 1977, the University of Pretoria tried to stop the release of this film, due to the fact that it portrayed a coloured person as a student at the institution. The case was brought to trial in Universiteit van Pretoria v Tommie Meyer Films 1977 (4) SA 376,[28] where Meyer won (and again on appeal).[29][30][31]

Ipi Tombi (1994)

This movie was an adaptation of the musical Ipi Tombi, by South African writers Bertha Egnos and Gail Lakier. Meyer bought the movie rights from Egnos and Brian Brooke. Meyer had financial problems with this movie and the new investors decided to cast actor Jan-Michael Vincent.

Personal life

Meyer grew up in Boksburg, the son of Petrus Frederik and Catharina Magaritha Meyer. He attended Hoërskool Voortrekker, of which three other South African movie producers, Jamie Uys, Jans Rautenbach and Jan Scoltz, were also pupils. He was married to Emmarentia Truter (whom he later divorced) and they had 6 children. Before producing movies, he acted in the film “Doodkry is min” (translated: "Death is no big deal"),[32] produced by Jamie Uys and released on 22 May 1961. His son, Pietie, played the lead character in his film Pikkie,[33] assisted with the sound in Birds of Paradise,[34] and was the assistant producer for Ipi Tombi.[35] Meyer retired in 1994 and passed away in 2017.

References

1. Narrain, A (7 November 2017). "Filmmaker Tommie Meyer sterf (translated: Tommie Meyer passes away)". Network24. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
2. Armes, Roy (2008). Dictionary of African Filmmakers. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253351166.
3. Riley, Eustacia (December 2012). "From Matieland To Mother City: Landscape, Identity And Place In Feature Films Set In The Cape Province, 1947-1989" (PDF). University of Cape Town. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
4. Fourie, Pieter Jacobus (2001). Media Studies: Institutions, theories, and issues. Juta and Company Ltd. ISBN 9780702156557.
5. Movies, moguls, mavericks: South African cinema 1979-1991. Showdata. 1992. ISBN 9780620165297.
6. "Tommie Meyer". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
7. "Ipi Tombi". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
8. "Birds of Paradise". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
9. "Charlie Word 'n Ster". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
10. "n Seder Val in Waterkloof". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
11. "Die Winter van 14 Julie". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
12. "Springbok". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
13. "Daar Kom Tant Alie". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
14. "Somer". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
15. "'n Sonneblom uit Parys". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
16. "Babbelkous". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
17. "Pikkie". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
18. "Freddie's in Love". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
19. "Z.E.B.R.A." Retrieved 19 April 2018.
20. "A New Life". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
21. "Vicki!". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
22. "Die 3 v.d. Merwes". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
23. "Sien jou môre". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
24. "Lied in My Hart". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
25. "Geheim van Nantes". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
26. "Danie Bosman: Die verhaal van die grootste S.A. komponis". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
27. Hoor My Lied, retrieved 2020-02-11
28. "UNIVERSITEIT VAN PRETORIA v TOMMIE MEYER FILMS (EDMS) BPK 1977 (4) SA 376 (T)" (PDF). University of the Free State. Retrieved 2020-02-11.
29. Rickard, Carmel (2012). Thank You, Judge Mostert!. ISBN 9780143527756.
30. Pienaar, Gustaf (9 October 2012). "Die man wat moes wegstap van die twee liefdes in sy lewe (Translated: The man that had to walk away from the two lovers in his life)". Litnet. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
31. Tomaselli, Keyan (2016). The Cinema of Apartheid: Race and Class in South African Film. Routledge. ISBN 9781138988903.
32. "Doodkry is min". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
33. "Pikkie (1972) full cast & crew". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
34. "Birds of Paradise (1981) full cast & crew". Retrieved 19 April 2018.
35. "Ipi Tombi (1994) full cast & crew". Retrieved 19 April 2018.