Joseph Ogola Olita (31 March 1944 â€" 1 June 2014) was a Kenyan actor
who was best known for portraying Idi Amin in Rise and Fall of Idi
Amin (1981) and Mississippi Masala (1991).Joseph Ogola Olita was born
on March 31, 1944 to mother Regina Oduma. In 1951, Olita attended Pap
Oriang Primary School. In 1958, he enrolled at St. Mary's Yala where
he went for his O level and was an active drama club member.After
completing his secondary education, Olita was an employee of the
Brooke Bond Company in Kericho and the Union Carbide in Nakuru. Olita
was a deeply spiritual man having attended Barding Secondary School,
between 1956 and 1960, and later proceeded to Yala Seminary School.
Olita was working for USAID when the opportunity to act in 1981's Rise
and Fall of Idi Amin presented itself.According to NTV Uganda, Olita
did not know much about Amin, so he "read a lot about him through
books, through newspapers and the clips." He missed the chance to act
as him when he was approached to portray the role in the 1976 film,
Victory at Entebbe. When it came time to portray him in Rise and Fall,
"I really had to master his mannerisms." Rise and Fall of Idi Amin won
five awards, including Best Actor, at the Las Vegas International Film
Festival. Olita not receiving an Oscar nomination for his performance
has been considered one of the worst acting snubs in the history of
the Academy Awards. "You see these wazungu are so selfish. They just
wanted to make one of their own a star. (Forest) Whitaker’s
performance and role in The Last King of Scotland is nowhere close to
what I did and still able to do," says Olita.
who was best known for portraying Idi Amin in Rise and Fall of Idi
Amin (1981) and Mississippi Masala (1991).Joseph Ogola Olita was born
on March 31, 1944 to mother Regina Oduma. In 1951, Olita attended Pap
Oriang Primary School. In 1958, he enrolled at St. Mary's Yala where
he went for his O level and was an active drama club member.After
completing his secondary education, Olita was an employee of the
Brooke Bond Company in Kericho and the Union Carbide in Nakuru. Olita
was a deeply spiritual man having attended Barding Secondary School,
between 1956 and 1960, and later proceeded to Yala Seminary School.
Olita was working for USAID when the opportunity to act in 1981's Rise
and Fall of Idi Amin presented itself.According to NTV Uganda, Olita
did not know much about Amin, so he "read a lot about him through
books, through newspapers and the clips." He missed the chance to act
as him when he was approached to portray the role in the 1976 film,
Victory at Entebbe. When it came time to portray him in Rise and Fall,
"I really had to master his mannerisms." Rise and Fall of Idi Amin won
five awards, including Best Actor, at the Las Vegas International Film
Festival. Olita not receiving an Oscar nomination for his performance
has been considered one of the worst acting snubs in the history of
the Academy Awards. "You see these wazungu are so selfish. They just
wanted to make one of their own a star. (Forest) Whitaker’s
performance and role in The Last King of Scotland is nowhere close to
what I did and still able to do," says Olita.
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