ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL MAYARONIAN

Edric Connor Park Mayaro

When you enter the village

of Mayaro directly opposite the gas station you would see Edric Connor Park, but many don't actually know who Edric Connor is and what he has done to be given a play park in his name. Connor was a pioneering calypso singer, folklorist and actor from Mayaro. He migrated to England in 1944 where he worked and lived until his death from a stroke in London at the age of 55.

Connor was responsible in 1951 for taking Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra to the Festival of Britain. In 1956 he recorded a Manchester United Football song entitled the "Manchester United Calypso".

In 1952, teamed with a singing group, he released Songs from Jamaica, a groundbreaking LP of Jamaican folk music credited to Edric Connor & the Caribbeans, on the Argo label. Acting came to dominate Connor's career during his final decade, in which he worked in several major epic movies and some prominent British television shows.

Edric Connor

Between 1956 and the date of his death he acted in several
plays, becoming the first black actor to perform for the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford. Connor acted in a total of 18 films and was best noted for his role as Daggoo in Moby Dick. In the 1960s, he appeared on British television in three series: Danger Man; The Avengers; and Man In A Suitcase and later performed in many more. 

In 1956, with his wife, Pearl Connor, Edric established the first black theatrical agency in the UK. In 1961 Connor became Britain’s first black film director when he directed Bound for Lagos, commissioned by the government of Nigeria. Edric Connor dedicated his life to promoting black arts and campaigning for the rights of black artists in Britain. In 2002, in recognition of Edric Connor’s achievements, Screen Nation, an organisation that honours black actors and performers and that has been called the ‘Black Bafta’s’ created an Edric Connor Trailblazer Award for people in the television and film industries. Today in Mayaro we have the Edric Connor Play Park in honour of his great achievements.

Edric Connor Park

References

Artist Biography By Bruce Eder 

Edric Connor