by Howard Campbell
[LONDON] – Mona Hammond, one of the first black actors to make a mark on British television, died in London on July 4 at age 91.
Hammond, who was from Clarendon parish in Jamaica, was a fixture on British television and stage for over 50 years. She appeared as Blossom Jackson in EastEnders, the long-running soap opera from 1994 to 1997.
Prior to that role, she played Susu in Desmond’s, a half-hour sitcom based on a West Indian barber shop in London that ran for four years starting in 1990.
Hammond was born Mavis Chin to a Chinese father and Jamaican mother. She was among the thousands of Jamaicans who migrated to the United Kingdom during the 1950s.
After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1964, she found steady work on television in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s.
Along with fellow Jamaican Yvonne Brewster and Carmen Munroe of Guyana, she founded the Talawa Theatre Company in 1985. They mounted a number of Afro-centric productions including The Black Jacobins.
In its tribute to Hammond, Talawa Theatre Company said: “We are devastated to hear of the passing of Mona Hammond OBE. As one of the founders of Talawa, a trailblazer and champion of Black British theatre, Mona’s passion and vision will remain fundamental to all we do, and her legacy will forever burn bright.”
Mona Hammond was awarded the Order of the British Empire in 2005. She is survived by a son and grandchild.
