KINGSTON, Jamaica — Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Olivia Grange, has expressed sadness at the passing of Jamaican singer and actor Count Prince Miller, who had been ill for some time.

In a release from her ministry today, Grange said she had the chance to visit him in hospital in London a few weeks ago, adding that it is “a meeting that I will cherish”.

She said that he was one of the greats and thanked him for his role as one of the pioneers who took the music of Jamaica to the world.

“Count Prince Miller had a stature, a voice, a humour that made him the quintessential show man. He was a recording artiste and an actor of note with the James Bond film ‘Dr No’ and the iconic record ‘Mule Train’ among his work”, Grange added.

“Only recently he was a part of history when he played the role of grandfather in the first nationwide television advertising campaign in the United Kingdom to feature an all-black family.

“He was a proud Jamaican and we are very proud of the way he represented our country on the world stage,” she said.

The minister ended her statement offering condolences to Count Prince Miller’s son, Jean-Pierre.