Costume designer Anya Gloudon-Nelson says the legacy of late theatre practitioner Robert “Bobby” Clarke will live on forever.

“His contribution to theatre was very wide. He lectured so many persons at Edna Manley [College of the Visual and Performing Arts], and he was also an adjudicator… He touched many people… He was also very in depth when it came to his students and ensured that they lived up to the desired expectations. Bobby will always be remembered,” she told the Jamaica Observer’s Splash.

Clarke, who was battling cancer, died yesterday at home in Kingston. He is believed to be in his 60s.

The St Mary native received his education at St Mary and Calabar high schools and at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts where he majored in theatre arts and drama education.

He taught at Stella Maris Preparatory and The Queen’s School and also worked in the tourism industry as an entertainment co-ordinator/manager with the Sandals Group.

He also did stints with the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC), as a producer of festival events and as a librarian/presenter/ producer at the then Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC).

He was also responsible for mounting theatrical productions and commercial ventures, such as adult dramas with the most notable and prolific being the Little Theatre Movement’s national pantomimes, of which he directed many including: Jangah Rock, Miss Annie, Comboluh, Iffa Nuh So, Zu-Zu Macca , Nuff and Plenty, and Runner Boy.

Gloudon-Nelson says she will remember him for his welcoming personality. “He was very creative, very detailed, and very caring about others. He always ensured that the people around him were taken care of,” he said.

— Kediesha Perry