COME next Tuesday, July 20, The Comedy Bar — the local stand-up comedy event, organised by actor and comedian Christopher “Johnny” Daley — will pay tribute to the late thespian Volier “Maffie” Johnson.

Johnson, 69, died of a heart attack at the Kingston Public Hospital last Friday.

This will be the first staging of the event since the 15-month lockdown brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic, and Daley said it was only fitting that the show should be dedicated to Johnson, whom he described as being “an awe-inspiring person both on and off the stage”.

The event will be staged at Johnny’s Place in St Andrew.

‘The last major performance we had together was in Dahlia Harris’s Ring Games, the stage play. He was such a great person and it was always amazing to just watch greatness unfold. I remember seeing him in Toy Boy — a Basil Dawkins play. It was just amazing to watch just fantastic acting. This took him way beyond the scope of the Maffie character. He was also an actor’s actor, so he was always giving, sharing tips with his fellow actors so you could always make your performance better. He will be greatly missed,” Daley told the Jamaica Observer.

“It is only natural that we honour him at the Comedy Bar. The evening will feature Curley Robert’s from Montego Bay, Cathy ‘Tan Deh Deh’ Grant and I will be the host. There will also be the open mike segment for all who pass through.”

This will not be the first tribute to Johnson that Daley is involved in.

Last Sunday, mere hours of Johnson’s passing, Daley, king of comedy Oliver Samuels, and US-based comedian Drew Thomas, dubbed the Jamaican Kings of Comedy, dedicated their performance in West Palm Beach, Florida, to the late actor.

“By the time Oliver got to Florida on Saturday evening, he got word that Volier, his friend and colleague, had died. So by the time he got to us, he was clearly emotional. But the thing with theatre people is that we celebrate life. So we share a few tears, lots of laughter, food and drinks. The following night, we went on stage with a photo of Volier on stage and we just made sure to do him proud. Theatre people say: ‘The show must go on…’ It’s what we do,” Daley added.