Ken Corsbie
Ken Corsbie, actor, writer and story teller
whose huge fan base included me
for the thrill he instilled in our souls
sadly, died this week, at the age of ninety four.
I knew him in Guyana only through the radio
until we met in person, in Jamaica, in seventy seven,
at the Barn Theatre where he and Marc Matthews
were performing “Dem Two” to sold out audiences.
But I bet you didn’t know that Ken Corsbie
was probably the first Guyanese to live in Midland
in the western wilds of the oil patch in Texas
as a theatre intern in sixty five on a US scholarship.
I was miffed when a theatre elder told me that
because I was claiming the first in residency
until I met another trustee of the theatre
who hosted Ken in his detached guest house.
So when, in 2000, I was patron of the annual
Midland Celebration of the Arts, I decided
to invite Ken to be a headliner in any way he liked
and to be my family’s weekend guest at our home.
First, I had to find him but that was easy
with just one call to Vic Insanally in Georgetown.
Ken was living in Port Jefferson, New York
so I made a cold, out of the blue call to him.
After overcoming ‘the who the hell are you’
I invited Ken and his wife Beth to Midland
to be our house guests for the long weekend
and Ken to headline the Celebration’s story telling.
We were joined that week by the First Lady of Guyana
and a female friend as her traveling companion
and we hosted a large informal dinner party
and asked Ken to entertain the after dinner crowd.
I still remember the story of his first arrival in America
coming out the airport with two Guyana-sized suitcases
straining, one in each hand, before the time of wheels,
and a cabin bag with a strap slung over his shoulder.
That was when he met the door that didn’t have a handle
and surmised he could open it with a push with his forehead
but as he launched the butt, the automatic door slid open
catapulting Ken head first outside onto the cold pavement
amidst the loudest bradaps ever heard outside of Guyana
with one suitcase on his back and the other pinning his arm.
The three-day Celebration of the Arts was a huge success
with a Beatles tribute band from the Wirral in England
and a folklorico dance troupe from Chihuahua, Mexico
as the other two headliners for public entertainment.
But the best times were easily at home, after dinner,
when all of us stayed up, wide eyed, well after midnight
to hear Ken tell of his early introduction to arts and sports
among like minded cohorts at a Doctor Taitt’s backyard.
Ken will rendezvous with many from his past
after he charms Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates
and secures the highest upgrade in the auditorium
where celebrations of a beautiful life are oft revisited.
Rest in Peace, my friend.
Tulsi Dyal Singh,
Midland, Texas, USA.
