15/10/2025
🎠Frederick Christopher Kwabena Gyearbuor Asante Erskine (4 November 1941 – 2 August 2000) đźŽ
Gyearbuor Asante was a Ghanaian actor best remembered for his role as the Gambian mature student Matthew in the Channel 4 sitcom Desmond’s. Born in Accra, Ghana, he moved to the United Kingdom in 1967 and trained as an actor at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, where a “Gyearbuor Asante Prize for Acting” was later established in his honour following his death.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Asante appeared in several British television shows under the name Christopher Asante, including Space: 1999, Mind Your Language, Hazell, and The Professionals, as well as a 1976 TV performance of Ubu Roi. In Mind Your Language, he memorably portrayed Roger Kenyon, an inspector for the local education authority in the episode “An Inspector Calls”. In the story, Mr Brown mistakes Mr Kenyon for a new African student, leading to a humorous misunderstanding. However, the inspector ends up praising Mr Brown as a remarkable teacher with revolutionary methods — a role that showcased Asante’s charm and comic timing.
He also appeared as the minister in the 1983 film Local Hero. Coming from a long line of chiefs in Kwahu Tafo, Asante chose to pursue acting rather than inherit the chieftaincy, which was later taken up by his friend, television producer Humphrey Barclay.
In 1995, Asante returned to Ghana, where he was appointed a Cultural Ambassador. He passed away in Accra in 2000, and his funeral was held in his ancestral village of Tafo Kwahu in Ghana’s Eastern Region. His legacy endures through his memorable performances and lasting contribution to theatre and television.
