The 30th of July 2021 was undoubtedly one of the saddest days in the South African television and film industry. The passing of actor, executive producer and co-founder of Ferguson Films, Shona Ferguson, sent shockwaves throughout the country.
While we all try to come to terms with Shona’s passing, one thing that keeps us going is knowing and appreciating the contribution he made towards telling South African stories as authentically as possible.
Together with his amazing team at Ferguson Films, Shona introduced to Mzansi some of the most celebrated local productions, which include Rockville, Igazi, The Imposter, The Wild, The Throne, The Queen, Kings of Joburg and many more.
And when it comes to his roles as an actor no one was as suitable for the role of Jerry Maake on The Queen as he was.
Jerry was easily one of the most memorable characters on the telenovela. Jerry was a well-loved but no-nonsense police captain, who didn’t think twice when it came to arresting criminals, especially when it comes to the Khoza family.
At the end of the fourth season of The Queen, the Fergusons confirmed that Jerry Maake would exit the show.
The death of Jerry Maake hurt us so, but we knew that Jerry was a fictional character and that Shona would move on to work on many other great projects. Little did we know that in real life we were also given a limited time with the actor.
And while many messages of condolences continue to trickle in from all corners of the country and the continent we’ve listed some of the many reasons why Jerry Maake aka Shona Ferguson became one of our favourite police captains on television.
He’s one of the best-written characters on our screens
You just can’t help but marvel at the tenacity that the actor portrayed in this role. Jerry was nothing we’ve seen before on local television.
He was a socially awkward man who didn’t say much but never minced his words. Jerry always called a spade a spade, even when it was not necessary. In the same breath, he was also a mysterious character who left you wondering what went on in his head, especially when he was silent.
His unique gestures and body language
It’s also his many gestures that remind us why we love this character. From his awkward grin to his signature walk and the way he opened his briefcase, Jerry was such a well-thought-out character. Shona put his best foot forward when embodying this character, especially when it came to the finer details.
He’s a modern-day TV Lazarus
Days of Our Lives character Stefano Dimera has risen so many times from the dead that the writers of The Queen took a leaf from his book and did the same with Jerry.
In Season 2 of the telenovela, we believed that it was the end of the road for Jerry after he apparently died in a burning house.
Jerry was closing in on the Khoza’s drug business. As a result, Harriet and Kgosi attacked and set the house on fire with Jerry inside. Much later on, we discover that Jerry was saved from that burning house and decided to go MIA for a few months.
We can’t get enough of the Jerry memes
Shona left us with many great memories and as important, he also left us with many hilarious Jerry memes.
The Jay era of Jerry was hilarious
He went from being a robotic individual to a cool, hip cop known as Jay. After an accident that made him lose his memory, Jerry began calling himself Jay and even started to speak with a twang.
Most of us fell in love with this transformation while others had a love-hate relationship with it.
We love Shona’s inspiration for the character
Most people do not know that Jerry’s character was inspired by Shona Ferguson’s late father, Pastor Peter Harry Ferguson. He shared this in an Instagram post on his birthday in 2019.
To us, this post is bittersweet as it means that Mr Sho is now officially united with his father.
Rest in peace, Shona Ferguson, and thank for sharing your creativity and passion with us.
The Queen airs every weekday on Mzansi Magic at 21:00 and comes express to Showmax and DStv online.
