Tony Winning Actor and Playwright Winston Ntshona Dies at 76

Winston Ntshona, a Tony award winning actor and playwright from South Africa, has died at age 76. His death was announced by the South African State Theater in Pretoria. His son, Lawula, said that his father had been sick for years.

Ntshona is best known for his Tony winning roles in two anti-apartheid dramas in 1975, "Sizwe Banzi is Dead" and "The Island." He performed these roles with his co-star John Kani in London, on Broadway, and around the United States and South Africa for over 30 years.

Sizwe Banzi is Dead is about a man who takes the identity of a dead man whose passbook he finds, just so he can find work. The Island is a criticism of the conditions at Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years.

Ntshona and Kani shared the Tony for best actor in a play in 1975.

The following year, the pair were arrested on a tour of South Africa for angering the Transkei officials with their political commentary.

In addition to his stage work, Mr. Ntsona appeared in the films "The Wild Geese" (1978), "Marigolds in August" (1980) and "A Dry White Season" (1989), among others. He had a small role in a 2008 episode of "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," an HBO series.