Bio:James Catalyn
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James Julius Catalyn was born on 6th January 1940, East Shirley Street, in the area known as “The Pond”. He received his early education at Government School, graduating from Eastern Senior School in1956.
He began writing poetry at the age of 16 and one of his earliest pieces “Summer Madness”, was dedicated to a dear friend, Jane Pratt.
His first major play was “The Courtship” written in 1970. In 1974 he made a lasting impression on the Bahamian public with the performance of his skit “The Best Dressed Man”, performed with Noel Hamilton, the first “and Friends”, on the stage of Le Cabaret Theatre.
He gave his first international performance in Chicago, Ill, in “Lil Abner”, at the Harper’s Court Theatre when he travelled with Shirley Hall Bass and The Bahamas School of the Theatre, as part of their first Cultural Exchange Programme, August of 1968.
Actor, Playwright and Poet, Mr. Catalyn received his early training in dramatic studies with the late B. E. A. Saunders, the late Meta Davis Cumberbatch (who instilled in him the importance of time), the University of the West Indies, Extra Mural Department, Sammy Dyer School of Theatre and Stage One, both in Chicago, Illinois.
He is in the forefront in writing Political and Social Satire and is regarded as one of the trail-blazers in the preservation of the Bahamian Dialect for which he coined the name “Bahamianese” and the appreciation of things Bahamian.
He founded James Catalyn & Friends in December 1979, after he was invited by Carl Bethel of the Broadcasting Corporation of The Bahamas to perform in the Television Series “An Evening With...” on ZNS TV13.
With the group he has travelled extensively throughout The Bahamas and internationally, promoting the Bahamian experience through cultural presentations.
He stages two productions annually, during June and September, at the Dundas Centre for the Performing Arts.His group's “Summer Madness” Revues in September are legendary.
He retired as Tourism Executive of the Ministry of Tourism in January 2000, after 32 years of employment with that Ministry, where he, along with others, were regarded as “foundation layers” for the Ministry as a whole.
