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Some key players in the arts and creative business have been paying tributes to well-known stage and screen actor, Evans Nii Oma Hunter, who died in Accra on Tuesday, June 4. Hunter will be buried at the Osu Cemetery in Accra on Saturday, August 3. The burial will be preceded by a wake- keeping on Friday, August 2 at the Centre for National Culture in Accra. Officials of the Ghana Actors Guild (GAG) have informed Showbiz that the body will lie in state at the wake-keeping and there will be drama performances, poetry recitals and live band music on the night. Mrs. Emmy Frimpong, the Deputy Executive Director �Artistic at the National Theatre acted alongside Hunter in King Ampaw�s Kukurantumi � Road to Accra film and she described him as a personality who had a positive impact on the lives of the people he came into contact with. �In life, there are people who cross our paths that are memorable and their legacy remains with you for such a very long time. This is the impression Evans Oma Hunter had on me. He was a great actor and it was a privilege to work with him. The industry has lost a great man and a great asset,� Mrs Frimpong said. Poet Professor Atukwei Okai stated that he had not only suffered the death of a brother but a great Ghanaian artist who left behind fond memories of the high quality of his art. He described Hunter as an astute actor who gave of his best in everything he did. Veteran actor and a long-time friend of Hunter, Enoch Botchway described him as an energetic man who was possessed with acting. He said Hunter was a person with hunger for success and had no time for people who were not ready to succeed because �he had no time to fail.� Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Dzifa Gomashie said she first met Hunter in 1985. She said his passion for excellence and desire to groom young people interested in culture and the arts was what drew her to him. �The industry has lost a great icon, leader and a mentor. We need to celebrate those who started the journey before us and I hope that we celebrate him well.� the Deputy Minister stated. Film and stage director Kwaw Ansah, recollected the role Hunter played in his (Ansah�s) play titled A Mother�s Tears where he (Hunter) earned a standing ovation after the play. �He was unique in creativity and handled every role he played on both stage and in film with such passion and creativity,� Ansah said about Hunter. Prof Nii Yartey of the University of Ghana Dance department said Hunter was a very principled man with vision and in the words of the Nii Odoi Mensah, President of the Ghana Actors Guild, �Hunter was a great son of the arts.� Hunter was the president of the Ghana Actors Guild from 1989 to 1996. He was also the founder and Artistic Director of the Audience Awareness Artistic Organisation. A versatile personality, Hunter had been active in theatre since the early 1960s functioning on various levels as an actor, producer, director and writer.