Francis Duru: Meet the Baby-Faced Legend of Nollywood

Nigerian actor Francis Duru has died at 57 following a brief illness, his family announced on Friday. Actors Guild of Nigeria president Abubakar Sanusi Yakubu said Duru had no diagnosed underlying condition and had fallen into a coma, regained consciousness, then slipped back into a coma on Thursday. Colleagues Charles Inojie and Kanayo O. Kanayo praised his talent, while promoter Opa Williams recalled Duru’s work on “Nite of a Thousand Laughs.” President Bola Tinubu and the National Film and Video Censors Board also paid tribute to the actor, remembered in particular for playing Ahanna in “Rattlesnake” (1995).