Perry Henzell
- November 30, 2006
- 70 years
- cancer
About Perry Henzell
Perry Henzell, 70, Jamaican film director (The Harder They Come) and author, cancer.
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Full Biography
|Perry Henzell (7 March 1936 – 30 November 2006) was a Jamaican director. He directed the first Jamaican feature film, The Harder They Come (1972), co-written by Trevor D. Rhone and starring Jimmy Cliff.
Life and career
Henzell, whose ancestors included Huguenot glassblowers and an old English family who had made their fortune growing sugar cane on Antigua, was born in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica, and grew up on the Caymanas sugar-cane estate near Kingston. He was sent to Shrewsbury School in the United Kingdom at the age of 14 and later attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1953 and 1954. He then dropped out of this school, choosing instead to hitchhike around Europe. He eventually got work as a stagehand for BBC television in London.
Henzell returned in the 1950s to Jamaica, where he directed advertisements for some years until he began work on The Harder They Come with co-writer Trevor D. Rhone. Enormously successful in Jamaica, The Harder They Come also reached the international market and has been described as "possibly the most influential of Jamaican films and one of the most important films from the Caribbean".
In 1965, Henzell married Sally Densham.
Henzell also shot some footage for what was planned as his next film, No Place Like Home, in Harder's aftermath in 1974, but he went broke before he could finish the film. Fed up by this, and the lack of finance for further production, he went on to become a writer, publishing his first novel, Power Game, in 1982. Both were meant to complete a planned trilogy of films centring on Ivanhoe Martin. The footage for No Place Like Home was lost. Years later, he came across editing tapes in a lab in New York. Just to have a sense of completion, he worked on the project. When he showed it to a few friends, their response was enthusiastic. He eventually was able to retrieve the original footage.
A rough cut of No Place Like Home, which features music from Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, The Three Degrees, and Marcia Griffiths, was screened for the public at the 31st annual Toronto International Film Festival in September 2006 at the Cumberland Theatre; it was sold out. Film leads Carl Bradshaw (The Harder They Come, Smile Orange, Countryman) and Susan O'Meara attended and answered audience questions with Henzell after the screening. The film was also screened at the Flashpoint Film Festival at the beginning of December 2006 in Negril. (A different film of the same name, a documentary about Hurricane Katrina, was also released in 2006.) A fully restored version was premiered in 2019. The documentary Perry Henzell: A Filmmaker’s Odyssey, directed by David Garonzik and Arthur Gorson, traces the journey to bring No Place Like Home to the big screen.
Henzell had continued to work after being diagnosed in 2000 with cancer. He died from it on 30 November 2006, aged 70.
Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
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Articles & News
- "Perry Henzell - Obituaries, News"independent.co.uk
- "Obituary: Perry Henzell"theguardian.com
- "Perry Henzell, 70, Filmmaker of 'The Harder They Come,' Dies"nytimes.com
Reported coverage of Perry Henzell; each link opens the original article on the publisher's own site.
Videos about Perry Henzell
"Perry Henzell on The Harder They Come and Ancestral Spirit"
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Books & Media
Find books, audiobooks and films about Perry Henzell on Amazon.
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Sources
- Wikipedia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perry_Henzell
- CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sep 26, 2026
- View article
- Sep 26, 2026
Trivia & Knowledge· 16 questions
Questions drawn from Perry Henzell's archived record and the sources above.
1.In what location was Perry Henzell born?
- A.Kingston
- B.Montreal
- C.London
- D.Annotto Baycorrect
Perry Henzell was born in Annotto Bay, Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica.
Source: Life and career section
2.What is the title of the first Jamaican feature film directed by Perry Henzell?
- A.Power Game
- B.Smile Orange
- C.No Place Like Home
- D.The Harder They Comecorrect
Perry Henzell directed the first Jamaican feature film, The Harder They Come, in 1972.
Source: Introductory section
3.In what year did Perry Henzell marry Sally Densham?
- A.1972
- B.1965correct
- C.1953
- D.1982
Perry Henzell married Sally Densham in 1965.
Source: Life and career section
4.Which educational institution did Perry Henzell attend in Canada?
- A.Shrewsbury School
- B.McGill Universitycorrect
- C.University of Montreal
- D.University of Toronto
Perry Henzell attended McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1953 and 1954.
Source: Life and career section
5.What was Perry Henzell's occupation before he began working on feature films?
- A.Sugar-cane farmer
- B.BBC news anchor
- C.Glassblower
- D.Director of advertisementscorrect
Perry Henzell returned to Jamaica in the 1950s and directed advertisements for some years.
Source: Life and career section
6.At what age was Perry Henzell sent to the Shrewsbury School in the United Kingdom?
- A.14correct
- B.12
- C.16
- D.18
Perry Henzell was sent to Shrewsbury School in the United Kingdom at the age of 14.
Source: Life and career section
7.What was the name of Perry Henzell's first novel published in 1982?
- A.Power Gamecorrect
- B.No Place Like Home
- C.The Harder They Come
- D.A Filmmaker’s Odyssey
Perry Henzell published his first novel, Power Game, in 1982.
Source: Life and career section
8.Who co-wrote the film The Harder They Come with Perry Henzell?
- A.Trevor D. Rhonecorrect
- B.Carl Bradshaw
- C.David Garonzik
- D.Jimmy Cliff
The Harder They Come was co-written by Trevor D. Rhone.
Source: Introductory section
9.What was the cause of Perry Henzell's death in 2006?
- A.Pneumonia
- B.Stroke
- C.Heart failure
- D.Cancercorrect
Perry Henzell died from cancer on 30 November 2006.
Source: Life and career section
10.Which artist contributed music to Perry Henzell's film No Place Like Home?
- A.Bob Marleycorrect
- B.Jimmy Cliff
- C.Burning Spear
- D.The Wailers
No Place Like Home features music from Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, The Three Degrees, and Marcia Griffiths.
Source: Life and career section
11.Where did Perry Henzell grow up during his childhood?
- A.The Shrewsbury boarding school
- B.Montreal city center
- C.The Caymanas sugar-cane estatecorrect
- D.Annotto Bay town center
Perry Henzell grew up on the Caymanas sugar-cane estate near Kingston.
Source: Life and career section
12.What kind of work did Perry Henzell perform in London after hitchhiking around Europe?
- A.Film editor
- B.Sugar cane broker
- C.Documentary director
- D.Stagehand for BBC televisioncorrect
Perry Henzell eventually got work as a stagehand for BBC television in London.
Source: Life and career section
13.In what city was a rough cut of No Place Like Home screened at the 31st annual film festival?
- A.New York
- B.Kingston
- C.London
- D.Torontocorrect
A rough cut of No Place Like Home was screened at the 31st annual Toronto International Film Festival.
Source: Life and career section
14.Which family ancestors are noted as being glassblowers in Perry Henzell's history?
- A.Canadian
- B.Huguenotcorrect
- C.Jamaican
- D.English
Perry Henzell's ancestors included Huguenot glassblowers and an old English family who had made their fortune growing sugar cane on Antigua.
Source: Life and career section
15.What specific discovery led Perry Henzell to return to working on No Place Like Home?
- A.A script in a drawer
- B.Funding from an anonymous donor
- C.Editing tapes in a lab in New Yorkcorrect
- D.A private screening of old reels
Years later, he came across editing tapes in a lab in New York and worked on the project to have a sense of completion.
Source: Life and career section
16.In which year was a fully restored version of the film No Place Like Home premiered?
- A.2019correct
- B.2025
- C.2006
- D.2021
A fully restored version of No Place Like Home was premiered in 2019.
Source: Life and career section
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