He is a stage and screen icon and loved by many South Africans.<\/p>\n
But did you know Tobie Cronj\u00e9 was born and bred in Germiston?<\/p>
\u201cWhat I remember most about the area were the open fields,\u201d Tobie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to walk through the open veld and play on the koppies.\u201d<\/p>
The GCN caught up with him just before the release of his new movie, \u201cDie Rebellie Van Lafras Verwey\u201d, in which Tobie plays the lead.<\/p>\n
In the film, Tobie plays Lafras Verwey, an outcast who could never accept the realities of life.<\/p>\n
Although he is a government official he hears the sound of otherworldly music playing in his ears and dreams of a wonderful future.<\/p>\n
He considers himself a key player in the preparation of a significant rebellion which he believes will change the word.<\/p>\n
Comedy, drama and elements of fantasy are all intertwined in this gripping tale of a man who is willing to risk everything in his pursuit to make the world a better place for all.<\/p>\n
The film is set to open at cinemas nationwide on April 7.<\/p>\n
Tobie was born at a clinic in Elsburg in 1948 before being taken home to Primrose Hill by his parents, Hendrik and Dorothy, to meet his older siblings, Dawie and Teresa.<\/p>\n
Tobie attended primary school at M\u00f4relig and matriculated at Ho\u00ebrskool Vryburger High School.<\/p>\n
\u201cI lived in Primrose Hill all my life until I went to study at the University of Pretoria,\u201d Tobie said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter matric I didn\u2019t go to the army as they found I was colour blind, not severely so, but enough to make me medically unfit for the army.<\/p>\n
\u201cI worked at Old Mutual in Johannesburg doing car insurance for a while and then decided to further my music career and started teaching students at my music teacher Hester Beukes\u2019 school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI then found nine students in Katlehong and at that time it was extremely interesting just trying to get to my students, I needed a special permit just to enter the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tobie enrolled at the University of Pretoria to study a BMus.<\/p>\n