Remembering Shona Ferguson as Jerry Maake on The Queen

30 July 2021 was undoubtedly one of the saddest days in the South African television and film industry. The passing of actor, executive producer and co-founder of Ferguson Films, Shona Ferguson, sent shockwaves throughout the country.

While we all try to come to terms with Shona’s passing, one thing that keeps us going is knowing and appreciating the contribution he made towards telling South African stories as authentically as possible.

Together with his amazing team at Ferguson Films, Shona introduced to Mzansi some of the most celebrated local productions, which include Rockville, Igazi, The Imposter, The Wild,  The Throne, The Queen, Kings of Joburg and many more.

And when it comes to his roles as an actor no one was as suitable for the role of Jerry Maake on The Queen as he was. 

Jerry was easily one of the most memorable characters on the telenovela. Jerry was a well-loved but no-nonsense police captain, who didn’t think twice when it came to arresting criminals, especially when it comes to the Khoza family.

At the end of the fourth season of The Queen, the Fergusons confirmed that Jerry Maake would exit the show.

The death of Jerry Maake hurt us so, but we knew that Jerry was a fictional character and that Shona would move on to work on many other great projects. Little did we know that in real life we were also given a limited time with the actor.

And while many messages of condolences continue to trickle in from all corners of the country and the continent we’ve listed some of the many reasons why Jerry Maake aka Shona Ferguson became one of our favourite police captains on television.

In the last episode of Season 4, Jerry sacrificed himself to save Harriet, his sworn enemy. And this time, there will be no dramatic resurrection.

He was of the best-written characters on our screens

You just can’t help but marvel at the tenacity that the actor brought to this role. Jerry was like nothing we’ve seen before when it comes to local productions.

He was a socially awkward man who doesn’t say much but never minced his words. Jerry would always call a spade a spade. At the same time, he was also a mysterious man who left you wondering what went on in his head, especially when he was silent.

His unique gestures and body language

It was also his many gestures that reminded us why we loved this character. From his awkward grin to his signature walk and the way he opened his briefcase, Jerry was such a well-thought-out character.

And Shona was really able to embody what the character was about, especially in these little details.

He’s a modern-day TV Lazarus

Days of Our Lives character Stefano Dimera has risen so many times from the dead that the writers of The Queen took a leaf from his book and did the same with Jerry.

In Season 2 of the telenovela, we believed that it was the end of the road for Jerry after he apparently died in a burning house.

Jerry was closing in on the Khoza’s drug business. As a result, Harriet and Kgosi attacked and set the house on fire with Jerry in it. Much later on, we discover that Jerry was saved from that burning house and decided to go MIA for a few months.

We can’t get enough of the Jerry memes

Shona left us with many great memories and as important, he also left us with many hilarious Jerry memes.

It's the last day of January 💃💃💃 pic.twitter.com/aQmJ5Zb8R6

— Keamo (@Sefularo_Keamo) January 31, 2018

I caught the 2 seconds smile on camera. #JerryMaake #Jerry #TheQueenMzansi pic.twitter.com/uBm2gRfeZi

— Lwazisto (@Lwazistos) July 12, 2017

This wedding is also not gonna be a success… You know how much the writers here hate happy endings… #Jerryiswa is already cursed nje #TheQueenMzansi pic.twitter.com/AubbdnWRnk

— Lebza (@officiallebza) January 15, 2019

#TheQueenMzansi #JerryMaake on his wedding day with his tux pic.twitter.com/uHdOA5fV0V

— The Litigator 💼 (@HectorMakhata) July 19, 2017

The Jay era of Jerry was hilarious 

He went from being a robotic individual to a cool, hip cop known as Jay. After an accident that made him lose his memory, Jerry began calling himself Jay and even started to speak with a twang.

Most of us fell in love with this transformation while others had a love-hate relationship with it.

When Jerry comes out of Jay's mouth! It's moments like this, that make us miss Robocop. #TheQueenMzansi

— Mzansi Magic (@Mzansimagic) August 20, 2019

I was starting to like Jay… 🤔😂#TheQueenMzansi

— Sheldon Cameron (@sheldon_cameron) August 22, 2019

We love Shona’s inspiration for the character

Most people do not know that Jerry’s character was inspired by Shona Ferguson’s late father, Pastor Peter Harry Ferguson. He shared this in an Instagram post on his birthday in 2019.

To us, this post is bittersweet as it means that Mr Sho is now united with his father.

Rest in peace, Shona Ferguson, and thank for sharing your creativity and passion with us.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw5UPlIBZFr/?igshid=r1ciw6b26byr

The Queen airs every weekday on Mzansi Magic at 21:00 and can be streamed on Showmax immediately thereafter. The Queen S5 is streaming now.