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Computicket Founder Percival Percy Tucker Has Died

Percival Percy TuckerTHE founder of online ticketing system Computicket, Percival “Percy” Tucker, has died at the age of 92.

News24 shared a statement sent to them by Percy’s family, confirming that he died of Covid-related complications on Friday, 29 January.

“South African entertainment has lost an industry pioneer in Percival ‘Percy’ Tucker, who passed away last night of Covid-related complications,” read the statement.

The legend created Computicket, the first computerised ticketing system in the world, in 1971.

He was born in Benoni, Ekurhuleni and got into theatre at the age of 10, according to his biography.

In 1943, he became a backstage worker and later stage manager at the East Rand Theatre Club. He opened a ticketing sales company, Show Service, in 1954. He then founded Computicket in 1971.

People on social media paid tribute to the fallen legend and thanked him for contributing greatly to the arts.Sad to hear of the death of Percy Tucker, founder of Computicket and one of the true unsung heroes of the South African entertainment industry,” one tweep wrote.

Singer Andre Schwartz also paid tribute to Percy on Twitter.

He wrote: “Sad, sad news re the passing of Percy Tucker. Percy was a remarkable man and friend. He conceptualised and founded @Computicket, the world’s first centralised ticket booking system. He remained actively involved in theatre. A true icon.”