The founder of Computicket Percival “Percy” Tucker died as a result of COVID-19 complications. The 92-year-old died in Cape Town over the weekend.
Tucker founded Computicket 50 years ago and wanted to dedicate his life to furthering live arts and entertainment in South Africa. Thus, he set out to forge relationships with creative artists and managements across Europe, Britain and the USA.
The breadth of Tucker’s interests, ranging from his first love – the theatre – through classical music in all its forms to ballet, modern dance, popular music, variety and spectacle, contributed to him becoming an integral figure in the show business industry in his country as an advisor, councillor, mentor, organizer, impresario and innovator.
“Internationally, he is known, above all, for the founding of Computicket, the world’s first fully operative computerized, centralized ticket-booking system, which he introduced in South Africa in 1971. For this concept and its realization, Percy Tucker has been extensively honoured as it changed forever the way tickets for entertainment was marketed worldwide,” Tucker’s official website reads.
“Percy’s unique combination of passionate commitment to the arts with his commercial vision, business acumen and marketing skills has brought him recognition, love and respect that he never sought, and a richly fulfilling life which he treasures.”
Since his official retirement in 1994, Tucker published his autobiography-history of the South African theatre, Just the Ticket! and remained actively involved in the entertainment industry as an advisor, lecturer, board member and researcher.
