THERE was no type of job that seemed too small or too low for him and so he did anything to keep himself employed – as long as it was legal and satisfying. Having been a national acrobat, waiter, watchman, among other things, he is now one of Guyana’s well respected comedians/entertainers.

This reporter, who was tending to some work in the library at the time, was told by another reporter that ‘Jumbie’ was in the office to meet her. After pondering on the message for a few seconds, she

realised that it was Lyndon Jones who had come for the interview that was requested.
Lyndon Jones, he said, was the name given to him by his parents, but today he is well known as ‘Jumbie’ ever since his participation in the once famous ‘Agree to Disagree’ Comedy Sitcom that was produced by Richard B. Mahase.
He played another comedian’s (Henry Rodney) brother as ‘Jumbie Photo’ and people loved him. So he decided to stick with the name in all of his future endeavours. But ‘Jumbie’ isn’t the only nickname that he willingly carries with him. While growing up, he was lovingly called ‘Old Face’ and this was further lovingly reduced to ‘Oldie’ after some time.

Jones, a father of four, grew up in New Amsterdam and attended the St. Aloysius Primary School before moving on to the Berbice Educational Institute. During this time, he took a liking for acrobatics and was inspired by a group from Georgetown called ‘The Tumblers’ who often travelled to Berbice to put on different shows and Jones felt he could form a group and do the same thing. He did and this raked in quite a good ‘small change’ for him to purchase clothes and books for school.

Love for School
Jones’ home was broken up, so to speak, when he was about eight years old. His mother committed suicide and four of his siblings were sent to live with extended family members while he and another brother remained with their father. But his father remarried and this brought further discomfort to him. So he was sent to live with an aunt which he explained, was as if he was living on his own.
“I was basically on my own there, but I still liked school and wanted to go,” he related. He recalled on one occasion when he missed school and

was asked by his teacher to take a written excuse. The teacher was furious when Jones explained he had no one to write it for him as he couldn’t believe that Jones was that much on his own. However, after some investigation, Jones was called by the headmaster and congratulated for his attitude towards school despite his circumstances.
“I don’t know what it was that motivated me to go to school. I wanted to be able to read and write and I managed to finish school right up to CXC,” he proudly recalled.

“Them Two”
Despite doing acrobatics on the side, Jones longed for a “real” job and so decided to join the Prison Service where he spent five years. While working here, he joined the Republican Drama Group where he met Henry Rodney, who was a prison officer.
“Rodney was part of this group and he used to write skits, poems and songs. He was the entire package and I started to do some things like him,” he said, and so they started working together. Before long, they were dubbed “Them Two.”

Circumstances later changed, though, and Jones ended up working by himself in Bartica where people loved him. Again, circumstances changed and he ended up back in Georgetown where he started a “lil hustle” selling cigarettes, lollipops and the like. He then worked as a waiter at Palm Court.
By this time, Rodney was also in town working on the ‘Agree to Disagree’ Show and when he came in contact with Jones, suggested to Mahase that Jones be used in the play. Jones was called and offered a place on the show and it was here that he believes his professional career really started.
“I did road projects, worked on speedboats from Parika to Bartica. I did a lot of jobs. I worked as a watchman for boats. There was nothing that I would not have done to keep myself employed and to get money. It was just in me that I couldn’t do illegal stuff. I just wanted to make an honest living and there was no job in my mind that was too low for me,” he said.
At one point, he also did a comedy night at the Upscale Restaurant after the people there loved the first performance he put on there. “I went and did one poem at the Upscale Restaurant. They loved it and asked if I can do a comedy night.” He contacted his partner Rodney and together they did so.
Currently, Jones has a television show called “Love and Laughter” on Channel Nine which mostly features comedy and a discussion of social issues in a lighter form. “I like to refer to myself as a humanitarian foremost then a comedian and entertainer, etc. I always have a soft heart for goodness.”
Jones is also the founder of the popular ‘Uncensored’ Show and helps Maria Benschop, with whom he shares a relationship, with her show ‘Nothing to Laugh About.’ Recently, they had a son together, Joshua.
Jones has dreams of putting on his own sitcom but is working on acquiring the necessary sponsorship which he explained is quite difficult at this time.

(By Telesha Ramnarine)