If you grew up watching Yoruba home videos in the 90s, you didn't just watch Ogogo — you felt him. That deep voice, that stern face, that one proverb that could silence a whole compound. Now the curtain has fallen.

As reported by cbinews.tv, veteran Nollywood icon Taiwo Hassan, fondly known as Ogogo, has passed away at 66 after a battle with stage-four cancer.

And honestly? It feels like the end of an era.

The story behind the legend

For those who didn’t know, Ogogo wasn’t one of those overnight Instagram stars. The man put in the graft.

Born in Ilaro, Ogun State on 31st October 1959, he actually started acting way back in 1981 while working as an auto-mechanic with the Lagos State Water Corporation. He only went full-time in 1994 — right at the peak of the home-video boom that made Nollywood what it is today.

Quick history lesson: In the mid-90s, Nigeria’s VHS market was exploding. Films like Living in Bondage (1992) had proved you could shoot on shoestring budgets and still sell millions of copies. Owo Blow came in 1996-97 as one of the first “big budget” epics — costing between ₦2m and ₦7m at the time, when a cinema ticket was just ₦150. It was directed by Tade Ogidan, and it changed everything for Ogogo.

He won the THEMA Best Actor Award in 1997 for that role and never looked back.

Across a career spanning over four decades, he featured in more than 300 Yoruba-language films as an actor, producer, director and screenwriter, becoming famous for those authoritative, sometimes downright intimidating roles — kings, warriors, chiefs, and no-nonsense fathers.

He was also a walking proverb bank. Remember his classic line: “Gbogbo wa la ma je breakfast. Asiko t'onikaluku ma je ti e, ototo ni” — “We will all eat breakfast; it’s just the timing that differs.” That one line later inspired Burna Boy’s global smash Last Last. Iconic, if you ask me.

According to reports, Ogogo’s health battle became public barely a week ago when his daughters, Lima and Kira Taiwo, revealed doctors had discovered stage-four cancer affecting his abdomen just three weeks earlier, and that some hospitals could no longer continue chemotherapy. He died on Sunday, 23rd August 2026 at around 3 pm, and was laid to rest on Monday 24th August in his hometown,n Ilaro.

The tributes have been pouring in — from TAMPAN to colleagues like Yinka Quadri who co-founded the Odunfa Caucus with him.

10 memorable movies featuring Ogogo you need to rewatch

If you really want to understand his range, start here. These are the films that made him OGOGO:

1. Owo Blow (1996)

The one that started it all. As Wole Owolabi, he brought grit to this Lagos street crime trilogy. Still regarded as a classic 25+ years later.

2. Arowolo (2005)

A traditional epic where Ogogo’s stern, kingly presence was perfect. This is peak 2000s Yoruba cinema.

3.Omin

A spiritual thriller that showed his versatility beyond the palace. Fans still quote it.

4. Atitebi (1994)

One of his earliest leading roles just as he went full-time. Raw, unfiltered acting.

5. Abule Sowo

A proper grassroots Yoruba drama — the sort that made him the face of village authority.

6. Aso Idoti

He could do comedy-tinged menace like no other. This film proved it.

7. Oruka Ojosi

Classic juju-themed Yoruba flick. Ogogo as the powerful, morally complex elder.

8. Omo Olomo

Family drama with a hard edge — father-figure roles he absolutely owned.

9. Okan Soso

A fan-favourite from the 2000s DVD era when Alaba Market ruled distribution.

10. Aníkúlápó (2022)

For Gen Z who met him on Netflix — his role as Alaafin Ademuyiwa in Kunle Afolayan’s epic earned him an AMVCA Best Supporting Actor nomination in 2023. Proof he stayed relevant from VHS to streaming.

From VHS cassettes to Netflix, Ogogo bridged three generations of Nollywood. He didn’t just act in Yoruba cinema; he helped give it its voice, face and swagger.

Rest well, Alhaji.

Original write-up sourced from cbinews.tv

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