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Cape Town - South African author and filmmaker John W Fredericks has died, according to a report by TygerBurger.
"A reliable source close to the family informed TygerBurger of his death," the newspaper reported.
"John Fredericks has died peacefully at his home in Strandfontein," Daily Voice reported.
John was perhaps best known for his book, Skollie, which was based on his life experiences and also told on the big screen in the acclaimed local film, Noem My Skollie.
The 73-year-old was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year.
"It is with a sad heart that we bid goodbye to my brother John Fredericks," John's sister, Francis Thorne, wrote on Facebook.
John's own Facebook profile was flooded with messages of condolences.
According to Penguin Random House Publishers, John was born in the Cape Flats. "His father was a dustman and his mother worked in the abattoirs. He spent most of his growing-up years on a refuse dump searching for books to read and anything of resale value," a statement on the publishers website reads.
"Reading opened his mind to a whole new world and at a young age he decided to become a writer. Through strife and struggle and with very little education he set out to reach his goal, but first he had to rise above the stigma of prison and poverty that had become his heritage. He has written a number of film scripts, including the acclaimed Noem My Skollie."
WATCH CHANNEL24'S INTERVIEW WITH JOHN HERE:
