KEY POINTS:
Don Selwyn was on his deathbed when he accepted the final honour of many in an illustrious career in the arts.
Weeks ago Selwyn accepted an Arts Foundation Icon Award for his work as an actor, film-maker, producer, casting director and educator.
He would have been named an icon in a ceremony later this year, but because of his illness the foundation took the unusual step of presenting the medallion earlier.
Selwyn died yesterday in North Shore Hospital, after a long illness. He was 71.
The Icon Award stands alongside a lifetime achievement award presented at the 2003 Film and Television Awards and his naming as an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit as testimony to the profound influence he had on New Zealand's arts scene.
From 1984 to 1990 Selwyn ran the He Taonga I Tawhiti film and television training course for Maori and Pacific people, and he was casting director for hit films such as Once Were Warriors and Broken English.
Selwyn was also a mentor and coach for many young Maori actors, including Temuera Morrison and Lawrence Makoare.
Initially a rugby-playing schoolteacher, Selwyn began his acting career after being dared to take the role of Oberon in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. That role saw him become a member of Nola Miller's touring Shakespeare company and set him on a life-long career in the arts.
Film-maker and Arts Foundation representative Gaylene Preston presented Selwyn's family with his Icon award, as he had been too ill to see her in person.
"A couple of days later I had got a message to say that Don had rallied quite strongly, woken up and had been told about his Icon award. He knew how important it was for the film-making sector. While of course in regular Don fashion he thought he didn't deserve it, he was prepared to accept it on behalf of the community of film-makers."
Preston called Selwyn a pioneer in the industry and a deserving recipient of the award.
"Don is a big loss ... He wasn't just running a career to help himself, he was helping to build an infrastructure for many that go after."
Actor and friend George Henare told Radio New Zealand that Selwyn was a mischievous man with a wicked sense of humour. He was also passionate about advancing the careers of young Maori actors and film-makers.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey, who was on the NZ Film Commission with Selwyn, said his friend had delivered some of New Zealand's most memorable film and television projects.
"He was a mentor and inspiration for a generation of young Maori performers ... . I know that he took real pride in seeing young Maori take their culture on to the stage and screen."
Don Selwyn
Career highlights
* Acting credits: The Governor, Sleeping Dogs, Sons For The Return Home, Mortimer's Patch, Came a Hot Friday, Marlin Bay.
* Casting director: Once Were Warriors, What Becomes Of The Broken-Hearted? Broken English, Jubilee, Crooked Earth.
* Producer: The Maori Merchant Of Venice, The Feathers Of Peace.
