Born in Enugu on the 25th day of December 1945 to a warder father by name Arase Efeimwonkiyeke. Though he was born in Enugu, but he was originally from Benin City, Edo state.
Meanwhile, the actor though born in Enugu had most of his life spent in Abakaliki, in the present-day Ebonyi State. And it was during this period that he lost his father, at such a young age, still in primary school then.
His interest in acting started while in school, it was at a time that a certain theatre group identified as “The Doctor In Spite Of Himself” visited his school to stage a play. From there onwards, he joined the career.
It was equally that period that he joined a couple of local acting group, including a popular drama group that performed a rendition of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar at an Eastern regional arts festival in Abakaliki (now Ebonyi State). Because of his exceptional performance in the drama competition, he was given a scholarship to complete his elementary education.
Afterwards, he partook in a lot of drama and stage plays, most especially for the group “The Doctor in Spite of Himself” and a play called Vendetta. In the course of his acting journey at those early days, he became a member of a traveling theatre group and played soccer as well.
He played so well that he soon earned the nickname “Locomotive”, and was later shortened to Loco, and that was how he was able to earn the name “Loco”.
Then came the Biafra war, during which he was in the Eastern part of the country, and only returned to Benin in 1968. It was during this period that the actor former the theatre group known as “Ovonranwen Theatre Group” with their debut production being Ogierhiakhi’s Obaiwape.
Unfortunately, the money was not coming as he had expected from all his efforts and acting exploits, as such, he decided to move to Lagos State, to expand both his acting and football career.
While in Lagos State, he did a couple of jobs, including working for Michelin Tyres, which saw him moving between Lagos, Ijebu Ode and Abeokuta. Then later left and joined Dunlop tyres where he was made a Senior Sales Representative.
While still working with Dunlop in Benin, he was equally part of the cast members of the NTA Benin Television Station, that a couple of drama series. And in 1977, he decided to focus solely on his acting career, which made him left Dunlop.
It was at that period that Sam Loco auditioned for a particular production and landed a lead role for a play Dapo Adelugba titled “Langbodo” presented during FESTAC. After FESTAC, he was led by the same Dapo Adelugba to the man at the University of Ibadan, who eventually helped Sam Loco in securing the job as a senior artiste in the institution.
From there Sam Loco started growing and turning into a household name in the entertainment industry especially in acting. As such, he soon became one of the early pioneers of Nollywood. Going on to feature in a couple of blockbusters that helped launch his acting career properly, and equally projecting his name, career and talent beyond bounds.
He went on to feature in Nollywood blockbuster movies like Tom and Jerry, Long John, Akidi, Ukwa, Final World Cup, Mr. Trouble, Ijele, and many others. He was one of the biggest names in Nollywood till date, and one of fans favourites.
On the 7th day of August 2011, death came calling as he was found dead in his hotel room in Owerri, Imo State, while on a movie job. His death was a mystery as it was almost difficult to lay hands on the actual cause of his death, but he was rumoured to be asthmatic and an inhaler was found beside him when his hotel room was broken on the day he was found dead.
Well, a true legend never dies as his legacies both in life and in Nollywood have remained indelible, and continue to speak on his behalf till date.
