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1-50 of 2,583
- Actor
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Hugh Keays-Byrne was born in 1947 in Kashmir, India. In 1973, he moved to Australia, where he began an acting career. He is a well respected theater, film and TV actor in Australia. Hugh became noticed after roles in Stone (1974), Mad Dog Morgan (1976) and The Trespassers (1976). He landed his first leading role in TV film The Death Train (1978), and year later he became internationally well-known for his role of Toecutter in highly praised apocalyptic SF film Mad Max (1979).
Hugh has continued to work on TV, usually in smaller parts, and he is known for his performance as Mr. Stubb in the mini-TV series Moby Dick (1998) and TV series "Farscape".- Andy Whitfield was born on 17 October 1971 in Amlwch, Anglesey, Wales, UK. He was an actor, known for Spartacus (2010), Gabriel (2007) and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011). He was married to Vashti Whitfield. He died on 11 September 2011 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Arkie Whiteley was born on 6 November 1964 in London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), The Killing of Angel Street (1981) and A Town Like Alice (1981). She was married to Jim Elliott and Christopher Kuhn. She died on 19 December 2001 in Palm Beach, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
His father was a well-to-do builder. Barry was a highly intelligent boy who attended Melbourne University. There, he began acting in revues and doing impersonations. He moved to London in 1959 and began his professional performing career on the West End and Broadway stages as Mr Sowerby in Oliver!, and in Peter Cook's Establishment nightclub. He has created numerous characters including Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson.- Actor
- Director
- Additional Crew
Robert Murray Helpmann was born in Mount Gambier, Australia, as the eldest of three children born to stock and station agent James Murray Helpman and Mary Gardiner.
After the family moved to Adelaide in 1914, Helpmann was educated at Prince Alfred's College, but he soon left school at the age of 14 to focus on dance, specifically ballet. He was taught ballet by Nora Stewart. Helpmann first danced solo at the Theatre Royal in Adelaide in "The Ugly Duckling" in 1922. In 1926, he was trained by Alexis Dolinoff, the leading male dancer for Anna Pavlova, whom Helpmann soon became an apprentice for. The next year, in 1927, he joined J. C. Williamson Ltd. as their star dancer.
Helpmann went on to become the principal dancer at Sadlers Wells Ballet from 1933 to 1950. World renowned as a dancer and choreographer, amongst his other achievements he was the director of the Australian Ballet Company. He directed the world tour of Margot Fonteyn in 1963.
Towards the end of his life, Helpmann was living in Balmoral, a suburb of Mosman, in Sydney, Australia. On September 28, 1986, Helpmann died in the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, at the age of 77, from emphysema, having been a lifelong smoker.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Tony Hancock was born in Birmingham, England, the son of John and Lillian Hancock. He was educated at Durlston Court, Swanage, and Bradfield College, Reading. He served in the R.A.F. (ground crew) during the war. In 1942 he was in the R.A.F. Gang Show. He was de-mobbed in 1946. He appeared at the Windmill Theatre, London in 1948. His radio show "Hancock's Half Hour" ran from 1954 - 1959, written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson with co-stars Hattie Jacques, Kenneth Williams, Sidney James and Bill Kerr. This popular show was adopted by TV and the shows were re-recorded and broadcast 1956-1960.- Actress
Everyone knows (or should know) Lois Maxwell as the one and only "Miss Moneypenny," but there's much more to her acting career than that. She started out against her parents' will, and without their knowledge, in a Canadian children's radio program, credited as "Robin Wells." Before the age of 15 she left for England with the Canadian army's Entertainment Corps and managed (after her age had been discovered) to get herself enrolled in The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she met and became friends with Roger Moore. Her movie career started with a Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger production, A Matter of Life and Death (1946). After having won The Most Promising Newcomer Golden Globe Award in 1947, she went to Hollywood and made six films before she decided to try her luck in Italy. She had to leave Italy to go to England when her husband became ill, and since then she has had roles in a number of movies besides the first 14 Bond movies. In 1989 she retired.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Diane Cilento was an Australian actress from Queensland. She had partial Italian descent. She was once nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. For a theatrical role as Helen of Troy, Cilento was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
In 1932, Cilento was born in Brisbane, Queensland's state capital, to a relatively affluent family. Her maternal grandfather was the prominent merchant Charles Thomas McGlew (1870-1931), founder of the Liberty Motor Oil Company. Cliento's father was the medical practitioner Raphael "Ray" Cilento (1893-1985). He became famous as the director of the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine, the director of the Commonwealth Government's Division of Tropical Hygiene, the Director-General of Health and Medical Services, the president of the Queensland's Medical Board, a high-ranking member of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the Director for Refugees and Displaced Persons, and director of disaster relief in Palestine. Raphael spend much of his career combating malaria and other tropical diseases.
Cilento's mother was the medical practitioner and medical journalist Phyllis Cilento (née McGlew, 1894 - 1987). Phylis became famous for advocating family planning, contraception, and the legalization of abortion in Australia. She wrote many books on health matters. Her medical research involved the use of Vitamin E in therapy, and as a method for preventing blood clots.
Cilento was the fifth of six children born to her famous parents. Four or her siblings followed their parents' footsteps as medical practitioners. Cilento's most famous sibling was the professional painter and print-maker Margaret Cilento (1923-2006). Margaret's works are preserved in both the National Gallery of Victoria and the National Gallery of Australia.
Cilento was expelled from school while living in Australia. She then studied abroad, spending part of her school years in the U.S. state of New York. She decided to follow an acting career and won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), located in London. She settled in England during the early 1950s.
Following her graduation from RADA, Cilento started a career as a theatrical actress. She was eventually offered a five-year contract by the British film producer Alexander Korda (1893-1956), and took the offer. She started out with several small roles in film. Her first leading role was playing British governess Ruth Elton in the romantic drama "Passage Home" (1955). In the film, Elton rejects a marriage proposal from Captain Lucky Ryland (played by Peter Finch), who she barely knows. Ryland then tries to rape her. She eventually marries another man, but she is secretly in love with her would-be rapist.
During the late 1950s, Cilento found steady work in British films. She played the only woman in a love triangle in the circus-themed "The Woman for Joe" (1955). She played the between maid in the castaway-themed "The Admirable Crichton" (1957), an adaptation of a play by J. M. Barrie (1860-1937). She played a free-thinker in the romantic comedy "The Truth About Women" (1957),concerning the memories of an old man. She also had a role in the aviation disaster film "Jet Storm" (1959), in which a man has placed a bomb on a passenger airplane.
In the early 1960s, Cilento continued to have notable roles. She played the female lead Denise Colby in the psychological thriller "The Full Treatment" (1960). In the film Denise's husband struggles with mood swings and the dark impulse to kill his wife, which makes him fear for his sanity. The film was one of the murder-themed films produced by Hammer Film Productions.
Cilento played the supporting role of a murder suspect's wife in the thriller film "The Naked Edge" (1961). The film is mainly remembered as the last film role for protagonist Gary Cooper (1901-1961), who died of prostate cancer following the film's completion. Cilento played the murder victim Liane Dane in the crime film "I Thank a Fool" (1962), where a female doctor is suspected of killing her own patient.
Cilento played the most acclaimed role of her career as Molly Seagrim in the comedy film "Tom Jones" (1963), the title character's first love. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, but the award was instead won by rival actress Margaret Rutherford (1892 - 1972).
Cilento next played one of the murder suspects in the crime film "The Third Secret" (1964). In the film a well-known psychoanalyst is found murdered within his own residence, and a number of his patients are suspected of killing him. The main plot twist is that the victim was killed by someone much closer to him than his patients.
Cilento also played the prostitute Cyrenne in the comedy-drama film "Rattle of a Simple Man" (1964). The film concerns the efforts of 39-year-old virgin man to finally have sex. She next played the Italian noblewoman Contessina Antonia Romola de' Medici in the historical film "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (1965), a fictionalized version of the life of the artist Michelangelo (1475-1564). The film was critically acclaimed and nominated for awards, but under-performed at the box office. The struggling studio 20th Century Fox reportedly lost over 5 million dollars due to this box office flop.
Cilento had the supporting role of the caretaker Jessie in the revisionist Western film "Hombre" (1967). The film depicted the relations between the Apache and the white men in 19th-century Arizona. The film earned 12 million dollars in the worldwide box office, one of the greatest hits in its year for release.
Cilento's last film role in the 1960s was the photographer Reingard in the film "Negatives" (1968). The film concerned a couple who liked to role-play as part of their erotic fantasies, however they chose to play the role of famous murderer Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen (1862-1910) and his lover. This film is remembered as the directorial debut of Hungarian expatriate Peter Medak (1937-), who later had a lengthy career.
Cilento gained her first regular television role when cast as Lady Sarah Bellasize in the prison-themed television series "Rogues' Gallery" (1968-1969). It depicted life in the famous Newgate Prison (1188 -1902) of London during the 18th century. The series lasted 2 seasons and a total of 10 episodes.
Following a hiatus in her film career, Cilento returned in the dystopian science fiction film "Z.P.G." ( "Zero Population Growth", 1972). The film depicted a future Earth suffering from overpopulation and environmental destruction. The world's government has decreed than no new child must be born over the next 30 years, but a couple decide to illegally procreate. Cilento played the supporting role of Edna Borden. Borden offers to help conceal the new baby from the world, while she actually wants to keep it for herself. The film's was well received in its time, and lead actress Geraldine Chaplin (1944-) won an award for this role.
Cilento played the role of the famous German test pilot Hanna Reitsch (1912-1979) in the historical film "Hitler: The Last Ten Days". (1973) The film depicted the last few days in the life of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), based on the eye-witness account of Gerhard Boldt (1918 - 1981). The authenticity of the source book has since been questioned.
Cilento had a supporting role in the classic horror film "The Wicker Man" (1973), concerning a neo-pagan cult which practices Celtic paganism. The film was based on a novel by David Pinner (1940-). The film won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film, and has often been listed among the best British films. It was one of the most acclaimed films of Cilento's career.
The lesser known film "The Tiger Lily" (1975) included Cilento's last film role in the 1970s. She gained another regular role in the television series "Tycoon" (1978), which only lasted a single season and a total of 13 episodes.
Her film career was in decline during the 1980s, and Cilento chose to return to her native Queensland. She settled in the small town of Mossman, named after the Mossman River which flows though it. She built the outdoor theater Karnak in the local rain-forest, which she operated for the rest of her life. She used the theater as a venue for experimental drama.
In 2001, Cilento was awarded with Australian's Centenary Medal for her services to theater. In 2007, Cilento published her autobiography "My Nine Lives". In her last years she was suffering from cancer. In 2011, she died due to this disease while hospitalized in the Cairns Base Hospital. The hospital was the largest major hospital in Far North Queensland. Cilento was 79-years-old at the time of her death.
Cilento was survived by her daughter Giovanna Volpe and her son Jason Connery (1963-), her only heirs. A collection of items from her personal estate was donated by her heirs to the Queensland University of Technology. The collection reportedly included "hundreds of books, memorabilia, posters, furniture". Also included were original scripts which Cilento had inherited from her last husband, the playwright Anthony Shaffer. Original scripts by both Cilento and Shaffer have been digitized, and made available to scholars through the University's digital collections.- Actor
- Music Department
- Writer
David Gulpilil is a legendary Yolngu actor, a First Nations person of Northern Australia, born around 1953. The local missionaries gave him his birthdate of July 1, 1953, just as they gave him his Christian name David, although he admits he liked that name from the start. His last name, Gulpilil, was a totem, the kingfisher. He'd never seen a white person until he was 8 when he visited the mission school, but he never really allowed them to teach him anything.
In 1969, the British film director Nicolas Roeg, scouting locations in the Outback, appeared at a mission in the north and asked if anyone knew a boy who can throw a spear, who can hunt, and who can dance, and everyone pointed at David.
David's easy smile made him a natural, and it quickly became obvious that he was unlike anyone the white man had met in the outback. He was not reserved or suspicious of strangers, and carried song on his lips and rhythm in his legs. David Gulpilil was fearless.
Looking back over his career, he tells us in the documentary, My Name is Gulpilil (2021), filmed while dying of terminal lung cancer, that he never acted, that acting wasn't something he had to do because it was natural. "I know how to walk across the land in front of a camera, because I belong there," Standing on stage, before a camera, or before the Queen of England, David felt comfortable in his own skin whether it was barely dressed in a loin cloth, or stuffed into the white man's dinner jacket.
Roeg quickly cast the charismatic Gulpilil in Walkabout (1971), a film based upon Donald G Payne's 1959 novel about a boy who cheerfully leads children to safety. Without really knowing it, Roeg broke new ground in Australian cinema, and redefined the way that Indigenous people were represented in Australian cinema. The film was an international success everywhere but in Australia, where First Nation peoples had been previously portrayed only by white people wearing blackface. And to top it off, the film broke cultural barriers, presenting on the wide screen a sexually attractive young Black man.
David Gulpilli was, overnight, hurled in to high society as an instant, international celebrity and presented before Queen Elizabeth, who found him quite charming and humorous. She in turn introduced David to John Lennon and that was just the beginning. Before long he was soon shaking hands with Muhammad Ali, Marlon Brando, Bruce Lee, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Marley, who would help contribute to David's downfall. David taught Bob Marley to play the didgeridoo. Marley taught David to smoke ganja. But it was while filming Mad Dog Morgan (1976) that he got his crash course in hellraising by Dennis Hopper. Later in his one-man stage show he'd say, "If you're working with people like Dennis Hopper and [John] Meillon, well, you gotta learn all about drinking and drugs."
David enjoyed being in front of the camera, and he well knew the importance of his work because it was history and it would "remember to generation to generation," shining a spotlight on his people who had been murdered, exploited, and corralled into camps. The collective history of his people meant everything to him and these films, he claimed, "Won't rub it out."
He was a dancer, a singer, an artist, and a story teller, and fell lovingly into the role of ambassador of his culture to the white man's world, which ironically would eventually divorce him from his culture, as he took to drink and drugs and wound up in trouble with the law, racking up four drink-driving arrests, and one drunken escapade that landed him in jail again, but this time for assaulting his wife. As he admitted in his biopic, "Left side, my country. Right side, white man's world. This one tiptoe in caviar and champagne, this one in the dirt of my Dreamtime."
When he'd been discovered, he spoke no English, though he knew a few dialects of the First People's language, and he was such a quick learner. He began picking up English while just listening during the making of the film, Walkabout, and afterwards as he travelled about the world.
In his one man show, "Gulpilli," he tells the story of trying to use a knife and fork while sitting next to the queen. He cut and cut but couldn't get any meat as he just moved the plate around the table. He gave up and finally picked it up with his hands. Whether true or not, he tells how the Royal Family joined in, eating their meat as he did.
After his sudden fame in Walkabout, David found his way onto Australian television in episodes of Boney (1972), Homicide (1964), Rush (1974), The Timeless Land (1980), and more, and even got a bit part in The Right Stuff (1983).
He was quickly recognized as the most renowned tribal dancer in Australia, and he choreographed the traditional First People's dance in Crocodile Dundee (1986). His love of dance inspired him to organize dancing troupes and musicians that won the Darwin Australia Day Eisteddfod dance competition four times.
His breakthrough role came in the mid-seventies with Storm Boy (1976), one of David's personal favorites, followed up by a lead role in The Last Wave (1977). In fact, his last appearance as an actor was in the remake of Storm Boy (2019), playing the father of Fingerbone Bill, the character he'd played in the original version.
Despite his fame, his earnings were never substantial and he was subjected to racism from agents and film crews. He was often homeless, sleeping in parks. He wound up living in a corrugated iron hut in the community of Raminginig that had no electricity or running water, where he hunted kangaroos, cooking bush meat over an open fire. "I was brought up in a tin shed. I wandered all over the world - Paris, New York - now I'm back in a tin shed," Gulpilil said.
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) is the story of Australia's Lost Generations, in which mixed race First Nation children were removed from their families and placed in church-run missions in order to breed the "black" out of them and integrate them into society. Many of the children ran away from these camps and trackers were sent out after them. David Gulpilil played the formidable tracker in Rabbit-Proof Fence, and that led to a leading role in The Tracker (2002), directed by Rolf de Heer. David referred to this role as the best performance in his career. He won best actor at the Australian Film Institute Awards, the Inside Film Awards, and the Film Critics' Circle Awards.
He teamed up with Rolf de Herr a few more times, but their most unique production was the first film scripted entirely in the Yolngu language, called Ten Canoes (2006). Gulpilil narrated the film and it won a Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It was after this time that David's life took a downhill turn and landed him in prison because of his drinking and assaulting his then partner Miriam Ashley. After his release he went into treatment and got sober.
Clean and sober he went to work again with Rolf de Herr and co-wrote the film Charlie's Country (2013), the true to life story of an ageing man who yearned to return to his cultural roots. Gulpilil gave the performance of his career, winning four best actor awards, including best actor at the Cannes Film Festival. At the Australian Film Critics Association Awards, he shared with Rolf de Heer the best screenplay award.
Released six months before his passing, My Name is Gulpilil (2021) is, as David put it, the story of his story. Though very ill, David gives us insight into his charismatic life and charm as we witness the full spectrum of his talents. We see him dancing, singing, celebrating, and even painting. One of his paintings, "King brown snake with blue tongue lizard at Gulparil waterhole" hangs in The Art Gallery Of South Australia. He spins wool from his hair, something his ancestors handed down that his father taught him. He takes us for a walk through his land, along the rivers, in the shadows of the mountains, and knowing he's dying, he admits he really doesn't yet grasp it, but tells us, "I'm walking like across the desert of the country, a long, long way. Until the time comes . . . for me."- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
BRAD ALLAN: Born with an inherent fascination of all things Chinese, Brad Allan started studying martial arts, boxing, gymnastics and Chinese circus arts from the age of 10 years. At age 15 years, Brad met two of China's greatest wushu athletes Liang Chang Xing and Tang Lai Wei of the renowned Beijing Wushu Team (the same team as Jet Li). Under their expert guidance Brad quickly rose to become one of Australia's top wushu athletes. At the age of 22 years Brad returned to Australia after several years studying language and martial arts in Asia. It was in his home town of Melbourne that he met his mentor and master, Jackie Chan. A chance encounter gave Brad an opportunity to demonstrate his skills to Jackie and his team; a dream come true that would change his life forever. As the first non-Asian member, Brad spent the next 12 years traveling and performing around the world as part of the illustrious Jackie Chan Stunt Team. It was during this time and under Jackie's direct guidance that Brad progressed from stunt performer, to action choreographer, to stunt coordinator and finally action director. Brad Allan traveled one of the more unique paths to Hollywood and brought a unique visual style that combined the best of the east and west. Action transcends language and cultural boundaries; It can excite us, move us and make us laugh. Brad Allan had a global vision for action film making. He worked with an international team of skilled professionals from all over the world united by their passion for action and film making. His goal was to entertain, excite and motivate the human race.- This gorgeous blonde was born Elaine Sterling on May 18, 1928 and raised in St. Louis before beginning her career as a face and hand model for cosmetic ads. She moved briefly to NYC before transporting herself to Hollywood, wherein she earned an MGM contract. She decorated a number of the studio's big musical pictures at that time under her real name, including bits in Easter Parade (1948) and Neptune's Daughter (1949) but found little room for advancement. Leaving MGM, she changed her moniker to Sara Shane and signed a one-year contract with Universal-International, where she was glimpsed in such films as Sign of the Pagan (1954) and Magnificent Obsession (1954). During this time, she married William Hollingsworth. They divorced after eight years of marriage in 1957.
Her parts got bigger on the screen once she left to freelance but the pictures, themselves, were not necessarily of a higher grade. Three Bad Sisters (1956), The King and Four Queens (1956) with Clark Gable, and Affair in Havana (1957), at the very least, put her in the featured role bracket. From there, she moved directly into TV roles and worked throughout much the late 1950s/early 1960s on such programs as Dragnet (1951), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), The Outer Limits (1963) and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964). Her film career peaked when she was chosen to play the Jane-like role, opposite muscleman Gordon Scott's vine swinger, in Tarzan's Greatest Adventure (1959), one of the better entries in the series.
Never connecting strongly with the whirlwind social circle, she left the Hollywood limelight and retired from show biz in her late 30s. She turned to writing and began to devote herself to the study of pharmaceuticals. She wrote two books, 'Zulma' and 'Take Control of Your Health and Escape the Sickness Industry', the first was a work of fiction and the second was a book promoting healthy living. To escape the pollution of Los Angeles, she moved to Australia where she still lives on her 5 acre home. - Frank Thring was born on 11 May 1926 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor, known for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Ben-Hur (1959) and The Vikings (1958). He was married to Joan Cunliffe. He died on 29 December 1994 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Wendy Hughes was an accomplished actress who had won over 13 major awards. She had been called "one of the world's great actresses" with "the beauty and talent to become an international star". Hughes was born in Melbourne and studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. She has two children, Charlotte (17) and Jay (13).- Writer
- Actor
- Music Department
Steve Irwin was born in 1962 to parents Lyn and Bob Irwin, who were animal naturalists. He shared the love for animals all his life, stemming from being raised at the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. There, he partook in daily duties of animal feeding and care. He quickly established himself with the Queenland's government on the process of the country's Crocodile Relocation Program, in which the reptiles could be transferred and relocated to proper localties in the most absolute humane, non-tranquilizing manner. He frequently implements the non-tranquilizing factor in his televison show The Crocodile Hunter's Croc Files (1999). Steve married fellow naturalist, Terri Irwin (Baines) in 1992. She joined him in his adventures and efforts in almost every episode of his show. They had one daughter, Bindi Sue Irwin, who was born July 24, 1998. He died in September 2006 following an attack by a stingray, off the Great Barrier Reef.- Actor
- Script and Continuity Department
Richard Carter was born on 11 December 1953 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The Great Gatsby (2013) and Rake (2010). He was married to Lindsey Carter. He died on 13 July 2019 in New South Wales, Australia.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
The future movie bad man was born in Drummoyne, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, and got his career start as an interviewer on the government's radio station. Pate also worked on the Australian stage and in Down Under movies before relocating to the U.S. in the early 1950s to appear in Universal's "Thunder on the Hill, " the film version of a Charlotte Hastings play ("Bonaventure") in which he had appeared. Pate acted in many American films and TV series, then returned to Australia in the late '60s and worked (again) in that country's film industry; he co-starred in his own Aussie TV series, "Matlock Police". Pate also began working behind the camera; one of his best-known writing-producing-directing credits is "Tim", the story of the relationship between an older woman (Piper Laurie) and a mentally challenged young man (Mel Gibson).- Actor
- Writer
- Soundtrack
John Bluthal (born 28 March 1929) is a British film and television actor and voice artist, mostly in comedy. He is best known for his work with Spike Milligan, and for his roles in the TV series Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width and The Vicar of Dibley. He has also worked in the United States and Australia, in numerous productions.
He moved to England in 1959 and appeared in Citizen James for BBC television, and in the long-running UK TV series Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width in which he played Manny Cohen, a Jewish tailor in business with an Irishman in London. Also in the early 1960s, he provided the voice for Commander Zero in the television puppet series Fireball XL5. He appeared in the role of Fagin in the musical Oliver! at New Theatre, London. He has made dozens of film and TV shows since moving to England.
Bluthal also worked with Spike Milligan over several years, appearing with him in a 1958 Australian television special, The Gladys Half-Hour. He appeared as several characters in Milligan and John Antrobus' stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre on 31 January 1963. He also worked with Milligan on the television series Q and its radio counterpart The Milligna Show. He previously worked with Milligan in the radio comedy series The Idiot Weekly and The Omar Khayyam Show. Bluthal is a man of many voices, like Milligan's former radio colleague Peter Sellers, and he was used somewhat like Sellers in Milligan's later work.
Some of his other television appearances include: the Sykes and a... episode "Sykes and a Bath", broadcast on 25 January 1961, 'Allo 'Allo!, Hancock, Minder, The Saint (TV series) episode "The Happy Suicide", The Avengers, Rumpole of the Bailey, Jonathan Creek, Lovejoy, Bergerac, and Inspector Morse, as well as appearing as Major Cheeseburger in The Goodies' episode "Clown Virus". He also appeared on the Australian comedy/satire series The Mavis Bramston Show and as "Enzo Pacelli" in the ABC-TV comedy television series Home Sweet Home.
Bluthal also appeared as Leonid Krassin in episodes of the Thames TV series Reilly, Ace of Spies.
In 1975, Bluthal took the part of Richard Armitage, described as "an Orthodox London Jew", in The Melting Pot. This was a sitcom written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, which was canceled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast. Bluthal also appeared as "Chalky", a hospital patient, in the episode "I Gotta Horse" of the comedy television series Doctor Down Under (the Australian series of the British comedy television series Doctor in the House, which also starred Robin Nedwell as Dr. Duncan Waring and Geoffrey Davies as Dr. Dick Stuart-Clark).
His films appearances include: The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965), three Carry On films, two of the Doctor films, and also The Beatles' films A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965), three roles in Casino Royale (1967), and two of the Pink Panther films. Bluthal also played several characters in The Great McGonagall (1974), by Spike Milligan and Joseph McGrath, based on the life of William McGonagall. He portrayed an Egyptologist in the year 1914 for the first part of the film The Fifth Element (1997) and Uncle Karl in Dark City (1998). He also appeared in the comedy Beware of Greeks Bearing Guns (2000).
His work with the National Theatre London included roles in Tales from Hollywood, Entertaining Strangers, Antony and Cleopatra, Yonaadab, The Tempest, Winters Tale, and Cymbeline.
He appeared in an early episode of One Foot In The Grave. His later television appearances have been in the sitcom The Vicar of Dibley as the fastidious minutes-taker Frank Pickle and as the caretaker Rocko in Spirited. He also appeared in the 2004 film Love's Brother and in the 2016 film Hail, Caesar!.- Actor
- Writer
John Meillon was born on 1 May 1934 in Mosman, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor and writer, known for Crocodile Dundee II (1988), Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Walkabout (1971). He was married to Bunny Gibson and June Salter. He died on 10 August 1989 in Neutral Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Charles 'Bud' Tingwell was born on 3 January 1923 in Coogee, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor and director, known for Breaker Morant (1980), Murder She Said (1961) and Ned Kelly (2003). He was married to Audrey Wilson. He died on 15 May 2009 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Max Phipps was born on 18 November 1939 in Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981), Nate and Hayes (1983) and Stir (1980). He died on 6 August 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Actor
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Bushy-browed, New Zealand-born actor and writer Jonathan Hardy became most familiar to television audiences as the commanding voice of the Jim Henson Creature Shop muppet, Dominar Rygel XVI, the pint-sized , egocentric ruler-in-exile of a galactic empire, in TV's cult series Farscape (1999). His distinctive diction proved ideally suited to lending both humour and personality to the cantankerous, idiosyncratic 26-inch Hynerian.
Jonathan was educated at St. Patrick's College and Victoria University in Wellington, and trained for acting at the New Zealand Player's Drama School. In later years, he became a force in his country's theatrical scene as artistic director of the Auckland Mercury Theatre, from 1980 to 1985. Prior to that, he had studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art on a scholarship, and subsequently spent ten years gaining valuable experience on British stages -- with the National Theatre, the Bristol Old Vic and with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon Avon. Back in the antipodes, he was especially acclaimed for his performance as Willy Loman in an Auckland Theatre Company production of "Death of a Salesman". With the same organisation, he had another winning role in "Twelve Angry Men". After moving to Australia in 1972, Jonathan was notably featured in the films The Mango Tree (1977) and Mad Max (1979), and had guest spots on popular television shows like Prisoner (1979) and The Flying Doctors (1986). He also made occasional forays into screenwriting. His first, for the controversial Boer war drama Breaker Morant (1980), won him an Oscar nomination (along with Bruce Beresford and David Stevens), and an Australian Film Institute Award. In the cast of the two-act play "Breaker Morant", debuting at the Athenaeum Theatre in Melbourne (February 1978), he played the key role of Major James Francis Thomas, who defended Morant at the infamous court martial.
Jonathan was known in his profession for his work ethic and boundless energy. In fact, he soldiered on for many years after 1988, despite having undergone the trauma of heart transplant surgery. He also had a reputation for a wonderfully wicked sense of humour ...after all, he once described Rygel's most endearing traits on "Farscape" to be "biting people and farting helium"!- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Bill Hunter was one of Australia's acting legends, having worked with almost every notable Australian director and actor of the last thirty years - evidence of his genuine popularity among the public and acting fraternity alike.
He started out in Australian television in the '60s (a hotbed of well written and directed drama), and rapidly became a favorite of directors during the boom in the Australian movie industry in the '70s. He has often played the strong, opinionated, stereotypically gruff Australian who ultimately betrays a softer heart.
Some of his notable movie roles include the Australian officer Major Barton, who will only ask his troops to do as he would, in Gallipoli (1981), Peter Weir's groundbreaking movie starring the young Mel Gibson; the meddling Barry Fife in Strictly Ballroom (1992), Baz Luhrmann's first international hit; scheming politician and failure as a father and husband Bill Heslop in Muriel's Wedding (1994), P.J. Hogan's first international hit; the lovable country battler in the international megahit The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994), starring Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce, and Hugo Weaving.- Actor
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Vincent Gil was born in 1939 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor and writer, known for Mad Max (1979), Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) and Homicide (1964). He died on 21 August 2022 in Australia.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Years before Jack Thompson arrived on the scene, Chips Rafferty was regarded by many as the personification of the stereotypically rugged, straightforward and laconic Aussie male. Tall and thin, though not particularly striking in appearance, Rafferty was a tailor-made star for the austere, modestly-budgeted dramas made 'down under' in the 1940s and 50s. His most individual aspect was in not being remotely reminiscent of any other leading contemporary British or American actor. In his youth, Chips had learned boxing and the art of horsemanship. He also displayed an affinity for painting watercolours. By the time he entered the film industry as an extra with Cinesound Studios in 1939, John William Pilbean Goffage (nicknamed 'Chips' since schooldays) had already seen a great deal of life as a sheep-shearer, drover, roo hunter, gold prospector and cellarman in a wine bar. One of his more exotic activities also included that of a 'false teeth packer'. On the side, he also wrote poems and short stories which he sold to several Sydney publications. His first stint on the stage was as assistant and comic foil to a magician.
After his inauspicious screen debut in 1939, Chips came to the attention of film maker Charles Chauvel who assigned him a rather more roguish-sounding surname and proceeded to cast him as a heroic 'digger' in his patriotic wartime drama 40,000 Horsemen (1940). The resulting box-office success, both at home and abroad, led Chauvel to repeat the exercise with The Rats of Tobruk (1944). After wartime duties with the RAAF, Chips managed to persuade British director Harry Watt to star him in the pivotal role of tough cattle drover Dan McAlpine in The Overlanders (1946). This defined the Rafferty screen personae to such an extent, that he continued to play variations on the theme pretty much throughout the remainder of his career.
Under contract to Ealing, Chips had a brief sojourn in England opposite Googie Withers in The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947), followed by an integral part in Eureka Stockade (1949). In the early 50s, he co-founded - and invested much of his own money in - a short-lived production company, Southern International (in conjunction with the director Lee Robinson). They turned out a few unambitious adventure films like Return of the Plainsman (1953) and King of the Coral Sea (1954). Chips appeared in these as the nominal star. For the most part however, lucrative film work was to be found only in Hollywood: in feature films, like Kangaroo (1952), Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) and The Sundowners (1960); or as guest star in television episodes, ranging from Gunsmoke (1955) to Tarzan (1966). He remained for many years Australia's most popular and quintessential actor, an archetypal anti-establishmentarian, irreverent in humour, honest and uncomplicated. His penultimate performance as an outback cop in Wake in Fright (1971) is often cited as one of his best.- Actor
- Producer
Television Print Personal appearances Beau. For Y&R Mattingly. 1993 / 2002 Client. Beaurepaire Tyres 80 Commercials Created by Paul Hankinson and Roger Ginsberg. John Skaro and Roger Nance. Casting Director Greg Apps
Theatre Of Mice and Men. By John Steinbeck Role :Lennie Director :Ray Lawler Melbourne Theatre Company 1976
Promises Promises JCWilliamson Director Fred Hebert With Orson Bean. Role Karl Kuberlick- Actress
- Script and Continuity Department
- Soundtrack
Sheila Florance was born on 24 July 1916 in St. Kilda East, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She was an actress, known for Prisoner (1979), Mad Max (1979) and A Woman's Tale (1991). She was married to Jan (John) Adam Balawaider and Roger Lightfoot Oyston. She died on 12 October 1991 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Miller was born on 28 November 1943 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Man from Snowy River (1982), Matlock Police (1971) and The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990). He died on 17 February 2023 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Actor
- Soundtrack
The British character actor Laurence Naismith was a Merchant Marine seaman before becoming an actor. He made his London stage debut in 1927 in the chorus of the musical "Oh, Boy." Three years later, he joined the Bristol Repertory and remained with them until the outbreak of World War II. After serving nine years in the Royal Artillery (with the final rank of Acting Battery Commander), Naismith returned to the stage and also made his film debut. His seafaring background came in handy in a number of film roles, including the steamboat captain in Mogambo (1953), Dr. Hawkins in Boy on a Dolphin (1957), the captain of the Titanic in A Night to Remember (1958), and the First Sea Lord in Sink the Bismarck! (1960). Naismith also made numerous television appearances, including the recurring roles of Judge Fulton on The Persuaders! (1971) and Father Harris on Oh, Father! (1973).- Born in London, Shane Briant topped the Law School at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Nominated by the London theatre critics as "Best Newcomer" in 1971, Briant has appeared in 32 features worldwide, most notably The Picture of Dorian Gray (1973), The Naked Civil Servant (1975), The Lighthorsemen (1987), John Huston's The MacKintosh Man (1973) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981). He is also a novelist, having had five books published in Australia: "The Webber Agenda", "The Chasen Catalyst", "Hitkids", "Bite of the Lotus" and his new best-selling thriller, "Graphic", which came out in 2005. The short film he wrote in 2005, A Message from Fallujah (2005), won "Best in the Fest" at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival, and many other awards. He lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and cats. (sbriant@bigpond.net.au)
- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Quentin Kenihan is Australia's most unique celebrity. For many years he featured on national current affairs programs as he struggled to overcome his disability. Quentin has captured the nation's heart with his wit, humour and never-say-die attitude. Now as an adult he is best known for his hit TV series Quentin Crashes. He is a young Australian film-maker who suffers from a rare bone disorder (Osteogenesis imperfecta - bone brittle disease) and has spent most of his 31 years in a wheelchair from which he observes life through the lens of TV cameras.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Writer, director and producer Richard Franklin was born on July 15, 1948 in Melbourne, Australia. Infatuated with cinema at an early age, Franklin first began making 8mm films at age 10. Franklin saw Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" two years later and was hooked on movies for life. Richard enrolled at Monash University in Melbourne and worked as an assistant cameraman at a television advertising company. Franklin eventually went to America and attended the University of Southern California in 1967. While studying at USC Franklin got Hitchcock to do a Q&A session for a screening of "Rope." Hitchcock in turn invited Franklin to watch him work on the set of "Topaz." Franklin returned to Australia following graduation in 1969 and got a job as an assistant director for the popular TV series "Homicide." Franklin went on to direct several episodes. He also made several short movies and documentaries around this time. Franklin made his feature film debut with the raunchy sex comedy "The True Story of Eskimo Nell." He followed this picture with the equally bawdy "Fantasm." His third movie "Patrick" was a nifty horror feature that proved to be a big international success; it won the Grand Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Film, and won the Best Director Award at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival. "Roadgames" was a tense and witty "danger on the road" thriller knockout which was the most expensive Australian film made in the early 80s. Franklin then did the surprisingly solid and satisfying belated sequel "Psycho II." His other movies include the delightful "Cloak and Dagger," the silly "Link," and the hugely enjoyable "F/X 2." However, Franklin became weary of Hollywood studio politics and returned to his native Australia. He made the acclaimed play adaptations "Hotel Sorrento" and "Brilliant Lies." "Hotel Sorrento" won an AFI Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for both Best Film and Best Director. Franklin also did a made-for-TV adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic fantasy adventure novel "The Lost World." His final feature was the horror thriller "Visitors." In addition to his film work, Franklin also directed episodes of the TV shows "Flatland," "A Fine Romance," and "Beauty and the Beast." He was a drummer in the Melbourne band The Pink Finks and was a lecturer at the Swinburne School of Film and Television in Australia. Richard Franklin died from prostate cancer at age 58 on July 11, 2007.- Googie Withers began her acting career at the age of 12. She was dancing in the chorus in a West End revue when she was spotted by a Warner Brothers casting director. She went to do a screen test for them at the Riverside Studios and was invited to become an extra. On her first day at the filming of The Girl in the Crowd (1934) she arrived on the set just after Michael Powell had just sacked the second lead, and she was enlisted to play one of the lead roles.
- Bryan studied drama at RADA and soon made an impression on TV in the footballing drama "United" and on film working for Hammer studios in "Quatermass And The Pit" and "The Witches". Perhaps his most major film role is the duplicitous Councillor Harris in "The Long Good Friday". Bryan emigrated to Australia in 1983, and continued to act in various film & TV projects, dividing his time between Australia and his native Britain before his death.
- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Michael Hutchence is one of the greatest singers and performers in Australia's history, with a career that spanned 20 years. Born to Kelland Hutchence and Patricia Hutchence (a film and television make-up artist), Michael was the second of three children. He grew up in Hong Kong, USA, and Australia, and often hung out with his mother on film sets, getting to meet many famous people including his former classmate, Nastassja Kinski. When his parents split in 1976, Michael went with his mother to live in America for a while, but finding the fast-paced lifestyle too hectic, he moved back to Australia to live with his father. He attended high school in Sydney, becoming friends with another student, Andrew Farriss. Andrew performed regularly in two bands, Doctor Dolphin and The Farriss Brothers, and at some point invited Michael to sing with them. After graduating, they recruited two more members, Garry Beers and Kirk Pengilly, and immediately started touring pubs as The Farriss Brothers. They were later signed for a record deal on condition that they changed their name to INXS, which was a reflection of their lifestyle, always in excess.
Their first three albums were only minor sellers, but when 'The Swing' was released in 1984, it debuted at number one in Australia, and went double platinum. Their 1987 album 'Kick' had huge radio airplay, brought them an American number one hit ("Need You Tonight") and sold millions of albums worldwide.
However, Michael led a life of constant excess, which included women, drugs and alcohol, and sadly after 'Kick', the band proved to be not as popular as they once had been. Michael attempted a film career, but his first film Dogs in Space (1986) earned an 'R' rating, completely alienating it from teenagers, its intended audience. His second film Frankenstein Unbound (1990) did not showcase his talent either, as he had little more than a walk-on role.
All the while, his personal and professional life was falling apart. He fell in love with and later lived with Bob Geldof's wife, Paula Yates, which tainted his career. They had a daughter together, Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof. In 1997 he met up with Michael Douglas to discuss his songs being used in Face/Off (1997). Hutchence wanted to know from Douglas what steps he should take to further advance himself in the film industry. Douglas advised him, but Michael could not handle the pressure of being a fading rock star, and when his latest album 'Elegantly Wasted' was a flop, Michael took the steps that ended his career. Michael once said that he was "just a man" -- and that is all he ever was.- In the 1950s, Bill Kerr was one of Tony Hancock's regular sidekicks in the popular radio series 'Hancock's Half Hour'. In the first series he was smarter than Tony, but as the series progressed he became more and more stupid and childlike, regularly calling Tony 'Tubb'. Despite remaining on the radio series throughout its six year run, when the TV series began he was not required.
- Composer
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Brian May rates highly as one of the best film music composers in the history of Australian cinema. May's scores are distinguished by their full, rich and supremely melodic orchestration. Brian was born on July 28, 1934 in Adelaide, South Australia. He studied as a pianist, violinist and conductor at the Adelaide Elder Conservatorium. May joined the ABC Adelaide in 1957 so he could form and conduct the well-regarded ensemble the ABC Adelaide Big Band. At age 35 Brian moved to Melbourne to become the conductor and arranger of the ABC's Melbourne Show band. Brian began his career providing the themes for such TV programs as "Bellbird," "Countdown," and "New Wave" prior to breaking into the movie business. His score for the dramatic series "Rush" in particular is considered one of his finest musical accomplishments. Brian achieved his greatest commercial success with the thrilling and powerful scores for the first two "Mad Max" futuristic science fiction action features, supplying raw, potent and thunderous music which added immensely to the on-screen drama and excitement. May deservedly received an Australian Film Institute Award for his outstanding work on "Mad Max." His scores for "Roadgames," "Mad Max 2," and "Frog Dreaming" were also nominated for Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Score. Brian collaborated on four pictures with director Richard Franklin: ""The True Story of Eskimo Nell," "Patrick," "Roadgames," and "Cloak & Dagger." (Franklin originally wanted to work with May again on "Psycho II," but wound up ultimately using Jerry Goldsmith instead.) Moreover, Brian provided the music for a handful of movies made by producer Anthony I. Ginnane: "Patrick," "Snapshot," "Harlequin," "The Survivor," "The Race for the Yankee Zephyr," and "Turkey Shoot." May composed the chillingly effective scores for the horror films "Nightmares," "Blood Moon," "Dr. Giggles," and "Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare." Brian May died at age 62 from a heart attack on April 25, 1997.- Actor
- Production Designer
Ronald Falk was born on 23 August 1935 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor and production designer, known for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002), Secret City (2016) and Jack Irish (2016). He died on 27 June 2016 in Australia.- Victoria Shaw was born on 25 May 1935 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was an actress, known for Westworld (1973), The Crimson Kimono (1959) and To Trap a Spy (1964). She was married to Elliott Alexander and Roger Smith. She died on 17 August 1988 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Actor
Andrew Lesnie was an Australian cinematographer who frequently worked with Peter Jackson. He did the photography for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. He also did the photography for Babe, King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, I Am Legend and The Lovely Bones. He passed away in April 2015 due to a heart attack.- Bertrand Cadart was born on 30 April 1948 in Amiens, Somme, France. He was an actor, known for Mad Max (1979), Bolivian Kiss (2012) and Beyond the Wasteland (2022). He died on 10 April 2020 in Caloundra, Queensland, Australia.
- Actor
- Producer
Just how did the hunky heart-throb bassist from the legendary Australian band of the 1960s, The Masters Apprentices, go on to be one of the most powerful, recognizable music figures in Australia in the 80s, 90s and, of course, today? Glenn Wheatley's tale begins in 1948, born the elder of two boys to father Dawson (born 1917, now deceased) and mother (b. 1919, deceased). Glenn has had a career in the music industry for over 35 years, and the young Wheatley started his career as bassist to The Masters Apprentices, one of the few Australian acts from the 1960s to meet national success, and go on to perform in the 1970s, with an equal amount of success. When the "Masters" broke up in 1971, lead singer Jim Keays decided to pursue a solo career but, for Wheatley, he decided that although music was his passion, he might be better behind the scenes. He went on to try his hand at group management, and his first real success came as manager to the legendary Australian Group, Little River Band, fronted by Glenn Shorrock. Wheatley even went on to portray former client Shorrock in the television show, The D Generation Goes Commercial (1988). However, eventually Wheatley and Shorrock parted ways, but his real break came in the 80s, when he went on to manage... Who else.... John Farnham. Wheatley mortgaged his own house to help John produce the album "Whispering Jack", which went on to become the highest-selling album in Australia's history, going 17 times platinum in Australia. Approximately one in four households in Australia own a copy of "Whispering Jack", the wonderful album that would not exist today if not for Wheatley. Although Wheatley's life has not been all glamour and shine. A nasty divorce happened in the 1970s with his first wife, Alison Sunde, which left Wheatley devastated for several years. However, in 1982, Wheatley married a young actress named Gaynor Martin (born in 1957), famous for appearing in Sons and Daughters (1982) and Skyways (1979). Together, they have three children, Tim Wheatley, Samantha Wheatley and Kara Wheatley. Wheatley went on to manage some of the most prominent Australian musicians out there, such as James Reyne and Delta Goodrem. Wheatley got Reyne his first acting job in the TV movie Return to Eden (1983), and Reyne was very unhappy with his performance. This contributed to Reyne departing from Wheatley, another blow to Wheatley's career. He managed rising star Delta Goodrem, until she announced that she would be leaving him to pursue new management. She cited Wheatley's fierce bond with John Farnham as the reason for her departure, and it may well be true... Wheatley and Farnham have made it to the top, worked together for 20 years, most recently on his "last time" tour. In 2003, Wheatley awarded John Farnham into the Aria Hall of Fame at the 17th Annual Aria Awards. Wheatley continues to be one of the most powerful figures in Australian music today, and it is always fascinating to see which star he will discover next...- Actor
- Soundtrack
Jason Raize was born on 20 July 1975 in Oneonta, New York, USA. He was an actor, known for Brother Bear (2003), The Lion King (1997) and Brother Bear (2003). He died on 3 February 2004 in Yass, New South Wales, Australia.- British character actor with radio and stage experience from 1951. Studied at University College in London and learned acting at the Old Vic Theatre School. Toured South Africa in 1952 and subsequently appeared in many Shakespearean roles in Stratford-upon-Avon. Busy television actor from the late 1950's, popular as ruthless tycoon John Wilder in The Plane Makers (1963). Also noted for his voice-overs for Winston Churchill in two documentary features.
- Joy Chambers was born in 1947 in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. She was an actress, known for The Restless Years (1977), The Young Doctors (1976) and Neighbours (1985). She was married to Reg Grundy. She died on 17 September 2023 in Queensland, Australia.
- Director
- Actor
- Writer
George Ogilvie was born on 5 March 1931 in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia. He was a director and actor, known for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Short Changed (1986) and Blue Heelers (1994). He died on 5 April 2020 in New South Wales, Australia.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Betty Bobbitt was an American-Australian actress, author, singer, playwright and theatre performer. Betty was born in Manhattan, New York in 1939 .
Betty is best known for her role as Judy Bryant in the legendary Australian crime drama Prisoner (1979), where she would stay until her characters exit in 1985. Betty would also make appearances in Blue Heelers (1994), Blue Heelers (1994), Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001), All Saints (1998). Betty would also make an appearance in a 2019 Neighbours (1985) episode celebrating the 40th anniversary of Prisoner, and be present at the 40th Reunion luncheon held in 2019.
After her Prisoner exit Bobbitt would return to the Melbourne Theatre Company and continue her theatre work.
Betty would enter semi-retirement in 2010, and run a novelty store, and in 2011 released her book "From The Outside" detailing her time on the hit show Prisoner.
Bobbitt passed away on 30 November 2020 after suffering a stroke five days prior. She was 81.- Judith McGrath was an Australian TV actress who was born and raised in Brisbane, Queensland and she was most known for her roles in Australian TV Drama Prisoner (1979) as acidic and sarcastic officer Colleen 'Po Face' Powell where she stayed for until the 1984 season before moving on and working extensively in the Australian Theatre Company before her next big role in Australian romance/medical drama A Country Practice (1981) and then working several years later in one of Australia's most beloved TV dramas All Saints (1998) which ran for 12 years and earned McGrath a logie nomination for best actress, during the series 493 episodes McGrath only missed one episode.
McGrath retired from acting in 2012 after her final on-screen role on the TV drama Winners & Losers (2011) and lived quietly until her death in 2017. McGrath died in 2017 aged 70 after a battle with lung cancer. - Anne Haddy was born in Quorn, South Australia, in 1930. In 1948, she made her acting debut on ABC Radio Adelaide. At 23, she left Australia for the UK to pursue an acting career and further stage training, but found the competition so great that she ended up working for Kellogg's, and soon returned. Unfortunately, her life was plagued with ill health, and she suffered a heart attack in 1979; underwent heart operations in 1982 and '83. Further complications were stomach cancer and kidney problems in 1996, and a major hip operation. She made her name on TV in 'Sons and Daughters', 'Prisoner' and 'Playschool', and of course on the stage. Without doubt her greatest contribution to acting was her portrayal of Helen Daniels - glamorous mother-in-law, grandmother and great-grandmother, and Grundy TV's 'Neighbours' matriarch. From the show's inception in 1985, she played an intelligent and sympathetic character with whom every other character was able to talk and discuss their problems. Haddy saw cast members come and go, becoming the longest-serving member of the cast in 1993 after the departure of Alan Dale. She was also able to enjoy working with her real-life husband James Condon, who played the guest parts of both Douglas Blake and Reuben White on the show. Her character's life often mirrored her own, with Helen suffering ill health throughout the 12 years of her time on the show. In 1997, Haddy's poor health forced her to take time off from the show. When doctors told her that she had narrowly avoided death from stomach cancer that year, she made the difficult decision to quit, and Helen Daniels died peacefully with her family around her in Episode 2,965 in October 1997. Sadly, Anne continued to experience ill health, and died peacefully with her husband beside her in a Melbourne hospital in July 1999. She had five children and six grandchildren.
- Actor
- Writer
Jerome Ehlers was born on 20 December 1958 in Perth, Australia. He was an actor and writer, known for The Marine (2006), Quigley Down Under (1990) and Crownies (2011). He was married to Elly Bradbury and Emily Simpson. He died on 9 August 2014 in Sydney, Australia.- Gary Olsen was born on 3 November 1957 in Westminster, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Outland (1981), Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982) and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989). He was married to Jane Anthony and Candy Davis. He died on 12 September 2000 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.