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- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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).- 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.
- 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).- 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!.- 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.
- 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
- 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"!- 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.
- 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.- 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
- 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.- 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
- 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.- 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.- 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.- Mark Priestley was born on 9 August 1976 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. He was an actor, known for All Saints (1998), The Farm (2001) and Changi (2001). He died on 27 August 2008 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Jon Blake was driving home late on December 1, 1986, after the final day's filming of The Lighthorsemen (1987) when his station wagon, swerving to avoid a car stopped on the wrong side of the road with its lights off, struck another vehicle. He sustained permanent brain damage and existed in a locked-in state until his death.
Blake's mother (as his legal guardian) sued the man whose car was stopped on the wrong side of the road on Blake's behalf. On December 5, 1995, the New South Wales Supreme Court ruled that Blake should be compensated for the loss of potential earnings as a star in the United States. After taking evidence from actors, directors, and film critics who indicated his career could have been as big as Mel Gibson's, the court awarded him $32 million in damages. This was later reduced to $7 million after the defence appealed.
Blake was cared for by his mother Mascot and a team of nurses at his mother's home in Sydney until her death in 2007. Blake's son Dustin then took over as his primary caregiver. They relocated to a house on the New South Wales Central Coast in the months before Blake's death. - 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.- Lean, aristocratic-looking British character actress,on stage from the 1940's. She was noted on Broadway for her performance (and for bringing the house down with her tango on opening night) as Lady India in Jean Anouilh's 'Ring Around the Moon' (1950-51). On television, her aquiline features and impeccable bearing led to her gravitating towards upper class roles as wealthy or snooty socialites -- few more memorable than her unnamed party-goer in the dream sequence of The Prisoner (1967) episode "A.B.and C."; and as Mrs. Butterworth, who not only resides in Patrick McGoohan's old flat and drives his sports car but turns out to be another Number 2 (in the episode "Many Happy Returns"). She also had to graciously scrape the mould of a bread-roll offered her by Steptoe and Son (1962) in "Loathe Story", as the hyphenated mother of Joanna Lumley.
Georgina had a rare lead in the title role of the low-budget thriller The Woman Who Wouldn't Die (1965) as Gary Merrill's crippled and demanding wife, who, unsurprisingly gets killed and disposed of in the potting shed. Of course, she comes back to haunt her evil hubby (really, just a double-cross staged by his two accomplices). In many of her other appearances on screen, Georgina played opposite great British comic actors, from Sidney James to Tony Hancock. Privately, her circle of friends included Denholm Elliott and Terry-Thomas (with whom she shared the stage in 'Full House'). Her final curtain call before retirement in Australia was as the lead in the comedy play 'A Breath of Spring' in 1990. - Jessica Falkholt was born on 15 May 1988 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was an actress, known for Mystery Road (2018), Harmony (2018) and Underbelly (2008). She died on 17 January 2018 in St. George Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Actor
- Stunts
Dieter Brummer was born on 5 May 1976 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Home and Away (1988), Underbelly (2008) and Winners & Losers (2011). He died on 24 July 2021 in Glenhaven, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Jon English was born on 26 March 1949 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was an actor and composer, known for All Together Now (1991), Against the Wind (1978) and The Pirates of Penzance (1994). He was married to Carmen Sora. He died on 9 March 2016 in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Born in Melbourne in 1934 Graham Kennedy remains an icon in Australian TV, an accolade earned from his hosting of the long-running In Melbourne Tonight (1957) or IMT on Channel Nine. With his sidekick Bert Newton and aided and abetted by a range of brillant comedians including Joff Allen and a young Patti McGrath, now Bert Newton's wife, Kennedy pioneered live sketch comedy in Australia and kept IMT alive into the 1970s with his irreverent and often close to the mark humour and his famous anti-ads, genuine "live-read" commercials that Kennedy would turn into attacks on the sponsors or the product or both.
After IMT was cancelled he started making movies and then returned to TV with Blankety Blanks (1977), a truly funny game show where the cast was the star and the contestants mere bystanders.
As Kennedy aged he appeared less and less on the screen and his last major appearance was as a late night newsreader on the Nine Network.
In recent years his health had been uncertain following a stroke, and he passed away on 25 May 2005, resulting in complications from pneumonia. He was 71.- Lean, distinguished-looking Viennese character actor, latterly white-haired and with distinctive dark eyebrows. Though he initially studied law in Vienna, Fürst became interested in acting and was given his first opportunities on stage in Canada. He then moved to England in search of better job prospects, eventually finding his niche in British films and on television. Fürst is best remembered on screen for playing suave, villainous scientists, invariably of Eastern European, Germanic or Italian ethnicity. Arguably, as to the most prominent among those, look no further than his maniacal, power-mad Professor Hermann Zaroff in the Doctor Who (1963) episode 'The Underwater Menace' (1967); or his laser refraction specialist, Professor Dr. Metz, in the James Bond classic Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Fürst occasionally returned to his native Austria for theatrical appearances in Vienna and Salzburg. He ultimately retired to Bateau Bay, New South Wales, and made a few more appearances on Australian TV soaps and in films.
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Peter Sumner was born on 29 January 1942 in Waverley, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor and director, known for Color Me Dead (1969), Spyforce (1971) and Moby Dick (1998). He was married to Lynda Stoner and Christina Mary Monsarrat Sims. He died on 22 November 2016 in Sydney, New South Wales, 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.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Robie Porter was born on 4 June 1942 in Sydney, Australia. He was an actor and composer, known for Three (1969), Mannix (1967) and The Carey Treatment (1972). He died on 16 December 2021 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Cornelia Frances was born on 7 April 1941 in Liverpool, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Home and Away (1988), Sons and Daughters (1982) and Ned (2003). She was married to Michael Eastland. She died on 28 May 2018 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Writer
- Actor
Jeff Truman was born on 4 November 1957 in Australia. He was a writer and actor, known for Underbelly (2008), Superman Returns (2006) and Neighbours (1985). He died on 2 December 2014 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Veteran stage actor and director started his career in Australian television in 1986 with parts in Off The Dish and Sons & Daughters. He was educated at the University of Natal where he received a BA in Literature (1967) and later an MA from the University of Leeds in Drama and FIne Arts in 1972. He spoke German fluently and worked as a voice over artist on a number of projects later in his career. His last television appearance was as Charlie, the old cabinet maker in the Jack Irish series in 2016.
- Natalie McCurry was born on 7 July 1966 in Australia. She was an actress, known for Dead End Drive-In (1986), Time Trax (1993) and Mushrooms (1995). She died on 27 September 2014 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Bruce Barry was born on 24 October 1934 in Queensland, Australia. He was an actor, known for Ned Kelly (1970), Patrick (1978) and The Flying Doctors (1985). He died on 20 April 2017 in New South Wales, Australia.
- Danny("Rigo") was a very promising and exciting young actor. His tragic early death from a brain haemorrhage robbed Australia of one of its most natural stage and screen actors. He lived life to the full and taught the rest of us what living really meant. Danny's NIDA class-mates really loved him - his film and TV appearances are a living reminder of what might have been.
- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Grant Page was born on 6 August 1939 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. He was an actor, known for Mad Max (1979), Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985) and Gods of Egypt (2016). He died on 14 March 2024 in New South Wales, Australia.- Actress
- Writer
Pat Thomson was born on 7 September 1940 in London, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Strictly Ballroom (1992), Malpractice (1989) and The Weekly's War (1983). She died on 19 April 1992 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Reg Lye was born on 14 October 1912 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Sunday Too Far Away (1975), A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967) and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1965). He was married to Ruth Margaret Clyne and Phylis Alma Bessey. He died on 23 March 1987 in Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
- Ron Haddrick was born on 9 April 1929 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. He was an actor, known for Quigley Down Under (1990), Shirley Thompson Versus the Aliens (1972) and Water Rats (1996). He died on 11 February 2020 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
John McCallum was born on 14 March 1918 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He was a producer and actor, known for Nickel Queen (1971), Bailey's Bird (1977) and A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949). He was married to Googie Withers. He died on 3 February 2010 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Actress
- Additional Crew
Carmen Duncan was born in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. Carmen was a NIDA graduate and was an actress who was best known for her works in The Spoiler (1972), Number 96 (1972), Skyways (1979), A Country Practice (1981) and many more. Carmen would make appearances in many American TV series which included a run in As the World Turns (1956), Another World (1964), Ash vs Evil Dead (2015) and more. Carmen's shining light in her career was her glistening career in American TV, making her mark on Another World and making the role her own.
Duncan would sit on the board of what would become the Media Entertainment Arts Alliance and remain active on the board for a long time.
Carmen would survive two bouts of cancer before a third would take her life on 3 February 2019, Carmen was survived by her family.- Producer
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Byron Kennedy was born on 18 August 1949 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was a producer and writer, known for Mad Max (1979), Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and The Devil in Evening Dress (1975). He died on 17 July 1983 in Warragamba Dam, New South Wales, Australia.- Murray Rose was born on January 6 ,1939. With the onset of World War Two, he moved as a baby with his parents from Britain to Australia and took up swimming at age five. By the age of ten, he was already breaking records, and in 1956 he won three Olympic gold medals at Melbourne, also achieving success at the Rome Olympics four years later. He moved to America and studied acting at the University of Southern California, graduating in 1962. Several film roles came his way, and he lived in the States for thirty years, latterly working as a swimming commentator and then moving into marketing back in his native Australia where he died in 2012.
- Belinda Emmett was born on 12 April 1974 in Umina Beach, New South Wales, Australia. As a teenager, she worked for local radio station Coast Rock FM before landing her first major acting role as "Tracy Russell" in the popular sitcom Hey Dad..! (1987). She became a household name two years later when she joined the cast of popular drama series Home and Away (1988) as "Rebecca Fisher". In early 1998, at the age of twenty-three, Belinda was diagnosed with breast cancer. She took time off from Home and Away (1988) to undergo chemotherapy treatments and, twelve months later, she was deemed to be in remission. In late 1999, Belinda met comedian Rove McManus at the opening of Sydney's Fox Studios. The pair began dating and were married five years later. Rove proudly called Belinda his "greatest reward". In 2000, Belinda began working on the popular drama series All Saints (1998) as "Jodie Horner". However, one year later, she was diagnosed with secondary bone cancer after experiencing severe back pain, which she was told would eventually claim her life. On 29 January 2005, Belinda married her long-time love, Rove McManus, at Mary Immaculate Church in Sydney. Belinda Emmett passed away on 11 November 2006 surrounded by her family and friends. She was fare-welled at a funeral held at the same church she was married in less than two years earlier. Belinda was a much-loved actress who will be remembered for her courageous fight against cancer and her charity work, which helped raise awareness of the importance of early detection of breast cancer.
- Louise Pajo has had a fine TV career spanning four decades, working firstly in the UK and then in Australia. Louise graduated from RADA in the mid-1960s and has appeared in classic UK shows like The Avengers, Dr Who and U.F.O.
After emigrating to Australia, Louise appeared in most of the top Aussie shows of the '70s, '80s and '90s including the cult classic Prisoner (Cell Block H), The Flying Doctors, A Country Practice, Cop Shop, as well as her two-year stint playing Marjorie Carson in all 183 episodes of the period classic, Carson's Law set in 1920s Melbourne and co-starring Lorraine Bayly of The Sullivans fame.
Nowadays, Louise lives in a beautiful village outside Sydney. That is when she isn't busily travelling to lovely locales like Turkey and Greece, or meeting up with old friends and fellow actors in Merry Old England. - Harold Hopkins was born on 6 March 1944 in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia. He was an actor, known for The Club (1980), Gallipoli (1981) and Moby Dick (1998). He died on 11 December 2011 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gordon Boyd was born on 26 December 1922 in Sheerness, Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England, UK. He was an actor, known for No Way Out (1987), The Avengers (1961) and All Saints (1998). He was married to Joan Welldon and Kate ?. He died on 8 October 2009 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.- Veteran Australian actor John Ewart's career got off to a promising start when he played 'Dopey' in a 3XY radio production of 'Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs'. John was aged four. Numerous radio shows and theatre productions later at the age of 18 he so impressed legendary film maker Charles Chauval that he was signed to make his film debut playing the coveted leading role of the youngest son in The Rugged O'Riordans (1949). When television came to Australia in 1956, John began a live children's show with Channel 2 Sydney in the first week of the stations inception. John was the host of the show which ran for eight years.
He also appeared on variety shows including The Barry Crocker Show (1966), panel games and quizzes. Interspersed throughout his prolific film and television career was a great success on stage. He performed in countless productions for the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre Company, The Old Tote, The Independent Theatre, Phillip Street Theatre, The Metropolitan Theatre and The Comedy Theatre Restaurant. Some of these productions included 'A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down', 'Entertaining Mr. Sloane', 'Don's Party', 'Behind the Curtain' and 'Tribute'.
In 1975 he featured in The Last of the Australians (1975) - Crawford Productions first sitcom and the first Australian sitcom to be filmed before a live studio audience. Though John performed at some point in most television shows made in Australia, he desperately wanted to achieve movie success. He made more than 30 films - more than Errol Flynn and most of the star names who were, at the time, getting most of the limelight.
In 1982 John celebrated the anniversary of his 50 years as an actor at the Hilton's Cliveden Room in the company of friends, including British actor Robin Nedwell and a stellar group of Australian film and television friends. At the time he was famous for an on-going role in The Restless Years (1977). He said on the night he had done everything except circus.
In 1983 John starred in the Australian Christmas time favourite film Bush Christmas (1983) alongside a young Nicole Kidman in her first feature role and 'John Howard' . However, the film he always remained most proud of was The Picture Show Man (1977) in which he co-starred alongside his friend the late John Meillon, Rod Taylor and Judy Morris. John won the 1977 Australian Film Institute Award for best supporting actor for his performance in. He hoped this film would be a launching pad to an international career so he went and tried his luck in Hollywood. He returned disappointed but not disillusioned by the industry and over the next 3 years made a succession of 8 movies, including the critically acclaimed Newsfront (1978), as well as countless appearances on TV.
In 1978 while starring in the television series The Truckies (1978), John was rushed to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney with a serious case of Hepatitis. Doctors gave him a 50% chance of surviving. He lost 2 stone through the illness but was back on his feet within a month. Because of the damage to his liver, John was forced to give up his drinking.
In 1991 at the age of 62, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. In an interview with TV Week shortly after major surgery, he said he coped with cancer by laughing a lot. In the last weeks of his life, doctors insisted he leave his Sydney home and return to hospital. With doctors warning he had only hours to live, a marriage celebrant was arranged and he married his long time love Jane Fennell. Fennell was famous to a generation of Australian children as Miss Jane in the children's show Mr. Squiggle and Friends (1959). Her father, veteran actor Willie Fennell, was John's long time closest friend. She had known John since she was 15 and he became a close confidant after she was seriously injured in a career destroying car accident which caused severe facial injuries. Surgery eventually repaired most of the damage but she never returned to the industry.
Following John's death Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell made a financial gift to John's former school in Melbourne - Scotch College, to honour John and his contribution to the entertainment industry. John is survived by 4 children and 4 grandchildren. - Actress
- Soundtrack
Lois Ramsey was born on 18 June 1922 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. She was an actress, known for The Box (1974), Grass Roots (2000) and The Box (1975). She was married to Cuthbert Ward Ramsey. She died on 21 January 2016 in Marrickville, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.