Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 610
- 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.
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
George P. Cosmatos was born on 4 January 1941 in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. He was a director and assistant director, known for Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985), Leviathan (1989) and Cobra (1986). He was married to Birgitta Ljungberg. He died on 19 April 2005 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.- 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.- 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
- 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.- 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.- 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.- 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.- 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.
- 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.
- Reg Evans was born on 27 March 1928 in England, UK. He was an actor, known for Mad Max (1979), Gallipoli (1981) and A Cry in the Dark (1988). He died on 7 February 2009 in St Andrews, Victoria, Australia.
- Steve Millichamp was born on 31 October 1956 in Australia. He was an actor, known for Mad Max (1979), Romper Stomper (1992) and Blue Heelers (1994). He died on 8 November 2013 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Maggie Fitzgibbon was born on 30 January 1929 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She was an actress, known for The Newcomers (1965), Sunstruck (1972) and Reluctant Bandit (1965). She was married to Sidney De Kat. She died on 8 June 2020 in Victoria, Australia.
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Pogue was an actor of film and television. He is probably best known to many as Major Jonathan B. Clack in the late-night series Adderly. Pogue played a broad range of characters over his long career. He was cast as a bad guy a lot of the time, but later played aging spouses, parents, or grandparents of lead characters.- Alex Scott was born on 18 September 1929 in Australia. He was an actor, known for Romper Stomper (1992), Fahrenheit 451 (1966) and The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971). He was married to Anne Nelis and Barbara Ady Potger. He died on 25 June 2015 in Toorak, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Peggy Cartwright was born on 14 November 1912 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She was an actress, known for A Lady of Quality (1924), Magic Night (1932) and The Third Generation (1920). She was married to Bill Walker and Phil Baker. She died on 13 June 2001 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
- Ivor Bowyer was born on 28 January 1933. He was an actor, known for Riders of the New Forest (1948), Trek to Mashomba (1951) and Homicide (1964). He died on 4 May 2003 in Mount Dandenong, Victoria, Australia.
- Actor
- Writer
- Stunts
Well-known American born character actor, he was a former professional boxer and arrived in Australia as a qualified referee. His raspy voice, energetic personality and natural talents quickly came to the attention of Australian TV production houses.
Mercurio appeared in several Australian period style TV shows including Tandarra (1976), Cash and Company (1975) and Power Without Glory (1976). Additionally, he was a regular bad guy on several Australian police series TV shows including Homicide (1964), Division 4 (1969) and Matlock Police (1971). His film appearances have included Crocodile Dundee II (1988), The Man from Snowy River (1982) and Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997).
He is the father of talented dancer / actor / entertainer Paul Mercurio who starred in Strictly Ballroom (1992)- Australian stage, screen and TV actor Lewis Fiander was educated at Trinity Grammar School and made his acting debut at the National Theatre in Melbourne in 1954. At the age of 18 he moved to Sydney to broaden his skills as a radio actor and in due course perfected a varied gallery of dialects and accents. On the stage, he specialized in Shakespearean comedy, including "Twelfth Night" and "The Merchant of Venice", though in later years taking on diverse roles in musical plays, works by Ibsen and O'Neill, even as Professor Higgins in a Victorian Arts Centre production of "My Fair Lady".
Fiander moved to London with the Elizabethan Theatre Trust in the early 60's and spent the next two decades in the U.K., often side by side with some of the giants of his profession, including Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud. In 1966, he toured New Zealand with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The following year he landed the prized role of Mr. Darcy in a BBC production of Pride and Prejudice (1967). A break in his stage and TV work permitted him to act on the big screen in two back-to-back horror films: Dr Jekyll & Sister Hyde (1971) and as one of the victims in Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972). He is also remembered by fans of Doctor Who (1963) as the drug smuggling scientist Professor Tryst in the notorious Tom Baker serial Nightmare of Eden: Part One (1979). Tryst's strange Germanic accent (Fiander's own idea) - combined with the square spectacles and histrionics - seems somehow reminiscent of Peter Sellers's Dr. Strangelove. Either that or something from Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969).
Back on the stage, Fiander enjoyed perhaps his greatest success starring as John Adams in the 1970 London New Theatre production of "1776", a play with music about the signing of the American Declaration of Independence. He had another palpable hit as actor-singer in 1986, teaming up with Patricia Hodge for "Noël and Gertie", a compilation of musical numbers originally written by Noël Coward and performed in tandem with Gertrude Lawrence. In the late 80's, Fiander returned to Australia and appeared several times on television, notably in the mini-series Tanamera - Lion of Singapore (1989) and Bangkok Hilton (1989). - Anne Phelan, or Annie to her friends, started acting in amateur theatre productions and also worked as a singer before turning to full-time acting. One of Australia's best loved character actresses, Anne has combined her acting career with tireless work for many AIDS-related charities, such as Positive Women and Oz Showbiz Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. In February 2000, Anne was on the organizing committee of the 21st anniversary reunion party for the highly popular TV series Prisoner (1979), in which she played top dog Myra Desmond, which saw the cast gathering at the Forum Theatre in Melbourne to entertain fans who had flown in for the event from around the world and raise money for AIDS charities.
Anne would continue acting until 2015 where she had a recurring role on Winners & Losers (2011), after that Anne slipped into quiet semi-retirement, taking up work as a voice over artist.
Anne passed away October 27 aged 75. - Director
- Cinematographer
- Editor
Stan Brakhage was born on 14 January 1933 in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. He was a director and cinematographer, known for The Loom (1986), The God of Day Had Gone Down Upon Him (2000) and Dog Star Man (1964). He was married to Marilyn Jull and Jane Wodening. He died on 9 March 2003 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Maurie Fields was born on 4 August 1926 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Country Town (1971), Bellbird (1967) and Death of a Soldier (1986). He was married to Val Jellay and Dorothy. He died on 18 December 1995 in Albert Park, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Barbara Jungwirth was born in 1926 in Islington, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Prisoner (1979), A Thousand Skies (1985) and Homicide (1964). She was married to Raymond Jungwirth. She died in April 2016 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Actor
- Writer
Jack Charles, a member of the Stolen Generations, was born on 5 September 1943 at the Cummeragunja Mission Station, NSW, Australia, to a Bunuronong mother and a Wiradjuri father. His great-great-grandfather, a Djadjawurrung man, was one of the activists who resisted government policy at the Corranderrk reserve in Victoria in 1881. He was a victim of the Australian Government's forced child removal program, and was taken from his mother as a four-month-old baby. He was raised in the Salvation Army Boys' Home at Box Hill in suburban Melbourne, where he was the only Aboriginal child and was sexually abused.
Jack is an actor, a musician, a potter, and an Aboriginal elder. His screen credits include the landmark Australian film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), Bedevil (1993), Blackfellas (1993), Tom White (2004) and Pan (2015), among others.
For a large part of his early life, he was a drug addict and petty thief. He started his acting career in 1970, and in 1971 co-founded Nindethana ('place for a corroboree') at The Pram Factory in Melbourne, Australia. Nindethana was Australia's first Indigenous theatre group. Their first hit play, in 1972, was called Jack Charles is Up and Fighting, and included music composed by him.
Jack was the subject of Amiel Courtin-Wilson's remarkable 2008 documentary Bastardy, which followed his life for seven years. The film's tagline described him as: "Addict. Homosexual. Cat burglar. Actor. Aboriginal." The film was an official selection for the Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney and Sheffield Doc/Fest film festivals.
In 2010, Ilbijerri Theatre staged Charles' one-man show called Jack Charles v The Crown at the Melbourne Festival. Charles was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for his performance. Jack Charles v The Crown has since toured across Australia and internationally. In 2012, he performed in the Sydney Festival production I am Eora. He played Chief Great Little Panther in Joe Wright's 2015 film Pan.
In April 2014, Jack received a Lifetime Achievement award from Victoria's Green Room Awards; he was the first Indigenous recipient. In 2016, he played the role of Uncle Paddy in two episodes of the ABC television horror drama series Wolf Creek. Also in 2016, he played the role of Uncle Jimmy in the ABC television drama series Cleverman.
In 2019, he was awarded the Red Ochre Award from the Australian Council for the Arts. This award is presented to an outstanding Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander) artist for lifetime achievement.
Jack's memoir Jack Charles: Born-Again Blakfella, was written with Namila Benson. It has a Foreword by Dr Gary Foley and a Preface by Amiel Courtin-Wilson. The book was first published in hardback by Viking in 2019, and republished in paperback by Penguin Books in 2020. It was shortlisted for the Australian Book Industry Awards 2020 Biography Book of the Year.- Producer
- Writer
- Production Manager
Peter Wildeblood (19 May 1923 - 14 November 1999) was an Anglo-Canadian journalist, novelist, playwright and gay rights campaigner. He was one of the first men in the UK to publicly declare his homosexuality.
Peter Wildeblood was born in Alassio, on the Italian Riviera, in 1923. He was the only child of Henry Seddon Wildeblood (b. 1863), a retired engineer from the Indian Public Works Department, and his second wife, Winifred Isabel, née Evans, the daughter of a sheep rancher in Argentina. He was brought up in his parents' cottage near Ashdown Forest. His mother was considerably younger than his father, and Wildeblood later wondered if that had affected his development.
Wildeblood won a scholarship to Radley College and then went up to Trinity College, Oxford, in 1941, but dropped out after ten days because of ill health. Soon afterwards, he volunteered for the Royal Air Force and trained as a pilot in Southern Rhodesia. However, after a series of crashes, he was grounded and instead became an RAF meteorologist, remaining in Southern Rhodesia for the rest of the War. After demobilisation, he resumed his place at Trinity College, where he gravitated towards a homosexual circle in the theatre and arts.
After Oxford, Wildeblood turned to journalism, writing for the Daily Mail's regional office in Leeds, then in Fleet Street itself, first as the royal correspondent, then as its diplomatic correspondent. At this time, Wildeblood began an affair with an RAF corporal called Edward McNally and wrote him a series of passionate love letters. It was these letters which proved a crucial part of the evidence leading to Wildeblood's later conviction for conspiracy to incite acts of gross indecency.
In the summer of 1953, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu had offered Wildeblood the use of a beach hut near his country estate. Wildeblood brought with him two young RAF servicemen: his lover Edward McNally, and John Reynolds. The foursome were joined by Montagu's cousin Michael Pitt-Rivers. At the subsequent trial, the two airmen turned Queen's Evidence, and claimed there had been dancing and "abandoned behaviour" at the gathering. Wildeblood said it had in fact been "extremely dull". Montagu claims that it was all remarkably innocent, saying: "We had some drinks, we danced, we kissed, that's all."
Arrested on 9 January 1954, in March of that year Wildeblood was brought before the British courts charged with "conspiracy to incite certain male persons to commit serious offences with male persons" (or "buggery"). Wildeblood was charged along with Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt-Rivers, and during the course of the trial he admitted his homosexuality to the court. Montagu received a 12-month sentence, while Wildeblood and Pitt-Rivers were sentenced to 18 months in prison as a result of these and other charges. The result of the trial led to an inquiry resulting in the Wolfenden Report, which in 1957 recommended the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK. Wildeblood's testimony to the Wolfenden committee was influential on its recommendations.
He published a book on the case, Against the Law, in 1955, an account which detailed his experiences at the hands of the law and the British establishment, brought to light the appalling conditions in HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs, and encouraged campaigns for prison reform and for reform of law regarding homosexuality. C. H. Rolph wrote in the New Statesman that Against the Law was "the noblest, and wittiest, and most appalling prison book of them all". To Wildeblood, "it was merely part of the story which had been implicit in me from the day when I was born".
He wrote a second book on the subject of homosexuality the following year, propelled (according to him in the first chapter) by the strong response to Against the Law from people who contacted him directly to say how grateful they were for bringing the subject into the open. A Way of Life included twelve essays describing different lives lived with homosexuality among people with whom he had come in contact. The essays served further to normalise homosexuality and reveal its then still hidden existence in all walks of life.
After the trial and his subsequent imprisonment, Wildeblood became a television producer and writer and was involved in a number of productions (particularly for Granada Television and then CBC Toronto) throughout the 1960s and 70s. Wildeblood wrote the book and lyrics, to Peter Greenwell's music, for the London musical The Crooked Mile, an avant-garde piece of 1959, set in the Soho underworld. He also chose to campaign publicly for the rights of gays by testifying before the Wolfenden Committee and the House of Lords.
His role in the decriminalisation of homosexuality which occurred in 1967 was explored in the Channel Four docudrama A Very British Sex Scandal, and the 2017 BBC drama-documentary Against the Law (2017), based on his book.
Wildeblood moved to Canada, becoming a citizen of the country in the 1980s. In 1994, he suffered a stroke which left him without the power of speech and quadriplegic. He died in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, in 1999.- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Lee was born on 31 March 1928 in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. He was an actor, known for Return to Eden (1983), Warship (1973) and Doctor Who (1963). He died on 21 December 2000 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Richard Morgan was born on 12 August 1958 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. He was an actor, known for The Sullivans (1976), Skirts (1990) and Stingers (1998). He was married to Lisa. He died on 23 December 2006 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Tommy Dysart was born on 24 December 1935 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK. He was an actor, known for The Man from Snowy River (1982), Prisoner (1979) and Against the Wind (1978). He was married to Joan Brockenshire. He died on 7 June 2022 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Keith Dinicol was born on 12 August 1952 in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada. He was an actor, known for Jesus Henry Christ (2011), The Taming of the Shrew (1988) and Designated Survivor (2016). He was married to Emma. He died on 18 November 2021 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
- Penne Hackforth-Jones was born on 5 August 1949 in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. She was an actress, known for Muriel's Wedding (1994), Kokoda Crescent (1989) and Cash and Company (1975). She died on 17 May 2013 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Her voice was unique and pure honey. Judith Durham achieved lasting fame as the lead vocalist for the Australian harmony folk/gospel/pop group The Seekers, formed by bass player Athol Guy and guitarists Keith Potger and Bruce Woodley. With more than 50 million record sales, The Seekers became the first Australian music organisation to score on the charts of both Britain and the U.S..
Judith was the daughter of William Alexander Cock DFC and his wife Hazel Durham. She spent her early childhood in Essendon, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. A gifted musician from the outset, she graduated with a degree (A.Mus.A.) in classical piano from the Melbourne University Conservatorium. She also took to playing classic jazz, blues and ragtime standards and was said to have excelled at the latter. Aged 19, Judith joined Frank Traynor's Jazz Preachers, an outfit led by a Melbourne trombonist who liked to blend folk music with jazz. At that time, she made her first EP record. While singing with various bands, Judith made ends meet by working as a pathologist's assistant and then as an advertising secretary. Enticed by Athol Guy (who was then an account executive), Judith agreed to join The Seekers, then performing at the Treble Clef coffee lounge. In 1964, the quartet sailed to England, their agent securing gigs for them in nightclubs and theatres. They also performed at the Palladium alongside Dusty Springfield, whose brother Tom wrote the first big Seekers hit "There'll Never Be Another You". The remainder of the decade brought many more chart-topping numbers, including "The Carnival is Over" (in 2002 ranking as No.30 in the UK Top 100 Best-Selling Singles Of All Time), Colours of My Life" (which was co-written by Judith), "A World of Our Own", "Someday One Day", "Morningtown Ride" and --their biggest hit -- "Georgy Girl", which was used as the title theme for the quintessential swinging sixties movie of that name, starring Lynn Redgrave and James Mason.
In mid-1968, The Seekers disbanded after Judith decided to go free-lance. Having teamed up with the London-based pianist and musical director Ronald Edgeworth (who became her husband in 1969) and setting up home in Queensland, she signed with A&M Records and released several successful albums between 1970 and 1974. Bowing to pressure from her many fans, Judith rejoined Guy, Potger and Woodley in 1992 for a hugely successful Silver Jubilee Tour. This was followed by similar encores in 2002, 2003 and 2012 (marking The Seekers' 50th birthday) and many solo tours of the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia.
In 1990, Judith founded her own production company Musicoast, based in South Yarra, Victoria. In 1995, The Seekers became inductees into the Australian Record Industry Association's (ARIA) Hall of Fame. Judith was awarded the Medal of the Order Of Australia (OAM) for her services to music. She later also received the Centenary Medal from the Governor General. The Seekers received further accolades in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours by being individually named Officers of the Order of Australia.
Following the death of her husband in 1994, Judith became a National Patron of the Motor Neurone Disease Association of Australia (MNDAA). She herself suffered a brain haemorrhage in 2013 which impaired her ability to read and write - but not her singing. On August 5 2022, she passed away from complications due to a long-standing chronic lung disease at a Melbourne hospital, aged 79.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Paul Cox was born on 16 April 1940 in Venlo, Limburg, Netherlands. He was a director and writer, known for Innocence (2000), My First Wife (1984) and Man of Flowers (1983). He was married to Juliet Bacskai. He died on 18 June 2016 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Actor
- Writer
Mark Brandon Read was born on 17 November 1954 in Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was an actor and writer, known for Chopper (2000), Start Options Exit (2014) and Trojan Warrior (2002). He was married to Margaret Cassar and Mary-Ann Hodge. He died on 9 October 2013 in Parkville, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Regina Gaigalas was born on 18 November 1955 in Australia. She was an actress, known for Body Melt (1993), Blue Heelers (1994) and Dead End (1999). She died on 20 August 2003 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
John Clarke was born on 29 July 1948 in Palmerston North, Manawatu, New Zealand. He was an actor and writer, known for The Games (1998), Dagg Day Afternoon (1977) and Lonely Hearts (1982). He was married to Helen. He died on 9 April 2017 in Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia.- Terry Gill was born on 25 October 1939 in England, UK. He was an actor, known for Crocodile Dundee (1986), Blue Heelers (1994) and The Flying Doctors (1985). He was married to Carole-Ann Aylett. He died on 25 February 2015 in Richmond, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Claire Adams was born in Winnipeg, Canada (her brother was prolific screenwriter Gerald Drayson Adams), and after her education in that country she was sent to a private school in England, where she studied drama. At the outbreak of World War I, however, she joined the nursing corps and spent the war years as a nurse. At war's end she returned to Canada, but soon left for California to break into films. She made quite a few pictures for producer Benjamin B. Hampton, whom she later married. She had a long career in silents, appearing with such major stars as John Gilbert, Tom Mix and Lon Chaney, but when sound came along she made one picture in 1934, What a Mother-in-Law! (1934), and then retired (Hampton had died in 1932).
She died in Melbourne, Australia, on September 25, 1978. - Actress
- Additional Crew
Saskia Post was born on 1 January 1961 in Martinez, California, USA. She was an actress, known for Ocean Girl (1994), Eugenie Sandler P.I. (2000) and Throbbin' 84. She died on 16 March 2020 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Director
- Animation Department
- Writer
Sarah Watt was born on 30 August 1958 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was a director and writer, known for Look Both Ways (2005), My Year Without Sex (2009) and Small Treasures (1995). She was married to William McInnes. She died on 4 November 2011 in West Footscray, Victoria, Australia.- Cathy Godbold is an actress, known for Newlyweds (1993), The Saddle Club (2001), Home and Away (1988) and The King (TV Movie) (2007) where she played her mother. Godbold is the daughter of television personality Rosemary Margan.
Her first appearance was in More Winners: His Master's Ghost (TV Movie) in 1990 where she played he character Sarah O'Grady. - Adrian Wright was born in 1947 in Maidenhead, England, UK. He was an actor, known for 1915 (1982), Prisoner (1979) and Tales of the South Seas (1998). He was married to Abigail. He died on 28 November 2015 in St.Arnaud, Victoria, Australia.
- Bob Hornery was born on 28 May 1931 in Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He was an actor, known for Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), Blue Heelers (1994) and Thunderstone (1999). He was married to Patricia Allen. He died on 26 May 2015 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, England. Decided early on an aeronautical career, and went to work for the de Havilland Aircraft Company as an engineer, where he was heavily involved in the construction of the airship R100. After the disastrous loss of the R101, built by the government in direct competition with his design, he changed to aeroplane contruction, founding his own firm Airspeed Ltd in 1931. First novel, Marazan (1926) written at this time. Did secret work for British Admiralty during WWII. He still wrote in this period. Visited Australia for 2 months in 1948, a trip that inspired A Town Like Alice. With his family he settled in Australia, where he later died.
- Stella Young was a regular presenting on "No Limits" between 2003 till 2010.
Stella Young was born Stawell, Victoria in 1982. She was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder that causes bones to break easily, causing her to use a wheelchair for most of her life.
She held a Bachelor of Journalism from Deakin University (Australia)and a Diploma of Secondary Education from the University of Melbourne (Australia).
Stella was a comedian, journalist and disability advocate as well as a champion of feminism, atheism, gay rights and all types of social justice - Actor
Anthony Hawkins was born on 30 September 1932 in London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for I Am Homicide (2016), P.O.V: Perception of Violence (2017) and The Fearless One (2017). He died on 23 September 2013 in Kyneton, Victoria, Australia.- Olivia Hamnett began her acting career in repertory theatre throughout England before moving onto TV. After moving to Australia, Olivia established an elegant screen presence in the TV series "Rush" as well as playing screen wife to Richard Chamberlain in the film "The Last Wave" and screen mother to young Ricky Schroeder in "The Earthling". A veteran of many TV productions, it was the cult drama "Prisoner", which enabled Olivia to deliver her most memorable performance, as Kate Peterson, a highly intelligent and enigmatic former doctor who is imprisoned for poisoning her partner. Many "Prisoner" fans regard the Kate Peterson storyline as one of the absolute highpoints of the show's seven-year run. Her untimely death has robbed the Australian acting community of one of its finest contributors.
- Paul Cronin was born on 8 July 1938 in Jamestown, South Australia, Australia. He was an actor, known for The Sullivans (1976), Matlock Police (1971) and State Coroner (1997). He was married to Helen Margaret Kinnear. He died on 13 September 2019 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
- One of Australia's most recognisable actors, Alwyn Kurts had previously been an accredited war correspondent, before becoming a notable figure in Melbourne radio in the 1950s via his program "Raising A Husband", and as an executive at radio station 3XY.
Shortly after television arrived in 1956, he transferred "Raising A Husband" from radio, going on to host other TV game shows "Hutton's Family Quiz" and "Dont Argue". He compered the debate program "Fighting Words" in the early 1960s, before moving into acting with guest roles in "Hunter" and "Homicide".
He became a household name after joining the regular cast of "Homicide" in 1969 as Inspector Colin Fox. His portrayal of the gruff policeman won him much praise, leading to a flood of work when he exited the series in 1973.
He was (briefly) one of the hosts on the local version of "Beauty & The Beast", before stunning critics and viewers alike as Ted Cook in the sit-com "The Last Of The Australians". As the hapless bigot frustrated at every turn, Kurts showed a remarkable comic talent which had only been hinted at in "Homicide".
He joined the cast of "Cop Shop" in 1982 as Senior Sergeant Reg Wallis, staying for a year. Thereafter, he made occasional guest appearances in local TV drama and movies, including a marvellous character role as Mr. Ball in "Spotswood", whilst enjoying a well-earned retirement. He died in 2000.