Bill Kerr
Bill Kerr | |
---|---|
Born | William Henry Kerr 10 June 1922 Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa |
Died | 28 August 2014 Perth, Western Australia, Australia | (aged 92)
Nationality | Australian |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1933–2011 |
Children | 4 |
William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian.
Born in South Africa, he started his career as a
Biography
Kerr was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on 10 June 1922[1] to an Australian performing arts family, growing up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.[2] His career in show business began when he was very young. Wilton, his son, recalled: "His mum used him instead of using a prop, a baby prop, she actually used her son, her newborn son, so he was literally kind of born to do it."[3]
Kerr began to work in radio for
Career in Britain
Kerr moved to Britain in 1947.[6] During the next few years he was regularly featured in the BBC radio series Variety Bandbox, part of the BBC Light Programme. Retaining his accent, an unusual choice for performers moving to Britain at this time, he was billed as "the boy from Wagga Wagga." A spokesman for the Australian town's museum said that this "struck an instant chord with the post-war British audience, who thought of 'Wagga Wagga' as a comically surreal, end of the earth, magical place somewhere left of Narnia."[7] Harry Secombe described Kerr as having a "very laconic act" on the show, beginning his spots with the catchphrase "I'm only here for four minutes."[8]
From 1954 to 1959, he had a regular role as an Australian lodger in the
Kerr had much theatrical success in Britain, playing the Devil disguised as Mr Applegate in the first West End production of
In 1972 he co-starred with
Return to Australia and later life
In 1979, Kerr returned to Australia[6] and settled in Perth, Western Australia.[5] Now concentrating on character roles, he played serious roles in Australian films, including Peter Weir's films Gallipoli (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982).[5] In 1982 Kerr acted in the film The Pirate Movie.[22]
He worked on the Australian stage during the 1980s, in musicals such as
Kerr also appeared in
Kerr provided the narration for the documentaries No Survivor - The Mysterious Loss of HMAS Sydney (1995) for the Nine Network, Malice or Mutiny (2003) for the ABC), and a series for Discovery, released in the US as Animal X (originally Animal X Natural Mystery Unit).
On 26 January 2011, Kerr received the 2011 Walk of Honour in Wagga Wagga, which was unveiled on 17 May 2011.[23][24] Kerr died in his family home in Perth, Western Australia, on 28 August 2014 at the age of 92.[5]
Kerr had been married three times.[16] He had four children: William, Peter, Wilton and Anne. The last two were born late in Kerr's life, to his third wife, Sandra.[25]
Filmography
- Harmony Row(1933) - Leonard aka Sonny
- The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934) - Cyril Maitland Jr.
- Penny Points to Paradise (1951) - Digger Graves
- My Death Is a Mockery (1952) - Hansen
- Appointment in London (1952) - Bill Brown
- You Know What Sailors Are (1954) - Lieutenant Smart
- The Night My Number Came Up (1955) - The Soldier
- H. B. Martin, D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C.
- Port of Escape (1956) - Dinty Missouri
- The Shiralee (1957) - (uncredited)
- The Captain's Table (1959) - Bill Coke
- A Pair of Briefs (1962) - Victor - Club Owner
- The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963) - Jack Coombes
- Doctor in Distress (1963) - Australian Sailor
- Doctor in Clover (1966) - Digger
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) - Gladiator-in-Training
- Doctor Who serial The Enemy of the World (1967-68, TV series) - Giles Kent
- Tiffany Jones (1973) - Morton
- Ghost in the Noonday Sun (1973) - Giacomo
- Girls Come First (1975) - Hugh Jampton
- House of Mortal Sin (1976) - Mr. Davey
- The Young Doctors (1980, TV series) - Douglas Kennedy
- Gallipoli (1981) - Jack
- Save the Lady (1982) - MacDuff
- The Pirate Movie (1982) - Major General
- The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) - Colonel Henderson
- Platypus Cove (1983) - Mr. Anderson
- Dusty (1983) - Tom Lincoln
- Return to Eden (1983, TV miniseries) - Dave Welles
- Razorback (1984) - Jake Cullen
- Vigil (1984) - Birdie
- The Settlement (1984) - Kearney
- White Man's Legend (1984) (TV movie)
- A Fortunate Life (1985, TV miniseries) - Narrator
- The Coca-Cola Kid (1985) - T. George McDowell
- Anzacs (1985, TV miniseries) - Gen. Monash / General Monash
- Relatives (1985) - Grandpa
- Return to Eden (1986, TV series) - Dave Welles
- The Lighthorsemen (1987) - General Sir Harry Chauvel
- Running from the Guns (1987) - Gilman
- Bushfire Moon (1987) - Trevor Watson
- Kokoda Crescent (1989) - Russ
- The New Adventures of Black Beauty (1990) - Samuel Burton
- The Private War of Lucinda Smith (1990, miniseries)
- Sweet Talker (1991) - 'Uncle' Cec
- The River Kings (1991, TV miniseries) - Captain Elijah
- Over the Hill (1992) - Maurice
- Snowy (1993)
- No Survivors - The Mysterious Loss of HMAS Sydney (1995, TV)
- Let's Get Skase (2001) - Mitchell Vendieks
- Changi(2001, TV miniseries) - Older Eddie
- Peter Pan (2003) - Fairy Guide
- Malice or Mutiny (2003, TV series)
- Southern Cross (2004) - Tom Casely
- Animal X Natural Mystery Unit (2004–06, TV series)
References
- ^ a b c Obituary: Bill Kerr, Daily Telegraph, 29 August 2014
- ^ a b Stephen Dixon "Bill Kerr obituary", The Guardian, 31 August 2014
- ^ "Actor Bill Kerr dies at home in Perth, aged 92", ABC (Australia), 29 August 2014
- ^ a b Adam Sallur "'I'm only here for four minutes' - The Bill Kerr Story", ABC (Australia), 31 July 2013
- ^ a b c d Naglazas, Mark; Banks, Ron (29 August 2014). "Veteran Aussie actor Bill Kerr dies". The West Australian. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- ^ a b "Bill Kerr, Australian actor and radio star, dies aged 92", BBC News, 29 August 2014
- ^ Natasha Culzac "Bill Kerr dead at 92: Australian actor that became the 'Boy from Wagga Wagga' dies", The Independent, 29 August 2014
- ^ Harry Secombe Arias and Raspberries: An Autobiography, London: Pan Books, 1997 [1989], p.144
- ^ ISBN 0-340-89809-7. (b)p.158
- ISBN 0-7134-4235-2.
- ^ Citizen James, BBC Comedy
- ^ Adrian Wright West End Broadway: The Golden Age of the American Musical in London, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2012, p.130
- ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
- ^ Milligan, Spike, & Antrobus, John (1973) The Bedsitting Room. Tandem: London. First published in Great Britain by Margaret & Jack Hobbs, 1970. Published by Universal-Tandem, 1972.
- ^ ISBN 0-246-12275-7. (a)pp.203–204, (b)pp.242–243
- ^ a b Simon Farquhar "Bill Kerr: Comedian and actor who began as a child star and became best known working with the Goons and Tony Hancock", The Independent, 3 September 2014
- ^ John Fleming "The Very Highly Talented and now Slightly Forgotten Anthony Newley", The Huffington Post, 8 September 2011
- ^ Adrian Wright A Tanner's Worth of Tune: Rediscovering the Post-war British Musical, Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2010, p.259
- ^ Alun Morgan Obituary: Benny Green, The Independent, 24 June 1998
- ISBN 0-86051-195-2.
- ^ Nicky Harley "Actor Bill Kerr dies age 92"[dead link], Daily Telegraph, 29 August 2014
- ^ Maslin, Janet (9 August 1982). "The Pirate Movie (1982) 'PIRATE MOVIE,' WITH KRISTY MCNICHOL". The New York Times.
- ^ "Wagga Wagga Australia Day Award Winners announced" (PDF). Wagga Wagga City Council. 26 January 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 March 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
- ^ "Bill Kerr thrilled by home-town accolade". The Daily Advertiser. 18 May 2011. Retrieved 18 May 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Doug Aston, 'What Went On Behind the Curtain', Melbourne Age, 3 October 1993 p. 32
External links
- Bill Kerr at IMDb