Grant Tilly
Grant Tilly MBE | |
---|---|
Born | Grant Leonard Ridgway Tilly 12 December 1937 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
Died | 11 April 2012 , New Zealand | (aged 74)
Years active | 1969–2011 |
Grant Leonard Ridgway Tilly
Life and career
Tilly was educated in
In 1976, Tilly co-founded Wellington's
Tilly designed the theatre space of Circa Theatre for the original location in a building in Harris St, and worked with the architects designing the theatre space the new and much larger building that opened in 1994.[7][8]
Aside from a busy stage career, Tilly acted often for the screen. He made his television debut in the 1967 one-off comedy The Tired Man then ad-libbed alongside playwright Joseph Musaphia on the children's show Joe's World.[9] Tilly's biggest screen roles include that of a headmaster who has an affair in 1979's film adaptation of Middle Age Spread (showbusiness magazine Variety compared him to "an antipodean Woody Allen"[10]) and in the 1982 comedy Carry Me Back, as the farmer who must sneak his father's body back home after he unexpectedly dies. Both movies were directed by Tilly's Circa Theatre colleague, John Reid. Grant Tilly's is the voice in the Oscar-nominated animated Western short The Frog, the Dog and the Devil.[11]
His television credits include an award-winning performance as artist
In addition to acting, Tilly worked as an illustrator and writer for the Wellington newspaper Evening Post in the 1970's and 1980's. Amongst his artistic outputs were artworks encompassing prints, drawings, three-dimensional artworks made with wood and furniture.[5] His "Drawing on History" articles focused on the changing face of Wellington's urban landscape.
In the
In 2002, Tilly donated his skill to design a flexible 90-seat performance space for Stagecraft Theatre (a non-professional theatre company in Wellington).[13] The Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai / Wellington Theatre Awards annually an award called The Grant Tilly Actor of the Year.[14]
Death
In April 2012, Tilly died from prostate and kidney cancer after being bedridden since January. He was 74 years old and cremated in Wellington.
Children
He has three adult sons - Bryn, Torben, Miles - from his marriage, and an adult daughter - Sasha - from a later de facto relationship.
Filmography and television appearances
- Gone Up North for a While (1972, TV Movie) – Doctor
- Telephone Etiquette (1974) – Jenkins
- Skin Deep (1978) – Phil Barrett
- The Les Deverett Variety Hour (1978, TV Series) – Various Characters
- Middle Age Spread (1979) – Colin
- Beyond Reasonable Doubt(1980) – David Morris
- Race for the Yankee Zephyr (1981) – Collector
- Carry Me Back (1982) – Arthur Donovan
- Savage Islands (1983) – Count Von Rittenberg
- Other Halves (1984) – Dr. Wray
- Dangerous Orphans (1985) – Beck
- Cuckoo Land (1986, TV Series) – Branchy
- Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train (1988) – Politician
- The Ray Bradbury Theatre(1989) – Stockwell
- The Returning (1990) – Dr. Pitts
- Shark in the Park (1990, TV Series) – Inspector Englebretsen
- Alex(1992) – Mr. Upjohn
- Mirror, Mirror (1995, TV Series) – Sir Gerald Salisbury
- Flight of the Albatross (1995) – Narrator (voice)
- Brilliant Lies (1996) – Steve Lovett
- Every Woman's Dream (1996, TV Movie) – Phil Dobrowski
- Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (1997, TV Series) – Toth
- The Chosen (1998, TV Movie) – Father McCrory
- The Legend of William Tell (1998, TV Series) – Mondar
- Dark Knight (2000, TV Series) – Fadain
- Turangawaewae(2002, Short) – Mr. Finch
- The Strip(2002–2003, TV Series) – Ken Walker
- 30 Days of Night (2007) – Gus Lambert
- Roof Rattling (2010, Short) – Old Man
References
- ^ a b "Grant Tilly". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- OCLC 137292464.
- )
- ^ "Minister pays tribute to life and work of Grant Tilly | Ministry for Culture and Heritage". mch.govt.nz. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Actor Grant Tilly dies". RNZ. 11 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Kiwi actor Grant Tilly dies". Otago Daily Times Online News. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Circa History". Circa Theatre. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Wellington actor Grant Tilly dies". Stuff. 12 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ "Grant Tilly". NZOnScreen.com. April 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ Mike Nicolaidi, 'Middle Age Spread'(Review), Variety, 31 December 1978
- ^ Minovitz, Ethan (11 April 2012). "New Zealand movie, TV actor Grant Tilly dead at 74". Big Cartoon News. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
- ^ "No. 51173". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 31 December 1987. p. 34.
- ^ "Our History - Stagecraft Theatre". Stagecraft. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ "Wellington Theatre Awards 2019". The Big Idea. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
External links
- Grant Tilly at IMDb
- "Grant Tilly: A career on screen and stage" NZonscreen. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
- "Grant Tilly: biography" at South Coast Gallery.