Alan Hopgood
Alan John Hopgood AM (29 September 1934 – 19 March 2022), also known as Alan Hopwood, was an Australian actor, producer, and writer. He wrote the screenplay for the 1972 film Alvin Purple and made appearances in television shows such as Bellbird, Prisoner and Neighbours.
Alan Hopgood | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alan John Hopgood 29 September 1934 Launceston, Tasmania, Australia |
| Died | 19 March 2022 (aged 87) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1940–2014 |
Early life
Hopgood was born in Launceston, Tasmania, and grew up in the state. He acted in several dramatic roles in his childhood. He attended school in Melbourne and then studied at the University of Melbourne, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (Hon) and a Diploma of Education. His first play, Marcus, was produced at Melbourne University while he was working as a school teacher. He left teaching to write full-time and start his acting career.[1]
Career
Scriptwriting and screenwriting
Hopgood's first successful play, And the Big Men Fly, was about Australian rules football and was produced in 1963 by the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Russell Street Theatre in Melbourne with scripts by Brad Hopgood.[2] The play was adapted for TV by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1973 and also a telemovie. In 1964, he followed with The Golden Legion of Cleaning Women. In 1966 he produced Private Yuk Objects, which he said was the first play anywhere in the world on the subject of the Vietnam War.
Hopgood has also written a number of film and television screenplays, including the comedy film Alvin Purple (1973), which was the most commercially successful Australian film of the early 1970s.
Screen actor: Television and film
Hopgood was an actor with the Melbourne Theatre Company for ten years and was an early "soap" star in Bellbird, in which for six years he played the town doctor. He has also performed in the later soaps, Prisoner (for which he also scripted many episodes) and Neighbours as Jack Lassiter (a role he reprised in August 2013).[3]
As an actor, his cinema credits include My Brilliant Career (1979), The Blue Lagoon (1980), Roadgames (1981), Evil Angels (1988, released as A Cry in the Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand)[4] and The Man from Snowy River II (1988).
He worked with a large number of actors including Frank Thring, Meryl Streep, Brooke Shields, Sam Neill and Judy Davis.[5]
In late 2021, Hopgood appeared in an exclusive interview for the official YouTube channel "Talking Prisoner", in which he discussed his life and career. The episode was published in January 2022.[6]
Honours
Hopgood won AWGIE awards for The Cheerful Cuckold and The Bush Bunch and writing several feature films including Alvin Purple and the documentaries The Prophecies of Nostradamus and The Fountain of Youth.
Hopgood was awarded the A.M. (Member of the Order of Australia) in 2005 for his services to the performing arts as an actor, playwright and producer, and to the community through raising awareness of men's health issues.[7]
Health issues and death
Alan Hopgood developed prostate cancer and published a book on the experience titled "Surviving Prostate Cancer - One Man's Journey, which was widely praised. He ofter toured giving humorous lectures on mens health issues.[5]
Hopgood died from prostate cancer at the age of 87 on 19 March 2022 at a hospital in Melbourne.[8][9]
Filmography
Actor
| Year | Title | Role |
| 1959 | Tragedy in a Temporary Town (TV movie) | McCarthy |
| 1959 | Antony and Cleopatra (TV movie) | First Soldier |
| 1959 | Ned Kelly (TV movie) | |
| 1960 | Man in a Blue Vase (TV movie) | Aaron |
| 1960 | The Astronauts (TV movie) | Dave Armstrong |
| 1960 | Who Killed Kovali? (TV movie) | |
| 1962 | The Teeth of the Wind (TV movie) | Frank Andrews |
| 1962 | She'll Be Alright (TV movie) | |
| 1962 | You Can't Win 'Em All (TV movie) | Feliz |
| 1962 | Lola Montez (TV movie) | Smith |
| 1963 | Night Stop (TV movie) | |
| 1963 | And The Big Men Fly (TV movie) | |
| 1969 | Dynasty (TV series) | Jacob Goldberg |
| 1969 | The Cheerful Cuckold (TV movie) | |
| 1969 | The Torrents (TV movie) | |
| 1972–1977 | Bellbird (TV series) | Dr. Reed |
| 1973–1974 | Matlock Police (TV series) | 3 roles -Frank Walsh -Ted Reid -Brian Davis |
| 1973–1975 | Homicide (TV series) | 3 roles -John Ford -Paul Markes -Jim Knight |
| 1977 | The Trial of Ned Kelly (TV movie) | Narrator |
| 1978–1980 | Cop Shop (TV series) | 3 roles -Doug Bramley -Horrie Gibbs -Doug Bramley |
| 1979 | Skyways (TV series) | Edward Fielding |
| 1979 | My Brilliant Career | Father |
| 1979 | Burn the Butterflies (TV movie) | |
| 1980 | The Blue Lagoon | Captain |
| 1980 | The Quick Brown Fox (film short) | Marley Powers |
| 1980 | All the Green Years (TV series) | Mr. Reeves |
| 1980 | The Coast Town Kids (TV movie) | Mick James |
| 1980 | Pacific Banana | Sir Harry Blandings |
| 1981 | Road Games | Lester |
| 1981–1985 | Prisoner (TV series) | Wally Wallace |
| 1982 | A Shifting Dreaming (TV movie) | |
| 1983 | A Slice of Life | Dr. Williams |
| 1985 | Emerging (TV movie) | Tom Birchfield |
| 1986 | Sword of Honour (TV mini-series) | Stuart Rogers |
| 1986, 2013 | Neighbours (TV series) | Jack Lassiter |
| 1987 | The Petrov Affair (TV mini-series) | Alan Reid |
| 1987 | Ground Zero | Commissioner #2 |
| 1988 | Return to Snowy River | Simmons |
| 1988 | Rikky and Pete | Laughing Uncle |
| 1988 | A Cry in the Dark | President Cox |
| 1989 | The Flying Doctors (TV series) | Neil Hutton |
| 1990 | Flair (TV miniseries) | Harris |
| 1991 | A Country Practice (TV series) | Tom O'Connell |
| 1992 | Good Vibrations (TV mini-series) | Cec |
| 1993 | Phoenix (TV series) | Bill Douglas |
| 1994 | Wedlocked (TV series) | Father Damien |
| 1994 | Law of the Land (TV series) | Reg Bates |
| 1995 | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (TV series) | Gil Tyson |
| 1996 | Hotel de Love | Ronnie |
| 1997 | State Coroner (TV series) | Keith Summers |
| 1998 | Good Guys, Bad Guys (TV series) | Judge Moody |
| 1998 | Driven Crazy (TV series) | Mr. Tuck |
| 1998 | Two Girls and a Baby (film short) | Catherine's Dad |
| 1998–2000 | The Games (TV series) | Radio Newreader (voice only), Database Inquiry Questioner |
| 1999 | Queen Kat, Carmel and St Jude (TV mini-series) | Lecturer |
| 2000–2004 | Blue Heelers (TV series) | 3 roles -George Ratcliffe QC -Bob Swinburn -Doc Parkinson |
| 2001 | Round the Twist (TV series) | Cornelius Crenshaw |
| 2001 | Something in the Air (TV series) | Bill Mackay |
| 2001 | Halifax f.p. (TV series) | Joshua Lippmann |
| 2002 | The Secret Life of Us (TV series) | Dr. Morgan |
| 2002 | Dalkeith | Mick |
| 2002–2003 | MDA (TV series) | Dr. Hugo Willard |
| 2003 | Welcher and Welcher (TV series) | Judge Furphy |
| 2003 | Stingers (TV series) | Detective Senior Sargeant Bill Skelton |
| 2003 | The Saddle Club (TV series) | Bud |
| 2004 | Fergus McPhail (TV series) | Shop Assistannt |
| 2004 | The Gift (film short) | Man on Bus |
| 2004 | Stiff (TV movie) | Herb Gardiner |
| 2005 | Holly's Heroes (TV series) | Max Peterson |
| 2007 | City Homicide (TV series) | Harry Mackintosh |
| 2009 | Knowing | Reverend Koestler |
| 2011 | Magic (film short) | Grandfather |
| 2011 | The Cup | Grandfather at Football |
| 2012 | The Game (film short) | Charles |
| 2012 | Last Dance | Mr. Nathan |
Writing credits
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | And the Big Men Fly | Writer; TV movie |
| 1964 | Barley Charlie | Writer; Season 1 (7 episodes) |
| 1967 | Bellbird | Writer |
| 1968 | The World of Seekers | Written by; TV movie |
| 1969 | The Cheerful Cuckold | Writer; TV movie (from Australian Plays) |
| 1973 | The Barry Crocker Comedy Hour | Writer; TV special |
| 1973 | Alvin Purple | Screenplay; feature film |
| 1974 | And the Big Men Fly | Writer; Season 1 (6 episodes) |
| 1974 | Alvin Rides Again | Screenplay; feature film |
| 1975 | The True Story of Eskimo Nell | Written by; feature film |
| 1976 | Alvin Purple | Written by, creator: Season 1 (13 episodes) |
| 1979 | Gulpilil: Man of Two Worlds | Writer; TV movie |
| 1979 | The Prophecies of Nostradamus | Writer; feature film |
| 1980 | The Quick Brown Fox | Written by; short film |
| 1981 | The Man Who Saw Tomorrow | Screenplay; feature film |
| 1981 | And Here Comes Bucknuckle | Writer; Season 1 (6 episodes) |
| 1981 | Pacific Banana | Screenplay; feature film |
| 1981 | The Cliffhanger | Writer; short TV movie |
| 1981 | The Bush Bunch: 1.1 the Cliffhanger | Writer; TV movie |
| 1982 | Breakfast in Paris | Screenplay (credited as Morris Dalton); feature film |
| 1982 | Prisoner | Written by; Season 4 (1 episode) |
| 1983 | A Slice of Life | Screenplay; feature film |
| 1985 | Fountain of Yourh | Writer; TV movie |
| 1985 | From Opera With Love | Writer; TV movie |
| 1988–1991 | The Flying Doctors | Written by: Seasons 3, 4, 5 & 9 (6 episodes) |
| 1989 | Sugar and Spice | Writer; Season 1 (8 episodes) |
| 1989–1991 | Pugwall | Scriptwriter; Seasons 1 & 2 (42 episodes) |
| 1990 | Flair | Writer; miniseries (2 episodes) |
| 1991 | Chances | Written by; Season 1 (3 episodes) |
| 1994 | Blue Heelers | Written by; Season 1 (1 episodes) |
| 1998–2001 | Neighbours | Written by; Seasons 14–17 (22 episodes) |
References
- ^ AustLit, The Resource of Australian Literature
- ^ "Alan Hopgood theatre roles". AusStage.
- ^ "Jack Lassiter returns to Erinsborough". Neighbours.com.au. Eleven. 8 August 2013. Retrieved 8 August 2013.
- ^ "A Cry in the Dark (1988) – Release dates". IMDb.com. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
- ^ a b Entertainoz 29 August 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Talking Prisoner Cell Block H EP 25 Interview with Alan Hopgood (Wally Wallace)". YouTube. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
- ^ Health Play 24 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Acting icon Alan Hopgood, 87, passes away
- ^ Knox, David (22 March 2022). "Vale: Alan Hopgood". TV Tonight. Retrieved 17 May 2022.