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John Meillon

April 17, 2023

John Meillon, OBE (/ˈmɛljən/ MEL-yon; 1 May 1934 – 11 August 1989),[1] was an Australian character actor known for dramatic as well as comedy roles. He portrayed Walter Reilly in the films Crocodile Dundee and Crocodile Dundee II. He also voiced advertisements for Victoria Bitter beer.[2] He appeared in several Australian New Wave films including Wake in Fright and The Cars That Ate Paris.

John Meillon

OBE
Meillon in They're a Weird Mob (1966)
Born(1934-05-01)1 May 1934
Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
Died11 August 1989(1989-08-11) (aged 55)
Neutral Bay, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationActor
Years active1959–1988
Spouse(s)June Salter (1958–71; divorced); 1 child
Bunny Gibson (1972–89; his death); 1 child
Children2

Biography

Meillon was born in Mosman, New South Wales. His younger brother was director Bob Meillon (1943–2012).[3]

Meillon began his acting career at the age of eleven in the ABC's radio serial Stumpy, and made his first stage appearance the following year. He joined the Shakespeare Touring Company when he was sixteen.

He appeared in a number of early Australian TV plays.[4]

Like many actors of his generation from 1959 to 1965, he worked in England,[5] but while working in Britain he consciously steered away from Australian roles.[6] Meillon claimed that he learnt discipline while working in theatre, and that television was not a good medium for training.[7]

Meillon had a recurring role in the television series My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?. In 1968 he featured in the spin off, Rita and Wally. He featured in two episodes of Skippy in 1968 and 1969, appearing as "Nimble Norris". In 1976, he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role of 'Casey' in the film The Fourth Wish (1976).

With his rich baritone, Meillon was used extensively in voice-over work— most famously in his work as the Victoria Bitter narrator who says "you can get it any old how".[8]

Meillon married Australian actress June Salter in 1958 and they had one son, John Meillon, Jr. Meillon and Salter were divorced in 1971. Meillon married actress Bunny Gibson on 5 April 1972; they also had a son.[9]

In 1977, Meillon released the single "Tap Tap"/"Picture Show Man", which peaked at number 80 on the Australian singles chart.[10]

Meillon was appointed an OBE in the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, for service to theatre.[11]

In June 1980, Meillon's favourite pub, The Oaks at Neutral Bay, opened The John Meillon OBE Bar in his honour.[12] He continued to frequent the bar over the following decade, including visiting in the week before his death from cirrhosis. His body was found in his home at Neutral Bay on 11 August 1989.[13][14][15] Meillon was posthumously awarded the Raymond Longford Lifetime Achievement Award.[16]

Selected filmography

Discography

Singles

List of singles, with Australian chart positions
Year Title Peak chart
positions
AUS
[10]
1967 "Hot Pie and Tomato Sauce" -
1977 "Tap Tap"/"Picture Show Man" (with John Ewart) 80
1987 "The One That Got Away" (with Tommy Moeller) -

References

  1. ^ Giles, Nigel, "Meillon, John (1934–1989)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Australian National University, from the original on 26 September 2015
  2. ^ Sinclair, Lara (13 June 2009). . The Australian. Archived from the original on 16 June 2009. Retrieved 21 June 2009.
  3. ^ . mumbrella.com.au. 5 June 2012. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  4. ^ Vagg, Stephen (7 November 2020). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: A Tongue of Silver". Filmink.
  5. ^ Yates, Kerry (29 July 1964). "He proposes to his wife eight times a week". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. p. 15. Retrieved 18 December 2013.
  6. ^ O'Neill, Josephine (3 May 1964). "The actor who won't be typed". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 44. Retrieved 8 August 2009.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ Owen, Wendy (7 September 1975). "Top actor just acts the part". The Age. p. 2. Retrieved 8 August 2009.[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ Hornery, Andrew; Malkin, Bonnie, eds. (15 October 2004). "Rest in peace". The Age. Fairfax Media.
  9. ^ "John Meillon, Outback Character in "Crocodile Dundee" Movies, Dies at 55". AP NEWS. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  10. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 196. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  11. ^ , itsanhonour.gov.au, Australian Government, archived from the original on 2 April 2015
  12. ^ "John Mellion – now they name a pub after him". The Sydney Morning Herald. 13 July 1980. p. 53. Retrieved 8 August 2009.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "John Meillon farewelled". The Canberra Times. 17 August 1989. p. 5.
  14. ^ "John Meillon dead at 55". The Canberra Times. 12 August 1989. p. 1.
  15. ^ "Obituary: John Meillon: a rare genius for character". The Canberra Times. 12 August 1989. p. 2.
  16. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2020.

External links

April 17, 2023
john, meillon, 1934, august, 1989, australian, character, actor, known, dramatic, well, comedy, roles, portrayed, walter, reilly, films, crocodile, dundee, crocodile, dundee, also, voiced, advertisements, victoria, bitter, beer, appeared, several, australian, . John Meillon OBE ˈ m ɛ l j e n MEL yon 1 May 1934 11 August 1989 1 was an Australian character actor known for dramatic as well as comedy roles He portrayed Walter Reilly in the films Crocodile Dundee and Crocodile Dundee II He also voiced advertisements for Victoria Bitter beer 2 He appeared in several Australian New Wave films including Wake in Fright and The Cars That Ate Paris John MeillonOBEMeillon in They re a Weird Mob 1966 Born 1934 05 01 1 May 1934Mosman New South Wales AustraliaDied11 August 1989 1989 08 11 aged 55 Neutral Bay New South Wales AustraliaOccupationActorYears active1959 1988Spouse s June Salter 1958 71 divorced 1 child Bunny Gibson 1972 89 his death 1 childChildren2 Contents 1 Biography 2 Selected filmography 3 Discography 3 1 Singles 4 References 5 External linksBiography EditMeillon was born in Mosman New South Wales His younger brother was director Bob Meillon 1943 2012 3 Meillon began his acting career at the age of eleven in the ABC s radio serial Stumpy and made his first stage appearance the following year He joined the Shakespeare Touring Company when he was sixteen He appeared in a number of early Australian TV plays 4 Like many actors of his generation from 1959 to 1965 he worked in England 5 but while working in Britain he consciously steered away from Australian roles 6 Meillon claimed that he learnt discipline while working in theatre and that television was not a good medium for training 7 Meillon had a recurring role in the television series My Name s McGooley What s Yours In 1968 he featured in the spin off Rita and Wally He featured in two episodes of Skippy in 1968 and 1969 appearing as Nimble Norris In 1976 he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role of Casey in the film The Fourth Wish 1976 With his rich baritone Meillon was used extensively in voice over work most famously in his work as the Victoria Bitter narrator who says you can get it any old how 8 Meillon married Australian actress June Salter in 1958 and they had one son John Meillon Jr Meillon and Salter were divorced in 1971 Meillon married actress Bunny Gibson on 5 April 1972 they also had a son 9 In 1977 Meillon released the single Tap Tap Picture Show Man which peaked at number 80 on the Australian singles chart 10 Meillon was appointed an OBE in the 1979 Queen s Birthday Honours for service to theatre 11 In June 1980 Meillon s favourite pub The Oaks at Neutral Bay opened The John Meillon OBE Bar in his honour 12 He continued to frequent the bar over the following decade including visiting in the week before his death from cirrhosis His body was found in his home at Neutral Bay on 11 August 1989 13 14 15 Meillon was posthumously awarded the Raymond Longford Lifetime Achievement Award 16 Selected filmography Edit1959 On the Beach Ralph Swain ashore in San Francisco 1960 The Sundowners Bluey Brown 1961 The Long and the Short and the Tall Private Smudge Smith 1961 Watch It Sailor Albert Tufnell 1961 Offbeat Johnny Remick 1962 The Valiant Bedford 1962 Operation Snatch Medical Officer 1962 Billy Budd Neil Kincaid 1962 The Longest Day RAdm Alan G Kirk uncredited 1962 Edgar Wallace Mysteries episode Death Trap Ross Williams 1963 Cairo Willy 1963 The Running Man Jim Jerome 1964 633 Squadron Flight Lt Gillibrand 1964 Guns at Batasi Sergeant Aussie Drake 1965 Dead Man s Chest Johnnie Gordon 1965 Out of the Unknown Episode Sucker Bait Dr Sheffield 1966 They re a Weird Mob Dennis 1966 1968 My Name s McGooley What s Yours TV series Wally Stiller 1969 1970 Skippy TV series Nimble Norris 1971 Wake in Fright Charlie aka Outback 1971 Walkabout Man the father 1972 Lane End TV series Ray Dunlop 1972 Sunstruck Mick Cassidy 1974 The Fourth Wish TV miniseries James Casey 1974 The Dove Tim 1974 The Cars That Ate Paris The Mayor 1975 Sidecar Racers Ocker 1975 Inn of the Damned George Parr 1975 Ride a Wild Pony Charles Quayle 1976 Arena TV miniseries Bernie Gold 1976 The Fourth Wish Casey 1977 The Picture Show Man Maurice Pop Pym 1978 Bit Part TV film Tommy 1982 Heatwave Freddie Dwyer 1983 Scales of Justice TV miniseries Barnes 1983 The Dismissal TV miniseries Sir John Kerr 1983 The Wild Duck Old Ackland 1984 The Camel Boy Voice 1985 The Dunera Boys TV miniseries Brig Templeton 1986 Crocodile Dundee Walter Reilly 1987 Bullseye Merritt 1987 Frenchman s Farm Bill Dolan 1988 The Everlasting Secret Family The Judge 1988 Crocodile Dundee II Walter ReillyDiscography EditSingles Edit List of singles with Australian chart positions Year Title Peak chart positionsAUS 10 1967 Hot Pie and Tomato Sauce 1977 Tap Tap Picture Show Man with John Ewart 801987 The One That Got Away with Tommy Moeller References Edit Giles Nigel Meillon John 1934 1989 Australian Dictionary of Biography Australian National University archived from the original on 26 September 2015 Sinclair Lara 13 June 2009 Victoria Bitter douses hard earned thirst slogan The Australian Archived from the original on 16 June 2009 Retrieved 21 June 2009 Bob Meillon dies one of the great characters of the tv industry mumbrella com au 5 June 2012 Archived from the original on 2 April 2015 Retrieved 13 May 2013 Vagg Stephen 7 November 2020 Forgotten Australian TV Plays A Tongue of Silver Filmink Yates Kerry 29 July 1964 He proposes to his wife eight times a week The Australian Women s Weekly National Library of Australia p 15 Retrieved 18 December 2013 O Neill Josephine 3 May 1964 The actor who won t be typed The Sydney Morning Herald p 44 Retrieved 8 August 2009 permanent dead link Owen Wendy 7 September 1975 Top actor just acts the part The Age p 2 Retrieved 8 August 2009 permanent dead link Hornery Andrew Malkin Bonnie eds 15 October 2004 Rest in peace The Age Fairfax Media John Meillon Outback Character in Crocodile Dundee Movies Dies at 55 AP NEWS Retrieved 13 September 2020 a b Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 196 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Meillon John Order of the British Empire Officer Civil itsanhonour gov au Australian Government archived from the original on 2 April 2015 John Mellion now they name a pub after him The Sydney Morning Herald 13 July 1980 p 53 Retrieved 8 August 2009 permanent dead link John Meillon farewelled The Canberra Times 17 August 1989 p 5 John Meillon dead at 55 The Canberra Times 12 August 1989 p 1 Obituary John Meillon a rare genius for character The Canberra Times 12 August 1989 p 2 AACTA LONGFORD LYELL AWARD PDF Archived from the original PDF on 27 March 2016 Retrieved 13 September 2020 External links EditJohn Meillon at IMDb John Meillon profile AusStage edu au accessed 27 December 2015 John Meillon profile National Film and Sound Archive accessed 27 December 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Meillon amp oldid 1146562884, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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