Wynn Roberts (actor)
Wynn Roberts (born 1923/1924 – 24 August 2021)[1] credited also as Wyn Roberts and Wynne Roberts, was an Australian radio, stage and screen actor who appeared in more than 70 film and television productions between the early 1950s and 2001. He appeared in numerous TV plays and also featured in TV miniseries over a career spanning 50 years.
Wynn Roberts | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1923 or 1924 |
| Died | 24 August 2021 (aged 97) Tanja, New South Wales, Australia |
| Other names | Wyn Roberts, Wynne Roberts |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1947-2001 |
Career edit
His television credits include Homicide, Special Squad, The Flying Doctors, Police Rescue, A Country Practice and Wildside. He may be most recognisable to international audiences for his role in cult Grundy Television prison drama, Prisoner (also known as Prisoner: Cell Block H. 1979-1986), in which he appeared as (Stuart) Gillespie, a mean-spirited prison department inspector, in episodes originally aired in 1980-81. His character's authoritarian regime led to the 1980 season cliffhanger, where a number of inmates escape in a tunnel which subsequently collapses, killing a prisoner and trapping others. Later, during 1987, he guest starred in another Grundy soap opera, Neighbours (1985-), as Frank Darcy, an artist friend of Anne Haddy's character, Helen Daniels. The character memorably wore a leather eye patch and came from Bungle Bungles, and he and Helen almost moved there together, but in the end, Helen decided to stay in Melbourne with her family and Frank left without her. He is also known for his prominent role as Sergeant Bumpher in the 1975 film classic, Picnic at Hanging Rock.[2][3] He was also a leading stage actor, starting from the late 1940s.[4]
He worked for a number of years in radio.[5]
A 1965 article called him "one of the best and most versatile actors left in Australia - probably the best in Melbourne".[6]
Death edit
He died on 24 August 2021 in Tanja, New South Wales, aged 97.[1]
Filmography edit
Film edit
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The True Story of Spit MacPhee | ||
| 1982 | Fighting Back | Feature film | |
| 1978 | Weekend of Shadows | Sergeant Caxton | Film |
| 1977 | Listen to the Lion | Hunter | Short film |
| 1975 | Born to Run | Feature film | |
| 1975 | Picnic at Hanging Rock | Sergeant Bumpher | Feature film |
| 1974 | Essington | Feature film | |
| 1972 | Flashpoint | Foxy | Feature film |
| 1972 | The Survivor | Feature film | |
| 1968 | Cobwebs in Concrete | Dan Fenner | TV play |
| 1966 | Ticket to Nowhere | TV play | |
| 1966 | Should the Woman Pay | Gerald Henderson | TV play |
| 1966 | The Tape Recorder | Voice of Novelist | TV play |
| 1966 | Romanoff and Juliet | Romanoff | TV play |
| 1965 | Moby Dick - Rehearsed[7] | Ahab | TV play |
| 1965 | Macbeth[8] | Macbeth | TV play |
| 1965 | A Time to Speak | Gilly (the Doctor) | TV film |
| 1964 | A Man for All Seasons | Sir Thomas More | TV play |
| 1964 | The Physicists | Mobius | TV play |
| 1964 | Everyman | Death | TV play |
| 1964 | Corruption in the Palace of Justice | Counsellor Enzi | TV Film |
| 1962 | Light me a Lucifer | Bill | TV film |
| 1962 | Murder in the Cathedral | TV film | |
| 1962 | Manhaul | Charles Forrester | TV film |
| 1962 | The Hobby Horse | Billy | TV play |
| 1962 | Shadow of Heroes | Laszlo Rajk | TV play |
| 1961 | The Lady from the Sea | The Stranger | TV film |
| 1961 | Burst of Summer | Clinton Hunter | TV play |
| 1961 | Hedda Gabler | Eilert Lovborg | TV play |
| 1960 | Macbeth | Banquo | Film |
| 1960 | Uncle Martino | Trulla | TV play |
| 1960 | Heart Attack | Dr Rutherford | TV play |
| 1959 | Treason | TV play | |
| 1959 | Last Call | TV play | |
| 1958 | Killer in Close-Up: The Rattenbury Case | TV play | |
| 1958 | Symphonie Pastorale | Pastor Etieene | TV play |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wildside | TV series | ||
| Neighbours | TV series | ||
| Police Rescue | TV series | ||
| The Flying Doctors | TV series | ||
| A Country Practice | TV series | ||
| 1984 | Special Squad | TV series | |
| Homicide | TV series | ||
| 2001 | The Farm | Miniseries | |
| 1996 | Sun on the Stubble | TV series | |
| Law of the Land | Hamilton Chalmers | TV series | |
| 1993 | Snowy | TV series | |
| 1988 | The Last Resort | TV series | |
| 1987 | The Petrov Affair | Miniseries | |
| 1986 | Sword of Honour | Miniseries | |
| 1986 | Whose Baby | Miniseries | |
| 1985 | The Dunera Boys | Miniseries | |
| 1984 | Waterfront | Inspector Legge | Miniseries |
| 1980-81 | Prisoner: Cell Block H | Stuart Gillespie | TV series |
| 1967 | Sergeant Musgrave's Dance | Sergeant Musgrave | TV series |
| 1962 | Consider Your Verdict | Defence Counsel Robert Winter | TV series, 1 episode |
References edit
- ^ a b "Obituary: Wynn Roberts".
- ^ . BFI. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019.
- ^ "Wyn Roberts". www.aveleyman.com.
- ^ "Prisoner scores a double treat". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia. 24 September 1980. p. 21 (Your TV Magazine). Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "On the Grapevine". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 17 November 1956. p. 17. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "No dents in Rogues? armour". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 May 1965. p. 17. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "What to stay home for..." The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 May 1965. p. 17. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ "'Macbeth' on camera". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia. 8 September 1965. p. 18. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.