Tommy Dysart
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(June 2022) |
Tommy Dysart | |
|---|---|
| Born | Thomas Gibson Dysart 24 December 1935 |
| Died | 7 June 2022 (aged 86) |
| Education | National Institute of Dramatic Art(NIDA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1959[1]–2022 |
Thomas Gibson Dysart(24 December 1935 – 7 June 2022) was a Scottish-born Australian actor, known for his appearances on television dramas and comedies and in character roles in films and miniseries.
Early career
[edit]Dysart graduated fromNIDA[2]in 1959, and started his career as a vocalist and performed in theatre.[1]
Film and TV roles
[edit]High-profile early roles included appearances inSkippy the Bush Kangaroo,Phoenix Five,and several roles in theCrawford Productionspolice drama seriesHomicide,Division 4,Matlock PoliceandCop Shop.
Dysart appeared briefly in the seriesPrisonerin the early 1980s, where he played what is perhaps his best-known acting role, that of vicious and cold prison officerJock Stewart.In the storyline, after being fired from the prison service Stewart admitted to prisoner Judy Bryant that he was the one responsible for murdering her lesbian lover, fellow prisonerSharon Gilmour.This revelation brought to a close a murder-mystery storyline in the series but launched a long-running story-arc where Bryant repeatedly escaped from prison in a succession of attempts to exact her revenge on Stewart.
After this, Dysart continued in guest-starring television roles in drama series and situation comedies, and appeared in many feature films. His films includedThe Man from Snowy River(1982),Bliss(1985),Garbo(1992), andFlynn(1996). Television roles of the 1990s included appearances inAll Together Now,The Games,State Coroner,Blue Heelers,Something in the AirandNeighbours.He also provided the voice for Captain Griswald in Anthony Lucas' animated short filmThe Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello(2005).
Commercial advertisements
[edit]In the 1990s he appeared in a well-remembered television commercial advertisement for theYellow Pageswhere he calls a series of mechanics about his problematicGoggomobil,( "G, O, G, G, O... No! No! Not theDart").[3]He was also known for playing a recurring character of a Mafia-boss-like butcher in advertisements forDon Smallgoods.
In the early 2000s he continued his Goggomobil persona advertisingShannons Insurance.The concept played on the role of a person searching for the car parts as any car enthusiast would.Telstrachallenged this in the Supreme Court and Shannons withdrew the advertisements, but continued with Dysart and the accent (which Dysart insisted was his own and could not change). The adverts continue and Shannons Insurance also owns several of the Goggomobil cars which feature regularly in their shows. Dysart and Joan Brockenshire appeared inKarl von Möller's 2019 documentary "D'art".[4]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Moby Dick - Rehearsed | TV movie | |
| 1965 | The Big Killing[5] | Sergeant Bassett | TV movie |
| 1969 | It Takes All Kinds | Seaman | Feature film |
| 1972 | The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui | TV movie | |
| 1982 | The Man from Snowy River | Mountain Man | Feature film |
| 1982 | Next of Kin | Harry | Feature film |
| 1982 | The Clinic | Patient | Feature film |
| 1985 | Bliss | De Vere | Feature film |
| 1985 | I Live with Me Dad | Griffin | Feature film |
| 1986 | Sky Pirates | Bartender | Feature film |
| 1986 | The Big Hurt | Schwartz | Feature film |
| 1987 | Ground Zero | British Veteran | Feature film |
| 1988 | Backstage | Head Waiter - Reception | Feature film |
| 1988 | Georgia | Bystander | Feature film |
| 1990 | What the Moon Saw | Skip | Feature film |
| 1992 | Garbo | Bagpipes | Feature film |
| 1992 | Come Rain or Shine | Feature film (starred with son Kole Dysart) | |
| 1993 | Flynn(akaMy Forgotten Man) | Macintosh | Feature film |
| 1993 | Body Melt | Sergeant | Feature film |
| 1994 | Metal Skin | Mr Graham | Feature film |
| 1995 | The Final Stage | Stinky Radford | Feature film |
| 1995 | Mushrooms | Wilson | Feature film |
| 1996 | River Street | Sergeant | Feature film |
| 1999 | Strange Fits of Passion | Taxi Driver | Feature film |
| 2000 | Wee Jimmy | Grandad | Short film |
| 2001 | Four Jacks | Lance | Feature film |
| 2002 | The Real Thing | Husband | Feature film |
| 2005 | The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello | Captain Otto H. Griswald (voice) | Animated short film |
| 2009 | Remembering Nigel | Tommy Dysart | Short film (starred with son Kole Dysart) |
| 2009 | Crazy in the Night | Jock | Short film |
| 2011 | Hands.Hands | Old Man | Short film |
| 2018 | A Thin Life | The Man | Feature film |
| 2019 | D'art | Self | Documentary film |
| 2021 | Frankly - A Life in the Circus | Self | Feature film |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Consider Your Verdict | Jack McLean | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1965 | The Stranger | TV miniseries, 2 episodes | |
| 1968 | Skippy the Bush Kangaroo | Andrews | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | Division 4 | George Baker | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | The Rovers | Butcher | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | Phoenix Five | Gunfighter | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1971, 1973 | Matlock Police | Ted Woods / Abdul | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1974 | Silent Number | Sand | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | Behind the Legend | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1964-75 | Homicide | George Hogan, Jeffrey Hodges, Anthony Scott, Angus Lawrence, Chris Doyle, Van Driver, Osman Rados, Neil Campbell, Nicolo Rogowski | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 1975 | Ben Hall | Haigh | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | Luke's Kingdom | Lug | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1978 | The Truckies | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1978 | Against the Wind | Settler / Travers / Drunken Rebel | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1979 | Skyways | Paddy McDonald | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | The Sullivans | Fergus McCullough | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1980 | Young Ramsay | Paddy Rourke | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1980 | Water Under the Bridge | Hamish | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1980 | The Last Outlaw | Superintendent | TV miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 1981 | Are You Being Served? | Kilted Customer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1977-81 | Cop Shop | Dimonicus, Don Morgan, John Ford, Lawrence Peck | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1980-82 | Prisoner | Jock Stewart | TV series, 12 episodes |
| 1982 | Come Midnight Monday | Angus McPhee | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1982 | Women of the Sun | Joe | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1983 | Carson's Law | Captain Robinson | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1983 | Infinity Limited | Henry | TV series, episode 15:The Big Lift |
| 1984 | Five Mile Creek | Trantor | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Scottie / Bingo Caller | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Eureka Stockade | Tom Kennedy | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1985 | The Fast Lane | Neville | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1985 | Trapp, Wrinkle and Box | Various | TV series |
| 1985 | Zoo Family | McGregor | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1986 | Alice to Nowhere | Fighting Scotsman | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1986, 1987 | The Flying Doctors | Inspector Kevin Day / Simpson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Friday on My Mind | ||
| 1991 | Boys from the Bush | Nick | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | All Together Now | Barkeeper | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | Chances | Trevor Russell | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | Kelly | Sgt Terry Blake | TV series, 2 episode |
| 1992 | Round the Twist | Bus Driver | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1992, 1993 | The Late Show | Goggomobile Man | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Wedlocked | Marvin / Hot Dog Man | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1995 | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga | Mr Couch | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | Good Guys, Bad Guys | Athol Amoroso | TV series, 1 episode |
| The Games | Taxu Driver | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1998 | State Coroner | Robeet Ash | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2000 | Blue Heelers | Jimmy Fong | TV series, season 7, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Neighbours | Fergus MacLeod | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Pizza | 50s Pizza Couple | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | Something in the Air | Roy Suede | TV series, 2 episodes |
Theatre
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-77 | The Rocky Horror Show | Narrator | Regent Palace Theatre,458 performances |
Personal life
[edit]Dysart enjoyed a long personal and professional relationship with director and writerFrank Howson.They worked together on the filmsBackstage,Boulevard of Broken Dreams,What the Moon Saw,Flynn,Crime Time,The Final Stage,Lucky Country,and the award-winning short filmRemembering Nigel,which also featured Dysart's wife and son Kole.
Dysart was married to actress Joan Brockenshire. On 18 February 2022, Dysart suffered a stroke and was taken to theAlfred Hospital.[6]He died on 7 June 2022 in Melbourne, Victoria at the age of 86.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ab"Tommy Dysart".
- ^"Cast of thousands cheers for NIDA's 50th birthday".The Sydney Morning Herald.18 February 2009.Retrieved3 March2020.
- ^"Sheer dartistry a-Goggo".www.theaustralian.com.au.11 September 2019.Retrieved3 March2020.
- ^"Review: 'D'art'".25 June 2020.
- ^Vagg, Stephen (27 April 2021)."Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Big Killing".Filmink.Retrieved12 August2024.
- ^"Frankly: A Life in the Circus - A film by Roberto Chuter on Facebook".Facebook.Archived fromthe originalon 30 April 2022.[user-generated source]
- ^"Vale Tommy Dysart 1935–2022".Shannons Club. 15 June 2022.Retrieved15 June2022.
External links
[edit]- Tommy DysartatIMDb
- Tommy Dysartdiscography atDiscogs
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1935 births
- 2022 deaths
- Australian male film actors
- Australian male soap opera actors
- Male actors from Melbourne
- Scottish emigrants to Australia
- Scottish male film actors
- Scottish male soap opera actors
- Scottish male television actors
- 20th-century Australian male actors
- 21st-century Australian male actors
- 20th-century Scottish male actors
- 21st-century Scottish male actors