Obituary: Michele Fawdon

Michele Fawdon, actress in film, stage and television, has died today after a battle with cancer.

Born in London in 1947, Fawdon studied in the United Kingdom before coming to Australia early in her professional career.  Following guest roles in Homicide, The Spoiler and Spyforce, Fawdon was cast as Mabel in the pilot for comedy series Snake Gully With Dad And Dave, produced in 1971, but her big break came the following year when she was cast in the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

She went on to appear in many television productions in the years that followed, including Ryan, Matlock Police, The Unisexers, Flashez, Loss Of Innocence, Young Ramsay, Winners, The Flying Doctors, GP, A Country Practice, Marshall Law, All Saints, MDA, Fergus McPhail, Bastard Boys and City Homicide. 

Her last TV role was in the mini-series Killing Time which is yet to be screened in Australia.

Her role in the 1979 movie Cathy’s Child won her Best Actress awards at both the AFI Awards and the Australian Film And Television Awards (The Sammys).

Michele Fawdon is survived by partner Geoff Jenkins and daughter Lulu.

A memorial service is to be held next Monday.

Source: IF, TV Tonight, IMDB, TV Eye

Frank Gallacher

Frank Gallacher, accomplished film, theatre and television actor, has died in Melbourne at the age of 65.

Born in Scotland, Gallacher (prounounced Gal-uck-er) came to Australia as a 19-year-old schoolteacher in 1963.  His teaching career then took him to New Guinea for three years but on his return to Australia decided to quit teaching and became involved in amateur theatre in Brisbane and later at the Queensland Theatre Company and Melbourne Theatre Company.

Despite coming to Australia with a Scottish accent, Gallacher scored many 'dinkim' Aussie roles and credited his adopted Australian accent to his then teacher, comedienne and actress Noeline Brown.

While still involved in the theatre, Gallacher also scored roles in a string of '70s television dramas including Division Four, Matlock Police, Silent Number, The Lost Islands and Bluey.  But a big break was to follow with a leading role in the series Shannon's Mob and later in historical mini-series Rush, Against The Wind and The Last Outlaw.

During a career that also included many film roles and stage productions, both as an actor and director, Gallacher also appeared in numerous other TV dramas including Prisoner, Skyways, Water Under The Bridge, The Shiralee, The Flying Doctors, Janus, State Coroner, Blue Heelers, Two Twisted, Marshall Law and MDA.  He also appeared as Detective Bogong in the Nine Network series Cluedo in the early '90s.  His most recent TV appearance was in the ABC mini-series Curtin.

Frank Gallacher is survived by his wife Belinda, children Conor and Brigid and sister Eileen.

Source: TV Tonight, Aussie Theatre, IMDB, TV Times

Seven goes retro after dark

The Seven Network have recently delved into their video vaults for DVD releases of shows such as Sons And Daughters, A Country Practice, Blue Heelers and All Saints, but this week seem to be giving some less-famous titles an airing in late night timeslots.

From a time when cute furry animals were TV fiction rather than today's TV "reality" or "factuality", Young Ramsay was the story of 30-ish vet Peter Ramsay (John Hargreaves, pictured with co-star Barbara Llewellyn) who had decided to leave his job in the city to go to a small veterinary practice in the country. Intended as a family series it was a distant cry from the usual cop dramas or the soapie The Box to come from Crawford Productions, although the company had previously produced a children's drama Solo One in the mid-'70s. Young Ramsay ran for two seasons, screening between 1977 and 1980, and also featured Vic Gordon, Serge Lazareff and Louise Howitt.

Seven's other late-night offering is a much more recent series, Marshall Law from 2002, which marked actress Lisa McCune's first TV role since leaving Blue Heelers, the series which earned her four TV Week Gold Logies. The series told the story of two sisters, played by McCune and Alison Whyte (Frontline), both working in the Magistrate's Court. Marshall Law also included another former Blue Heelers cast member, William McInnes, and Jane Hall who is now in Neighbours. The series was launched as a pseudo Ally McBeal-type drama, but despite its strong cast, it failed to grab ratings and was cancelled after one year.

Seven's screening of these retro titles follows the regional WIN network's late-night/early-morning screenings over the past year or so of former Crawford classics such as Matlock Police, Skyways, Carson's Law and Division Four.

Further reading:
TV Eye (Young Ramsay)
Australian Television Information Archive (Marshall Law)
Young Ramsay. Tonight (Thursday morning) 1.10am, Seven*
Marshall Law. Thursday night/Friday morning 12.20am, Seven*

* Melbourne. Other areas check local guides