Brian Abbot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | George Rikard Bell 1911 |
| Disappeared | October 1936 |
| Occupation | Actor |
George Rikard Bell (born 1911, disappeared October 1936), better known by the stage name Brian Abbot, was an Australian actor best known for playing the male lead in Orphan of the Wilderness (1936) and the circumstances of his death.
George Rikard Bell (known professionally as Brian Abbot) ran away from school at aged 15 and worked as a jackeroo. [1] He had a great love of sailing and originally wanted to be a sailor for a career, but worked on two vessels which later sunk, TSS Kanowna and SS Christina Frazer. [2] In the words of a later newspaper profile, "As Mr. Abbot didn't believe in for the third time to prove that fate was against him he promptly decided that there were other adventurous jobs to be had which didn't carry the risk of drowning." [3] He subsequently turned to acting, taking the stage name of Brian Abbot.
In early 1930 in Katoomba, he married Phyllis Curley and in September they had a son, Hal Beaumont Rikard Bell, named after his father, Harry (Hal). [4] The October 1929 Wall Street crash reverberated around the world and Australia's unemployed rose from 10 percent in 1929 to 21 percent by the mid-1930s and by 1932 more than 31 percent of the Australian work force was unemployed. [5] Brian (still known as George Rikard Bell) [6] pursued a variety of jobs to support his struggling young family but it was difficult to find work.
Sometime later, in 1935, divorced from his first wife and known as Brian Abbot, [7] he found his way into show business, getting a small role in Thoroughbred (1936) which led to him being cast by Ken G. Hall to play the lead in Orphan of the Wilderness (1936), although Hall later felt the actor's inexperience was evident in the final film. [8]
By 1936, he had a new wife, Grace, and they were captured in a photo by Sam Hood taken at Walsh Bay published on page 2 of The Australian Women's Weekly on 24 October 1936 (which later became famous in Australia in 2014), [7] just before he set sail on the SS Morinda to Lord Howe Island to star in the film Mystery Island . [9]
His grandson Philip Powers [10] [ unreliable source? ] has also worked extensively in the Australian film industry, producing forty Australian feature film soundtrack albums [11] [ unreliable source? ] as well as working for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
In October 1936, after completing work on Mystery Island (1937) on Lord Howe Island, Abbot and Leslie Hay-Simpson, a fellow actor, set out for Sydney in a 16-foot (4.9 m) open longboat called The Mystery Star. They were never seen again, despite a search of over a week involving a number of vessels, including the naval destroyer HMAS Waterhen. [12]
Abbot's wife, Grace Rikard Bell, later sued the Producers and Citizens' Co-operative Assurance Co., Ltd. over her husband's death, claiming the company promised to insure his life for £1,000. The company (who were represented in court by Clive Evatt) alleged Abbot sailed back from Lord Howe Island in a small boat "quite unsuitable" for the journey without informing the company. The case was subsequently settled. [13]
A significant number of boats have gone missing in the stretch of water between Sydney and Lord Howe Island over the years. [14] A few weeks after Abbot's disappearance, a boat containing five men sailing from Sydney to the island also vanished. [15]
Phar Lap was a champion Australasian Thoroughbred racehorse. Achieving incredible success during his distinguished career, his initial underdog status gave people hope during the early years of the Great Depression. He won the Melbourne Cup, two Cox Plates, the Australian Derby, and 19 other weight-for-age races.
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, part of the Australian state of New South Wales. It lies 600 km (320 nmi) directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, 780 km (420 nmi) northeast of Sydney, and about 900 km (490 nmi) southwest of Norfolk Island. It is about 10 km (6.2 mi) long and between 0.3 and 2.0 km wide with an area of 14.55 km2, though just 3.98 km2 of that comprise the low-lying developed part of the island.
Kenneth George Hall was an Australian film producer and director, considered one of the most important figures in the history of the Australian film industry. He was the first Australian to win an Academy Award.
Cinesound Productions Pty Ltd was an Australian feature film production company. Established in June 1931, Cinesound developed out of a group of companies centred on Greater Union Theatres that covered all facets of the film process, from production to distribution and exhibition.
Shirley Ann Richards was an Australian actress and author who achieved notability in a series of 1930s Australian films for Ken G. Hall before moving to the United States, where she continued her career as a film actress, mainly as a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer starlet. Her best known performances were in It Isn't Done (1937), Dad and Dave Come to Town (1938), An American Romance (1944), and Sorry, Wrong Number (1948). In the 1930s, she was the only Australian actor under a long-term contract to a film studio, Cinesound Productions. She subsequently became a lecturer and poet.
Malcolm R. Afford known as Max Afford, was an Australian playwright and novelist.
Mr. Chedworth Steps Out is a 1939 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall starring Cecil Kellaway. Kellaway returned to Australia from Hollywood to make the film, which features an early screen appearance by Peter Finch.
Edmond Seward was a Hollywood screenwriter who had originally attended Northwestern University and worked as a journalist, before doing some writing for Disney.
Thoroughbred is a 1936 Australian race-horse drama film directed by Ken G. Hall, partly based on the life and career of Phar Lap. Hollywood star Helen Twelvetrees was imported to Australia to appear in the film. The film also stars Frank Leighton and John Longden.
Orphan of the Wilderness is a 1936 Australian feature film from director Ken G. Hall about the adventures of a boxing kangaroo. It starred Brian Abbot who disappeared at sea not long after filming completed.
It Isn't Done is a 1937 Australian comedy film about a grazier who inherits a barony in England.
Lovers and Luggers is a 1937 Australian film directed by Ken G. Hall. It is an adventure melodrama about a pianist who goes to Thursday Island to retrieve a valuable pearl.
Tall Timbers is a 1937 action melodrama set in the timber industry directed by Ken G. Hall and starring Frank Leighton and Shirley Ann Richards.
Mystery Island is a 1937 Australian film shot almost entirely on location near Lord Howe Island. It is best remembered for the mysterious disappearance of two of its cast after filming completed.
Gwendolyn Mina Munro was an Australian actress best known for playing the female lead in Orphan of the Wilderness (1936).
Frank Leighton (1908–1962) was an Australian actor best known for two leading roles in films for Ken G. Hall, Thoroughbred (1936) and Tall Timbers (1937).
When the Kellys Rode is a 1934 Australian film directed by Harry Southwell about Ned Kelly.
George Heath was an Australian cinematographer best known for his collaboration with Ken G. Hall for whom he shot several features. According to one observer, he fitted into the Cinesound world far more than his predecessor, Frank Harley - "Heath adapted much more easily to studio work and soon developed into a technician of world class. His work on the features was always attuned to the demands of the film and its future audience: his images show few of the pretensions to grandeur which are to be found in the work of Hurley, and instead his photography is clear, expressive and undemanding."
Rosemary Edna Sinclair is an Australian activist and beauty pageant titleholder. She is involved in administrative approach related to developmental actions. She won the title of Miss Australia in 1960.
Ronald Whelan was an Australian actor, assistant director and unit manager. He was the son of actor Albert Whelan.