George Spartels

Last updated

George Spartels
Born
George Bernard Spartels

(1954-04-25) 25 April 1954 (age 71) [1]
Carlton, Melbourne, Australia [2] [3]
Occupations
  • Actor
  • children's presenter
  • director
  • playwright
  • musician
Years active1971–present
Known for Neighbours as Benito Alessi
Presenter of Play School
Spouses
  • Sue Spartels
    ​
    (divorced)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1984;div. 2006)​
  • Mary Spartels
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2013;div. 2017)​
Children2

George Bernard Spartels (born 25 April 1954) [1] is an Australian actor, presenter, director, playwright and children's musician. He remains best known for his role on the television soap opera Neighbours [1] and as a presenter on Play School . [4]

Contents

Early life

Spartels was born in Carlton, Melbourne [2] [3] to a father of Greek descent and a mother of English and Irish descent. [1]

He undertook his education in Melbourne and was a talented swimmer and football player, but without the height required to play professionally, he turned to acting. While studying at Teacher's College, he honed his acting skills, appearing in amateur theatre productions. [3]

Career

Television

Spartels has guest starred in many Australian television series from the 1970s to the present. His earliest roles included five television police procedural series: Division 4 , Homicide , Matlock Police , Bluey and Cop Shop . [2] and Crawford Productions comedy series The Bluestone Boys . He also had notable roles in Bellbird and Prisoner [1] and appeared in early 1980s soap opera Punishment .

In 1984, Spartels played the recurring role Nick Poulopoulos in television series Sweet and Sour , before appearing in the 1985 feature film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome , the third installment in the Mad Max franchise, [2] alongside Mel Gibson and Tina Turner, playing the role of Blackfinger.

That same year, Spartels began an ongoing role as a children's television presenter, with a long tenure on the ABC's Play School , over a period of 16 years between 1985 and 2001. He later performed in children's concerts, including George Meets the Orchestra with the Queensland Philharmonic in 2001 [2] and live productions of Play School in 2009. [1] [5] [6] [7] [8] He released several albums for children, as 'George from Playschool' which included songs such as "Surfing with the Seagulls" (1993) and "Return of the Spangled Drongo" (1999). [2]

From 1992 to 1993, Spartels secured a role in long-running soap opera Neighbours , playing the regular character of family patriarch Benito Alessi. [1] He also appeared in several episodes of medical drama series All Saints [1] before playing Theo Karandonis, Carbo's father in drama series Packed to the Rafters from 2009 to 2012. [2]

Theatre

Spartels also performed in numerous theatre productions. He began his professional career in the Melbourne production of Godspell in 1972. [9] From 1981 to 1983, he played Amos in a Sydney Theatre Company production of Chicago . [2]

He appeared in Greek Tragedy at Sydney's Belvoir Theatre from 1989 to 1990, [2] and in 1998 played the role of Mercutio in a Neil Armfield-directed Romeo and Juliet for the South Australian Theatre Company. [2] Spartels performed in several Company B / Belvoir productions, including The Spook in 2004, under the direction of Armfield once more. [2]

In 2014, Spartels toured Toronto, Los Angeles and Australia in an international stage production of The Last Confession opposite David Suchet, playing the roles of Cardinal Lorscheider and Eugênio Sales. [10] [2] [11]

Depiction in art

Spartels' photoportrait, by Ivan Gaal, is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery. [2]

Personal life

Spartels was married to first wife, Sue. He then married actress Elizabeth Alexander in 1984, with whom he shares two daughters. Both of his daughters featured in the music video for his single "Busy Baby Bubby". Spartels and Alexander divorced in 2006. Spartels married for a third time in April 2013 to wife Mary, and they resided together in Sydney. They were divorced in 2017, after which time he returned to Melbourne.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleType
1977 Out of It TonyShort film
1978 Blue Fin ConFeature film
1985 Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome BlackfingerFeature film
1988 Computer Ghosts Pi WratichTV movie
1989Action ReplayTV movie
1992 Seeing Red MarkFeature film
1999 Kick Jack GrantFeature film
2023The Adventures of Wolfdogg and RedridinghoodNarratorShort film

Television

YearTitleRoleType
1971-75 Matlock Police Danny Porter, Willie Bennett, Walters, Frank Clark, BobTV series, 5 episodes
1972-75 Division 4 Harry, Terry Hughes, Gino Napoli, Youth1TV series, 4 episodes
1971-76 Homicide John Smith, Russell Knight, Simon Littlewood, Nick Pappas, Peter Fletcher, Anton Palades, MechanicTV series, 7 episodes
1974 This Love Affair TV series, 1 episode
1976 Solo One Harry ThomasTV series, 1 episode
Bellbird TV series
1976 The Bluestone Boys TV series
1976-77 Bluey Steve Berry, WilsonTV series, 2 episodes
1977 Bobby Dazzler GeorgeTV series, 3 episodes
1977 Hotel Story TV series
1978 Father, Dear Father in Australia GeorgeTV series, 1 episode
1978-89 Cop Shop Claudio Gustino, Chris Murray, FergusTV series, 3 episodes
1979 Chopper Squad Man in hang gliderTV series, 1 episode
1979-80 Prisoner HerbieTV series, 5 episodes
1981 Punishment David ‘Robbo’ RobertsTV series
1984 Sweet and Sour Nick PoulopolousTV series, 18 episodes
1985-99 Play School PresenterTV series
1986 The Great Bookie Robbery Jaffa DavisTV miniseries, 3 episodes
1990 Rafferty's Rules Stefan BosnjackTV series, 1 episode
1991 All Together Now Georgie LeonardTV series, 1 episode
1992-93 Neighbours Benito Alessi TV series, 47 episodes
1997 Fallen Angels Dan PlayhardTV series, 1 episode
2002-06 All Saints The Professor, Craig Watts, Peter TalbotTV series, 3 episodes
2009 City Homicide Frank ScarsdaleTV series, 1 episode
2009-12 Packed to the Rafters Theo Karandonis, Carbo's fatherTV series, 4 episodes

Theatre

YearTitleRoleTypeRef.
1971 Godspell Alternative Playbox Theatre, Melbourne [3]
1973 The Two Gentlemen of Verona Speed J. C. Williamson's [12]
Salad Days [12]
1974 Love for Love Old Tote Theatre Company, Sydney [12]
Macbeth [12]
Lear [12]
The Indian Wants the Bronx [12]
Equus Boy State Theatre of South Australia [12]
1978 Dracula R.M. Renfield Festival Centre Trust, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney [12] [13]
1979 P.S. Your Cat Is Dead Vito (Lead) Festival Centre Trust [12]
1980 The Sunny South Sydney Opera House with STC [12]
I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road Joe, Manager (Lead) [12]
1981 Hamlet Laertes Sydney Theatre Company by invitation to Hong Kong Festival [12]
1981–1983 Chicago Amos Hart Sydney Opera House, Theatre Royal, Sydney, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Festival Theatre, Adelaide, Hong Kong Arts Festival with STC [2] [14]
1983Variations: Chamber Music for Nine Players and Six InstrumentsSteve Nimrod Theatre Company, Sydney [12]
Signal DriverFirst Being Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC / QTC [12] [9]
VocationsRoss State Theatre of South Australia [12]
1985 Zastrozzi Bernado Seymour Centre, Sydney with Nimrod Theatre Company [12]
1986The Levine ComedyAsher Levine Russell St Theatre, Melbourne with MTC [12] [15]
1988 Capricornia Peter Differ / Charles Kit Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney & tour [12]
1989–1990 Greek Tragedy Larry Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B & Pioneer Theatres, London [2]
1992Stool PigeonOne man show Sydney Festival [12] [16]
1998 Romeo and Juliet Mercutio South Australian Theatre Company [2]
Twelfth Night Sir Toby Belch Q Theatre [12]
2004The SpookGeorge / Footballer Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B [2] [12]
2006 Losing Louis Tony Ensemble Theatre, Sydney [12] [17]
2008ScorchedVarious Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B [12]

[18]

2014 The Last Confession Cardinal Lorscheider / Eugênio Sales Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, Toronto & Australia tour with Tinderbox [10] [2] [11] [12]
2022Bad MachineTheo Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre [19]

Awards and nominations

YearNominated workAwardCategoryResult
1993 ARIA Music Awards George from Play School Best Children's Album Nominated
1998 Let's Go OutNominated
2001 George Meets The OrchestraNominated

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Story Behind". George Spartels Videos and Songs. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 "George Spartels, early 1970's". National Portrait Gallery . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Godspell (1971)". Theatre Heritage Australia. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  4. ↑ Michelle Arrow, Jeannine Baker and Clare Monagle; Michelle Arrow, Jeannine Baker and Clare Monagle. "Monash University EPress". books.publishing.monash.edu. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "Play School: the early years". ABC Radio National . 11 July 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Don't tell the children". The Age . 20 May 2008. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Play School is rife with double entendres". www.news.com.au . 5 July 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  8. ↑ Marks, Russell (1 July 2016). "Through the windows". The Monthly . Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. 1 2 "Signal Driver". Theatregold. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  10. 1 2 Meisel, Myron (17 June 2014). "The Last Confession: Theater Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  11. 1 2 Olijnyk, Max (7 September 2014). "Six burning questions for actor George Spartels". The Sydney Morning Herald .
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 "Biography: George Spartels" (PDF). Showcast. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Dracula". Theatregold. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  14. ↑ "Chicago – 12". Theatregold. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  15. ↑ "The Levine Comedy". Theatregold. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  16. ↑ "Festival Archives: 1992". Sydney Festival . Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  17. ↑ di Fonzo, Benito (12 May 2006). "Grin reaper". The Sydney Morning Herald .
  18. ↑ "Scorched". www.belvoir.com. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  19. ↑ Shand, John (20 March 2022). "Bad Machine counts cost of when governments go rogue". The Sydney Morning Herald .
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