Ian McFadyen

Last updated

Ian McFadyen
Born (1948-07-08) 8 July 1948 (age 75)
Occupations
  • Television actor
  • director
  • producer
  • writer
Spouses
  • Jo McFadyen,
(divorced)
Website http://members.ozemail.com.au/~imcfadyen

Ian McFadyen (born 8 July 1948) is an Australian television writer, actor, director and producer. He is best known as the creator and producer of the Australian television series The Comedy Company , which he also directed and wrote episodes for, and performed in, which ran from 16 February 1988 to 11 November 1990. One of McFadyen's most memorable characters on the show was "David Rabbitborough", a parodic impersonation of British naturalist David Attenborough. [2]

Contents

McFadyen hosted the Australian version of Cluedo , and was the creator of the Network Ten sketch comedy show The Wedge . [3] In 2009, he played a vampire in an advertisement for Australian lotteries. [4] He also wrote "The Bounty Hunter", episode 4 for the new Doctor Who spin-off TV series K-9 . In 1983 he played the part of Detective Mears in the iconic Australian TV series Prisoner .

McFadyen is the author of the book Mind Wars: The Battle for Your Brain, published by Allen & Unwin. [5] He also co-wrote the satirical novel Going Out Backwards (2015) with Ross Fitzgerald. [6]

Filmography

Producer

YearTitleRole
1985The Eleventh Hour(TV series) Producer
1988 The Comedy Company (TV series) Producer
1989The Great TV Game Show(TV series) Executive Producer (16 episodes)
1990The Big Time(TV series) Producer (2 episodes)
1990Larger than Life(TV series) Producer
1990-92 Let the Blood Run Free Executive Producer (26 episodes)
1992-93 Bingles Executive Producer (23 episodes)
1993-94 Newlyweds (TV series) Executive Producer (52 episodes)
2002 The Comedy Company: So Excellent (documentary)Producer
2006 The Wedge Co-Executive Producer/Producer (26 episodes)
2010The Verge(TV series) Executive Producer

Actor/performer

YearTitleRole
1982 Snow: The Movie (TV movies)Ian
1984...And Where Lies The Justice? (TV movie)
1984 Special Squad (TV series)Evans
1983-84 Prisoner (TV series)2 roles
-Joe Timmons
-Det. Fred Mears
1985 Glass Babies (TV movie)Dr. B. Bombar
1985 One Summer Again (TV movie)Theodore Fink
1985The Eleventh Hour (TV series)Various
1986 Malcolm (film)Model Shop Salesman
1988 Boulevard of Broken Dreams (film)Hotel Clerk
1988 A Cry in the Dark (also titled Evil Angels)Attorney General
1988 The Bit Part Commercial Director
1988 The Comedy Company (TV series)David Rabbitborough/Ian
1991 All Together Now (TV series)Simon Carpenter
1996 The Genie from Down Under (TV series)Lord "Bubbles" Uppington-Smythe
1998The Genie from Down Under 2 (TV series)Lord "Bubbles" Uppington-Smythe
2004Flushed (film short)The Narrator (voice)
2011DartworthDarren "The Spider" Twine
2018 Bluey (TV series)Bob

Screenwriter

YearTitleRole
1983 Home (TV series)Writer - 4 episodes
1984The Keepers (TV series)
1984The Cleaning (short)Writer
1984 Infinity Limited (TV series)Writer - 5 episodes
1985The Eleventh Hour (TV series)Writer
1988 The Bit Part Writer
1988 The Comedy Company (TV series)Writer
1992Bingles (TV series)Writer
1993The Feds: Terror (TV movie)Writer
1993-94 The Newlyweds (TV series)Roles
-Writer- 34 episodes
-Additional Writer - 1 episode
-Creator - 1 episode
2001 Wicked! (TV series)Writer
2002The Vector File (TV movie)Screenplay / Story
2006 The Wedge (TV series)Writer - 26 episodes
2010The Verge (TV series)Writer
2011WAC! World Animal Championships (TV series)Writer

Director

YearTitleRole
1980 Alive and Kicking (documentary short)Director
1988 The Comedy Company (TV series)Director
2002Bingles (TV series)Director
2002 The Comedy Company: So Excellent (TV movie documentary)Director
2010The Verge (TV series)Special Guest Director

Appearances

YearTitleRole
1992 Cluedo (TV series)Host (23 episodes)
2005-10 20 to 1 (TV series documentary)Himself (5 episodes)
2015-17Stop Laughing... This is Serious (TV series documentaryHimself (4 episodes)

Production assistant

YearTitleRole
1970 Nothing Like Experience Production Assistant

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References

  1. McFadyen, Ian: "Fond memories of a lost frontier", The Age , 1 November 1983.
  2. Lallo, Michael: The Life of Mammals, The Age , 7 July 2008.
  3. Dale, David: Humiliation becomes family fun, The Sydney Morning Herald Entertainment Blog, 5 December 2005.
  4. Butler, Dianne: Ian McFadyen's new role as Dracula in Halloween lottery ads, The Courier Mail , 26 October 2009.
  5. Bestsellers from Melbourne, New Scientist , 13 January 2001.
  6. Atfield, Cameron (29 November 2015). "A professor and a comedian walk into an authoring partnership..." Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 December 2016.