John Dingwall | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | May 3, 2004 [1] |
| Occupation(s) | Screenwriter, director, journalist |
| Children | 5 [1] |
John Dingwall (died 3 May 2004) was an Australian writer of film and television, best known for his screenplay Sunday Too Far Away (1975). Dingwall should not be confused with the Scottish journalist of the same name. [2]
Dingwall was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, where he commenced his career as a journalist with a cadetship at the city's daily newspaper, The Morning Bulletin. [1] [3] He then moved to Sydney, where he worked as a police reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. [4]
His experience with the courts and police kickstarted a career in television drama, when he began writing for television production house Crawford Productions, working on police procedural series such as Homicide and Division Four . [4] [1] He won a 1970 Australian Writers' Guild Award (AWGIE) for writing the episode “Johnny Reb” of Homicide . [1]
He moved into features with 1975 Australian New Wave film Sunday Too Far Away , which was based on his brother-in-law's experiences as a sheep shearer. [1]
In 1977, Dingwall co-created and co-wrote the award-winning television series Pig in a Poke . [1] In 1983, he penned the Australian Film Institute Award-winning screenplay for the comedy adventure film Buddies . Faced with distribution difficulties, he took the film on the road, touring it around regional Queensland cinemas. [1] He later mortgaged his house to finance the 1988 cult horror film Phobia , which he wrote and directed. [1]
Dingwall died of cancer in Murwillumbah, northern New South Wales, just south of the Gold Coast on 3 May 2004, at the age of 63. [4] [1]
Dingwall had five children, [1] including son Kelly Dale Dingwall (born 23 September 1970), a former actor, [5] best known for his roles as Brian 'Dodge' Forbes on Home and Away [6] and rookie reporter Tony Reynolds in the 1993 mystery thriller film The Custodian . His partner at the time of his death was Dimitra Meleti. [1]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Sunday Too Far Away | Writer | Feature film |
| 1983 | Buddies | Writer / Producer | Feature film |
| 1987 | Phobia | Director / Writer | Feature film |
| 1993 | The Custodian | Director / Writer | Feature film |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968–1974 | Homicide | Writer | 13 episodes |
| 1970 | Dynasty | Writer | Season 1, episode 6: "Paper of the People" |
| 1970–1972 | Division 4 | Writer | 9 episodes |
| 1972 | Matlock Police | Writer | Season 2, episode 59: "The Cow Hand" |
| 1973 | The Comedy Game | Writer | Season 2, episode 2: "Catch What I Mean?" |
| 1975 | The Seven Ages of Man | Director/ Writer | Miniseries, episode 3: "The Lover" |
| 1977 | Pig in a Poke | Writer / Creator | |
| 1980 | Spring & Fall | Writer | Anthology series, episode: "Winner" |
| 1998 | Wildside | Writer | Season 1 [7] |
