Terence Donovan (actor)

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Terence Donovan
Born (1942-10-28) 28 October 1942 (age 82)
Staines-upon-Thames, England, United Kingdom
Other namesTerence J. Donovan, Terry Donovan
OccupationActor
Years active1961–present
Known for
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1965;div. 1973)​
[1]
Marlene Saunders
​
(m. 1981)​
Children2, including Jason Donovan

Terence Donovan (born 28 October 1942), [2] also billed as Terence J. Donovan and Terry Donovan, is a British-Australian actor of stage, television and film, and the father of actor and singer Jason Donovan (from his marriage to actress and journalist Sue McIntosh).

Contents

Donovan worked in his native England, but is best known to audiences for his roles in Australian soap opera including Neighbours as patriarch Doug Willis and in Home and Away as Al Simpson . He has appeared in Australian TV drama series since the 1960s, including police drama series Division 4 and Cop Shop , as well as minor parts in numerous serials including The Prisoner , Sons and Daughters , A Country Practice and E Street.

Career

Donovan, who was born in Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex (now in northwest Surrey) England, United Kingdom, has been a staple of Australian television since the early 1960s, when he had minor roles in episodes of the court-room drama series Consider Your Verdict , several ABC drama plays, and the children's series The Magic Boomerang . After moving back to the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s he had guest roles in series including The Champions , Man in a Suitcase , and The Prisoner .

After returning to Australia and appearing in guest roles in the Crawford Productions series Homicide and Hunter in 1968, he was placed on contract, going on to appear in Division 4, as Detective Mick Peters from 1969 to 1975. In 1976, he played in a popular mini-series adaptation of the novel Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy. From 1979 to 1981, he starred in Cop Shop as Detective Sergeant Vic Cameron.

Between 1981 and 1984, he had minor roles in Australian television programs, and acted in the film The Man from Snowy River in 1982, playing Henry Craig. In 1985, he had roles in Prisoner and Sons and Daughters. From 1986 to 1990, he had more minor television roles including the 1989 pilot episode of E Street as Ken Swanson which was followed by guest roles in The Flying Doctors and G.P.

in 1990 he starred in Home and Away as the second actor, after George Leppard, to play Al Simpson, the father of original character Bobby Simpson. He followed this immediately with the role in Neighbours of Doug Willis, a character he played regularly until 1994, and made a brief appearance in 2005, when he reprised his role for the show's 20th-anniversary special. [3] He returned in that role again in 2014.

Donovan appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours' 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite , which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015. [4] [5] He reprised the role of Doug Willis in episodes of the serial in 2016, culminating in the character's death. In 2003, he appeared in the drama series MDA in the role of Eric Savage, father of Richard Savage (played by his son Jason Donovan).

He played the title role of Harry 'Breaker' Morant in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's Australian play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts , presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 2 February 1978. (Donovan also appeared in the 1980 film Breaker Morant , but in a subsidiary role, rather than as the title character). In the UK in the mid-1990s Donovan featured in a tour of a musical version of Peter Pan as Captain Hook alongside co-stars Nicola Stapleton, famous for her role in EastEnders , and a young Laurence Mark Wythe (who has since become a composer and lyricist in musical theatre). In 2007 Donovan performed in the Magnormos production of Mary Bryant as Boswell. He also played in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Kander as slick, but dishonest lawyer Billy Flynn and Ebb's Chicago.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleType
1961-63 Consider Your Verdict Keith UptonTV series
1964 Nude with Violin Clinton PremingerTV movie
1964The Hidden TruthTV reporter
1964It's a Woman's WorldJim
1964The Indian Tales of Rudyard KiplingPrivate Jenkins
1965Songs of the American Civil WarTV movie
1965Songs of the Wild WestTV movie
1965Chicago in the Roaring 20s
1968 Oliver! Policeman (Consider Yourself)Feature film
1977Going HomeMiles NewtonTV movie
1977 The Getting of Wisdom Tom McNamaraFeature film
1978 Money Movers Eric JacksonFeature film
1980 Breaker Morant Captain Simon HuntFeature film
1981 Smash Palace Traffic OfficerFeature film
1981 Dead Kids (aka Strange Behaviour)Mr. BrownFeature film
1982Night of ShadowsHarry Vinson / Blackie WebbShort film
1982 The Man from Snowy River Henry CraigFeature film
1983 The Winds of Jarrah Timber MarlowFeature film
1985 Fortress Detective Sgt MitchellFeature film
1986 Death of a Soldier John Curtin Feature film
1986 A Single Life ChrisTV movie
1987 Emma's War Father GrangeTV movie
1987 Running from the Guns BanglesFeature film
1987Room to MovePeter TriggTV movie
1990 Jigsaw Jack McCluskeyFeature film
2003 Horseplay Mr. PerlmanFeature film
2005 Puppy Dr. HoldenFeature film
TBAWe All Have Our DemonsAbbie's DadShort film (pre-production at time of publication)

Television

YearTitleRoleType
1961-63 Consider Your Verdict Keith UptonTV series
1965 Thursday Theatre: Johnson over Jordan 1st newspaper boyTV series
1965Object Z Captain WadeTV series
1965 Armchair Theatre CarrierTV series
1965/66 The Magic Boomerang TV series
1966 Bat Out of Hell SloaneTV miniseries
1967 Man in a Suitcase BrentTV series
1967 The Prisoner SailorTV miniseries
1968 The Champions Radio OperatorTV series
1968-69 Hunter 3 roles - Wade, Biggs, Peter GrantTV series
1968-77 Homicide 3 roles - Gerald Stone, Greg Adams, Peter MahoneyTV series
1969-75 Division 4 Senior Detective Mick PetersTV series
1974 This Love Affair CharlieTV series
1974 Rush Doctor KirbyTV series
1975 The Last of the Australians Mr. WalkerTV series
1976 Tandarra Sean DalyTV series
1976 Solo One Bill MorganTV series
1976 Power Without Glory Frank LammenceTV series
1977 The Outsiders Stan FraserTV series
1977 Bellbird Neil FarrerTV series
1977-79 Hotel Story 6 episodesTV series
1978-80 Cop Shop Detective Sgt. Vic Bishop/Cameron, George LangdonTV series
1984 Special Squad TV series
1985 Winners TriggTV series
1985 Prisoner Bob TaylorTV series
1985-86 Sons and Daughters Tom ChaplinTV series
1988 Australians TV series, episode 13: Errol Flynn
1988 Joe Wilson WalisTV miniseries
1989 E Street Ken SwansonTV series
1989 Mission Impossible Senator TomTV series
1989 G.P. Darcy WattsTV series
1989 The Flying Doctors JimTV series
1983-89 A Country Practice 3 roles - Harry Taylor, TJ. Riley, Joe BaxterTV series, 3 episodes: Truth and Consequences, Seasons Come and Seasons Go, Fly Away Home
1990 Home and Away Al Simpson TV series
1990 Flair Sergeant DooganWeb miniseries
1990-94, 2005, 2014-16 Neighbours Doug Willis TV series
1999 Heartbreak High WarwickTV series
1999 Blue Heelers Ian WaldronTV series
2002-03Signs of LifeTravisTV series
2003 MDA Eric SavageTV series
2013 House Husbands DougTV series
2015 Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite HimselfTV special
2015 Neighbours: Hey Piper Doug WillisTV series

References

  1. ↑ "Sue McIntosh". IMDb .
  2. ↑ "Terence Donavon". National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ Green, Kris (14 April 2005). "More Neighbours returns confirmed". Digital Spy . Hachette Filipacchi UK . Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  4. ↑ Knox, David (28 February 2015). "Airdate: Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite". TV Tonight . Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  5. ↑ Kilkelly, Daniel (4 March 2015). "Neighbours 30th anniversary schedule confirmed by Channel 5". Digital Spy . Retrieved 5 March 2014.
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