Arthur Dignam (9 September 1939 – 9 May 2020) was an Australian actor.
Arthur Dignam | |
|---|---|
| Born | 9 September 1939 Lord Howe Island, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 9 May 2020 (aged 80) Sydney, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | Newington College University of Sydney |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Children | Nicholas Gledhill |
Early life
editDignam was born on Lord Howe Island.[1] He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder in 1955 and 1956[2] and then the University of Sydney.[3]
Career
editHe was best known for one of his early roles, that of Brother Francine in Fred Schepisi's The Devil's Playground (1976).[4] While he worked mainly in film and television, he also worked in theatre, including musical theatre. He played Pontius Pilate in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972–73, and appears on the original Australian cast recording.[5]
During 1980, Dignam was part of A Shakespeare Company,[6] funded by a one-off grant from the Australia Council, and worked with actors Ruth Cracknell, Ron Haddrick and others on two texts for six months and then presented them at the Seymour Centre.[7]
Personal life
editHis son together with Bobbie Gledhill – actor Nicholas Gledhill was born in Sydney in 1975.
Death
editDignam died of a heart attack on 9 May 2020, in Sydney at the age of 80.[8]
Theatre
editAs actor
editAs producer
edit| Year | Title | Role | Venue / Company |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Victimes du Devoir | Producer | University of Melbourne |
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Lend Me Your Stable | ||
| 1973 | Libido | Father Burn | Feature film, segment: The Priest |
| 1974 | Petersen | Prof. Charles Kent | Feature film |
| 1974 | Between Wars | Peter Avante | Feature film Oz Movies |
| 1976 | The Devil's Playground | Brother Francine | Feature film[10] |
| 1976 | Summer of Secrets | Doctor Beverley Adams | Feature film |
| 1977 | The Duellists | Captain with Eyepatch | Feature film |
| 1978 | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | Man in Butcher Shop | Feature film |
| 1979 | Cathy's Child | Minister | Feature film |
| 1981 | Grendel Grendel Grendel | The Dragon / Beowulf (voice) | Animated film |
| 1981 | Strange Behavior | Dr. Le Sange / Nagel | Feature film |
| 1982 | Duet for Four | Doug Quincey | Feature film |
| 1982 | We of the Never Never | Aeneas Gunn | Feature film |
| 1983 | The Return of Captain Invincible | Lawyer | Feature film |
| 1983 | The Wild Duck | Gregory | Feature film |
| 1984 | The Schippan Mystery | Sir Josiah Symon | TV film |
| 1985 | Burke & Wills | Sir William Stawell | Feature film |
| 1986 | Comrades | Fop | Feature film |
| 1987 | The Right Hand Man | Dr. Redbridge | Feature film |
| 1987 | Those Dear Departed (aka Ghosts Can Do It!) | Producer | Feature film |
| 1988 | The Everlasting Secret Family | The Senator | Feature film[10] |
| 1988 | The Dreaming | Professor Bernard Thornton | Feature film |
| 1991 | Isabelle Eberhardt | Cauvet | Feature film |
| 1993 | The Nostradamus Kid | Pastor Anderson | Feature film |
| 1996 | Dating the Enemy | Dr. Kamins | Feature film |
| 1997 | Paradise Road | Mr. Pike | Feature film |
| 1997 | Oscar and Lucinda | Feature film | |
| 1998 | Gods and Monsters | Ernest Thesiger (uncredited) | Feature film |
| 2001 | Moulin Rouge! | Christian's Father | Feature film |
| 2002 | Beneath Clouds | Old Man in pub / Mercedes driver | Feature film |
| 2006 | The Libertine | Man | Short film |
| 2008 | Australia | Father Benedict | Feature film |
| 2010 | The Tree | Uncle Jack | Feature film |
| 2013 | The Great Gatsby | Uncredited | Feature film |
| 2017 | 7 from Etheria | Old Kurt Gödel | Anthology film (segment: "Gödel Incomplete") |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | The New Avengers | Dr Graham | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Water Under the Bridge | Maynard Dickens | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Tickled Pink | TV series | |
| 1983 | The Dismissal | Eric Robinson | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Five Mile Creek | Arthur Archer | TV series |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Grayson | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Bodyline | Mr Jardine (Douglas Jardine's father) | TV miniseries |
| 1987 | The Storyteller: Greek Myths | King Acrisius | TV series, episode: Perseus and the Gorgon |
| 1989 | Shadow of the Cobra | Gupta | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1989 | Edens Lost | Heath | TV miniseries |
| 1992 | The Flying Doctors | Royce Phelan DC | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1993 | Minder | Geoffrey Evans | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1994–95 | Escape from Jupiter | Professor Ingosol | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1996 | Pacific Drive | Marcus (theatrical agent) | TV series |
| 1996 | Heartbreak High | Athol Pike | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2001 | All Saints | Father Francis Tyler | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2023 | Faraway Downs | Father Benedict | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
References
edit- ^ Arthur Dignam at IMDb
- ^ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863–1998 (Syd, 1999) pp. 52
- ^ "Alumni & giving". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (30 October 1981). "'The Devil's Playground'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Original Program
- ^ Milne, Geoffrey (2004). Theatre Australia (un)limited: Australian Theatre Since the 1950s. Rodopi. ISBN 9789042009301.
- ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ Knox, David (12 May 2020). "Vale: Arthur Dignam | TV Tonight". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ "AusStage". www.ausstage.edu.au. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
- ^ a b Michael Ferguson and Michael S. Ferguson Idol Worship: A Shameless Celebration of Male Beauty in the Movies, p. 215, at Google Books