Bill Kerr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian film and television actor. He was born into a performing arts family in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. He began working as a child actor in depression era Australia, taking his first major role in The Silence of Dean Maitland, one of Australia's first talking films. After serving in the Second World War, Kerr moved to England to further his acting career, and during the 1940s he was regularly featured in the BBC radio series Variety Bandbox. His trademark was his catch phrase "I'm only here for 4 minutes..." In the 1950s, he had a recurring role as an Australian lodger in the BBC radio comedy series Hancock's Half Hour. Initially sharper than Hancock's characterisation, it was developed into a more dim-witted character who became the butt of Hancock's jokes. His television appearances in Britain include a 1968 Doctor Who story called The Enemy of the World, with Patrick Troughton, and a long running part in the early 1960s BBC-TV soap, Compact. Bill Kerr had much theatrical success in Britain, playing The Devil in the original West End production of Damn Yankees, directed by Bob Fosse, and Cole. He also worked with Spike Milligan. He appeared in Milligan and John Antrobus's stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre on 31 January 1963. A subsequent production opened on 3 May 1967 at the Saville Theatre, and "a cast containing an unusually high proportion of Australian actors including Bill Kerr and David Nettheim." Then in 1972 he co-starred with Anthony Newley in the long running Newley/Bricusse musical, The Good Old Bad Old Days. In 1975, Kerr took the part of Bluey Notts, described as "an Australian bookie's clerk, a crude racialist", in The Melting Pot. This was a sitcom written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast. He also appeared in several British films, including The Dam Busters and The Wrong Arm of the Law, before moving back to Australia. Although probably best known as a comic actor, and especially for his appearances in Hancock's Half Hour, he has since played a number of serious roles, notably in Peter Weir's films Gallipoli (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). He also worked on the Australian stage in the 1980s, in musicals such as My Fair Lady, where he received excellent reviews as Alfred Doolittle. In 2001, he appeared in the Australian comedy Let's Get Skase. Kerr also appeared in Glenview High and the 1998 television comedy series Minty. Kerr has also been involved in documentaries, providing the narration for No Survivor - The Mysterious Loss of HMAS Sydney Nine Network Australia (1995), Malice or Mutiny for the ABC Australia 2003 and Animal X Natural Mystery Unit series for Discovery in the US, TV2 Norway and many others. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bill Kerr, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For
Credits
- 2003 · Peter Pan as Fairy Guide
- 2001 · Let's Get Skase as Mitchell Vendieks
- 2001 · Changi as Older Eddie
- 1997 · Animal X as
- 1993 · Ship to Shore as
- 1993 · Snowy as Stuart McLachlan
- 1992 · Over the Hill as Maurice
- 1991 · The River Kings as Captain Elijah
- 1991 · Sweet Talker as 'Uncle' Cec
- 1991 · The Private War of Lucinda Smith as Scotty
- 1990 · The New Adventures of Black Beauty as Samuel Burton
- 1989 · Kokoda Crescent as Russ
- 1988 · Mortuary Academy as Brody
- 1987 · Bushfire Moon as Trevor Watson
- 1987 · Running from the Guns as
- 1987 · The Lighthorsemen as Gen. Sir Harry Chauvel
- 1987 · Rob Roy as
- 1986 · Double Sculls as Curly
- 1986 · A Fortunate Life as Narrator (voice)
- 1986 · Platypus Cove as Mr. Anderson
- 1985 · Anzacs as General Monash
- 1985 · The Coca-Cola Kid as T. George McDowell
- 1985 · Tony Hancock: From East Cheam to Earls Court as Self
- 1984 · Vigil as Birdie
- 1984 · The Settlement as Kearney
- 1984 · Razorback as Jake Cullen
- 1983 · Return to Eden as
- 1983 · Dusty as Tom Lincoln
- 1983 · Great Expectations as (Voice)
- 1982 · The Year of Living Dangerously as Colonel Henderson
- 1982 · The Pirate Movie as Major General
- 1982 · Deadline as Willliam Ashby
- 1981 · Save the Lady as MacDuff
- 1981 · Gallipoli as Jack
- 1978 · Father, Dear Father as Customs Man
- 1977 · Glenview High as
- 1976 · House of Mortal Sin as Mr. Davey
- 1976 · House of Mortal Sin as Mrs. Davey
- 1975 · Girls Come First as Hugh Jampton
- 1973 · Ghost in the Noonday Sun as Giacomo
- 1968 · Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World as Giles Kent
- 1966 · A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Gladiator-in-Training
- 1966 · Doctor in Clover as Digger
- 1963 · Doctor Who as Giles Kent
- 1963 · Doctor in Distress as Australian Sailor
- 1963 · The Wrong Arm of the Law as Jack Coombes
- 1962 · A Pair of Briefs as Victor - Club Owner
- 1962 · A Pair of Briefs as Victor
- 1962 · Compact as
- 1961 · Spike Milligan: A Series of Unrelated Incidents at Current Market Value as Various
- 1960 · Citizen James as
- 1959 · No Hiding Place as
- 1959 · Garry Halliday as
- 1959 · The Captain's Table as Bill Coke
- 1957 · The Shiralee as Shopkeeper (uncredited)
- 1956 · Hancock's Half Hour as
- 1956 · Port of Escape as Dinty Missouri
- 1955 · The Dam Busters as Flight Lieutenant H. B. Martin, D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C.
- 1955 · The Night My Number Came Up as Soldier
- 1953 · Appointment in London as Bill Brown
- 1952 · My Death Is a Mockery as Hansen
- 1951 · Penny Points to Paradise as Digger Graves
- 1933 · Harmony Row as Leonard