Fred MacDonald
Encyclopedia
Fred MacDonald was an Australian actor best known for playing Dave Rudd opposite Bert Bailey
on stage and screen, starting with the original 1912 production of On Our Selection
. He also played a similar role, Jim Hayseed, several times on screen for director Beaumont Smith
.
MacDonald had established himself as a matinee idol on stage, acting with the Allan Wilkie Shakespeare Company. He first appeared opposite Bert Bailey
in a comic part in The Shamrock and the Rose. He hit it off with Bailey, who cast him in On Our Selection.
Bailey and MacDonald also appeared on stage together in The Sentimental Bloke, playing Ginger Mick and the title role respectively. MacDonald also originated the role of Bill McQuade in Possum Paddock.
In addition to his stage and film performances, MacDonald worked extensively in Melbourne radio.
Bert Bailey
Albert Edward Bailey , better known as Bert Bailey, was a New Zealand-born writer and actor best known for playing Dad Rudd on stage and screen.-Biography:...
on stage and screen, starting with the original 1912 production of On Our Selection
On Our Selection (1912 play)
On Our Selection is a 1912 Australian play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan based on the stories of Steele Rudd. Bailey played Dad Rudd in the original production....
. He also played a similar role, Jim Hayseed, several times on screen for director Beaumont Smith
Beaumont Smith
Frank Beaumont Smith , was an Australian film director, producer and exhibitor, best known for making low-budget comedies. After a career in theatre production, including managing a midget circus, he made his first film in 1917, Our Friends, the Hayseeds. He went on to become one of the most...
.
MacDonald had established himself as a matinee idol on stage, acting with the Allan Wilkie Shakespeare Company. He first appeared opposite Bert Bailey
Bert Bailey
Albert Edward Bailey , better known as Bert Bailey, was a New Zealand-born writer and actor best known for playing Dad Rudd on stage and screen.-Biography:...
in a comic part in The Shamrock and the Rose. He hit it off with Bailey, who cast him in On Our Selection.
Bailey and MacDonald also appeared on stage together in The Sentimental Bloke, playing Ginger Mick and the title role respectively. MacDonald also originated the role of Bill McQuade in Possum Paddock.
In addition to his stage and film performances, MacDonald worked extensively in Melbourne radio.
Select Filmography
- The Hayseeds' Back-blocks ShowThe Hayseeds' Back-blocks ShowThe Hayseeds' Back-blocks Show is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It was the third in his series about the rural family, the Hayseeds.-Synopsis:...
(1917) - The Hayseeds Come to SydneyThe Hayseeds Come to SydneyThe Hayseeds Come to Sydney is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith.-Production:...
(1917) - The Hayseeds' Melbourne CupThe Hayseeds' Melbourne CupThe Hayseeds' Melbourne Cup is a 1918 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It was the fourth in his series about the rural family, the Hayseeds, and centers around Dad Hayseed entering his horse in the Melbourne Cup.-Synopsis:...
(1918) - On Our SelectionOn Our Selection (1932 film)On Our Selection is a 1932 comedy based on the Dad and Dave stories by Steele Rudd. These had been turned into a popular play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan in 1912, which formed the basis for the screenplay. Bailey repeats his stage role as Dad Rudd. He also write the script with director Ken G...
(1932) - The Squatter's DaughterThe Squatter's DaughterThe Squatter's Daughter is a 1933 Australian melodrama starring Jocelyn Howarth. It is based on a 1907 play by Bert Bailey and Edmund Duggan which had been previously filmed in 1910.-Synopsis:...
(1933) - The Silence of Dean MaitlandThe Silence of Dean Maitland-Synopsis:The plot concerns a clergyman, Cyril Maitland , living in a small seaside town, who impregnates the beautiful Alma Lee despite being engaged to another woman. When Alma's father Ben finds out about the pregnancy, he attacks Maitland and is killed in a fall...
(1934) - Grandad RuddGrandad RuddGrandad Rudd is a 1935 comedy featuring the Dad and Dave characters created by Steele Rudd and based on a play by Rudd. It was a sequel to On Our Selection, and was later followed by Dad and Dave Come to Town and Dad Rudd, MP.-Original Play:...
(1935) - Dad and Dave Come to TownDad and Dave Come to TownDad and Dave Come to Town is a 1938 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall, the third in the 'Dad and Dave' comedy series starring Bert Bailey.-Synopsis:...
- Dad Rudd, MPDad Rudd, MPDad Rudd, M.P. is a 1940 comedy that was the last of four films made by Ken G. Hall starring Bert Bailey as Dad Rudd. It was the last feature film directed by Hall prior to the war and the last made by Cinesound Productions, Bert Bailey and Frank Harvey....
(1940)
External links
- Fred MacDonald at AusstageAusstageAusStage is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia. It provides records of productions from the beginnings of theatre in Australia up to today...
- Fred MacDonald at National Film and Sound ArchiveNational Film and Sound ArchiveThe National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...