John Meillon
Encyclopedia
John Meillon was an Australian actor, most widely known outside Australia for his role as Walter Reilly in the films "Crocodile" Dundee and "Crocodile" Dundee II. He also voiced Victoria Bitter
beer commercials until his death.
, Sydney. He began his acting career at the age of eleven in the ABC
's radio serial "Stumpy", and made his first stage appearance the following year. He joined the Shakespeare Touring Company when he was sixteen. Like many actors of his generation from 1959 to 1965 he worked in England.
He had a recurring role in the TV series My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?
. He featured in two episodes of "Skippy
" in 1968 and 1969 appearing as "Nimble Norris". In 1976 he won the AFI
Award for Best Actor for his role of 'Casey' in the film The Fourth Wish (1976).
With his rich baritone, Meillon was used extensively in voice over work- the most famous being his work as the "you can get it any old how" Victoria Bitter narrator.
He married Australian actress June Salter
in 1958. They were divorced in 1971. They had one son, John Meillon, Jr. He then married actress Bunny Gibson ("Rita the Eta Eater") on 5 April 1972: they also had a son.
Victoria Bitter
Victoria Bitter is one of the many iconic beers manufactured in the Australian state of Victoria. VB currently maintains the highest market share of all beer sold in Australia, both on tap and packaged...
beer commercials until his death.
Biography
Meillon was born in MosmanMosman, New South Wales
Mosman is a suburb on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Mosman is located 8 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the Municipality of Mosman.-Localities:In February...
, Sydney. He began his acting career at the age of eleven in the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's radio serial "Stumpy", and made his first stage appearance the following year. He joined the Shakespeare Touring Company when he was sixteen. Like many actors of his generation from 1959 to 1965 he worked in England.
He had a recurring role in the TV series My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?
My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?
My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? was a popular Australian situation comedy series produced by ATN7 from 1966 to 1968.The situation involved a young couple, Wally and Rita Stiller , living in Balmain with Rita's father Dominic McGooley . Also in the regular cast was Stewart Ginn, and later Noeline...
. He featured in two episodes of "Skippy
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series for children created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, in the Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales.Ninety-one 30-minute...
" in 1968 and 1969 appearing as "Nimble Norris". In 1976 he won the AFI
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
Award for Best Actor for his role of 'Casey' in the film The Fourth Wish (1976).
With his rich baritone, Meillon was used extensively in voice over work- the most famous being his work as the "you can get it any old how" Victoria Bitter narrator.
He married Australian actress June Salter
June Salter
June Marie Salter AM was an Australian actress.-Biography:June Salter was born in Bexley, New South Wales, the youngest of six children. As a child she studied piano and elocution and attended Kogarah Secondary School...
in 1958. They were divorced in 1971. They had one son, John Meillon, Jr. He then married actress Bunny Gibson ("Rita the Eta Eater") on 5 April 1972: they also had a son.
Selected filmography
- 1989 - "Crocodile" Dundee II .... Walter Reilly
- 1986 - "Crocodile" Dundee .... Walter Reilly
- 1985 - The Dunera Boys (TV) .... Brig. Templeton
- 1983 - The DismissalThe Dismissal (TV miniseries)The Dismissal is an Australian television miniseries, first screened in 1983, that dramatised the events of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis....
- (TV mini-series) - Sir John Kerr - 1983 - The Wild DuckThe Wild DuckThe Wild Duck is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.-Plot:The first act opens with a dinner party hosted by Håkon Werle, a wealthy merchant and industrialist. The gathering is attended by his son, Gregers Werle, who has just returned to his father's home following a self-imposed...
.... Old Ackland - 1983 - Scales of JusticeScales of JusticeScales of Justice can refer to:* Justice* Scales held by Lady Justice symbolizing the measure of a case's support and opposition* Scales of Justice , a 1983 Australian television drama* Scales of Justice , a 1990 American series...
(TV mini-series) .... Barnes - 1982 - HeatwaveHeatwave (film)Heatwave is a 1982 Australian film directed by Phillip Noyce. Around Christmas time a heatwave hits Sydney and an architect undertakes a controversial project.-Cast:*Judy Davis as Kate Dean*Richard Moir as Stephen West*Chris Haywood as Peter Houseman...
.... Freddie Dwyer - 1977 - The Picture Show Man .... Maurice 'Pop' Pym
- 1976 - The Fourth WishThe Fourth WishThe Fourth Wish is a 1976 Australian family film directed by Don Chaffey.-Cast:*John Meillon ... Casey*Robert Bettles ... Sean*Michael Craig ... Dr. Richardson*Anne Haddy ... Dr. Kirk*Ron Haddrick ... Harbord*Robyn Nevin ... Connie...
.... Casey - 1975 - Inn of the Damned .... George Parr
- 1974 - The Dove
- 1974 - The Cars That Ate ParisThe Cars that Ate ParisThe Cars That Ate Paris is a 1974 Australian horror comedy film. Directed by Peter Weir, it was his first feature film. Shot mostly in the rural town of Sofala, New South Wales, the film is set in the fictional town of Paris in which most of the inhabitants appear to be directly, or indirectly,...
.... The Mayor - 1974 - The Fourth Wish - (TV mini-series) .... James Casey
- 1971 - WalkaboutWalkabout (film)Walkabout is a 1971 film set in Australia, directed by Nicolas Roeg and starring Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg and David Gulpilil. Edward Bond wrote the screenplay, which is loosely based on the novel Walkabout by James Vance Marshall...
.... Man (the father) - 1971 - Wake in FrightWake in FrightWake in Fright is a 1971 Australian film directed by Ted Kotcheff and starring Gary Bond, Donald Pleasence and Chips Rafferty. The screenplay was written by Evan Jones, based on Kenneth Cook’s 1961 novel of the same name....
.... Charlie aka Outback - 1967 - My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? was a popular Australian situation comedy series produced by ATN7 from 1966 to 1968.The situation involved a young couple, Wally and Rita Stiller , living in Balmain with Rita's father Dominic McGooley . Also in the regular cast was Stewart Ginn, and later Noeline...
- (TV series) .... Wally Stiller - 1966 - They're a Weird Mob .... Dennis
- 1964 - 633 Squadron633 Squadron633 Squadron is a 1964 British film which depicts the exploits of a fictional Second World War British fighter-bomber squadron. It was based on a novel of the same name by Frederick E. Smith, published in 1956, which itself drew on several real Royal Air Force missions. The film was directed by...
.... Flight Lt. Gillibrand - 1964 - Guns at BatasiGuns at BatasiGuns at Batasi is a 1964 drama film starring Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Flora Robson, John Leyton and Mia Farrow. It is set in an overseas colonial military outpost during the last days of the British Empire in East Africa....
.... Sergeant 'Aussie' Drake - 1963 - The Running ManThe Running Man (1963 film)The Running Man is a 1963 British drama film directed by Carol Reed, starring Laurence Harvey as a man who fakes his own death in a glider accident, then runs into trouble when an insurance investigator starts taking a close interest....
.... Jim Jerome - 1962 - Billy BuddBilly Budd (film)Billy Budd is a 1962 film produced, directed, and co-written by Peter Ustinov. Adapted from the stage play version of Herman Melville's short novel Billy Budd, it starred Terence Stamp as Billy Budd, Robert Ryan as John Claggart, and Ustinov as Captain Vere...
.... Neil Kincaid - 1962 - The Longest DayThe Longest Day (film)The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
.... RAdm. Alan G. Kirk - 1961 - The Long and the Short and the Tall.... Private "Smudge" Smith
- 1961 - OffbeatOffbeat (film)Offbeat is a 1961 British crime film directed by Cliff Owen and starring William Sylvester, Mai Zetterling, and John Meillon. In the film, an MI5 officer goes undercover to catch a criminal gang.-Cast:* William Sylvester - Layton / Steve Ross...
- 1960 - The SundownersThe SundownersThe Sundowners is a 1960 film that tells the story of an Australian outback family torn between the father's desires to continue his nomadic sheep-herding ways and the wife's and son's desire to settle down in one place...
.... Bluey Brown - 1959 - On the BeachOn the Beach (1959 film)On the Beach is a post-apocalyptic drama film based on Nevil Shute's 1957 novel of the same name. The film features Gregory Peck , Ava Gardner , Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins...
.... Ralph Swain (ashore in San Francisco)
External links
.- John Meillon 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...
- John Meillon at the 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...