Terence Donovan (actor)
Encyclopedia
Terence Donovan also known as Terry Donovan, is an English-born Australian actor and the father of fellow actor and entertainer Jason Donovan
. He has had major roles in many Australian TV drama series, including Division 4
, Cop Shop
, Prisoner
, Sons and Daughters
and Neighbours
.
, a popular Australian show at the time. 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
. 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 1989, he had more minor television roles. In 1990, he played Doug Willis in Neighbours
until 1994, and made a brief appearance in 2005, when he reprised his role for the show's 20th anniversary special.
in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross
's important Australian play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts
, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company
at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
, on Thursday, 2 February 1978. In the UK in the mid-1990s Donovan played Captain Hook
in a successful UK tour of a musical version of Peter Pan
alongside co-stars Nicola Stapleton
, famous for her role in Eastenders
and a young Laurence Mark Wythe
(who has since gone on to become a successful composer and lyricist in musical theatre). In 2007 Donovan performed the role of Boswell in the Magnormos
production of Mary Bryant.
Jason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
. He has had major roles in many Australian TV drama series, including Division 4
Division 4
Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
, Cop Shop
Cop Shop
Cop Shop was an Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday operations of both the uniformed police officers and the plain-clothes detectives of the fictional Riverside Police Station....
, Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
, Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
and Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
.
Television roles
Donovan began his acting career in 1966, where he had a guest role in Bat Out of Hell. In 1969, he played Senior Detective Mick Peters in Division 4Division 4
Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
, a popular Australian show at the time. In 1976, he played in a popular mini series adaptation of the novel Power Without Glory
Power Without Glory
Power Without Glory is a 1950 novel written by Australian writer Frank Hardy. It was later adapted into a mini-series by the Australian Broadcasting Commission .- Publication :...
by Frank Hardy
Frank Hardy
Francis Joseph Hardy, or Frank, was an Australian left-wing novelist and writer best known for his controversial novel Power Without Glory. He also was a political activist bringing the plight of Aboriginal Australians to international attention with the publication of his book, The Unlucky...
. From 1979 to 1981, he starred in Cop Shop
Cop Shop
Cop Shop was an Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday operations of both the uniformed police officers and the plain-clothes detectives of the fictional Riverside Police Station....
. 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
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
and Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
. From 1986 to 1989, he had more minor television roles. In 1990, he played Doug Willis in Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
until 1994, and made a brief appearance in 2005, when he reprised his role for the show's 20th anniversary special.
Stage roles
He played the title role of Harry 'Breaker' MorantBreaker Morant
Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, poet, soldier and convicted war criminal whose skill with horses earned him the nickname "The Breaker"...
in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross
Kenneth G. Ross
Kenneth Graham Ross is an Australian playwright and screenwriter best known for writing the 1978 stage play Breaker Morant, that was based on the life of Australian soldier Harry "Breaker" Morant....
's important Australian play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts
Breaker Morant (play)
Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts is a significant Australian play written by Kenneth Ross, centred on the court-martial and the last days of Lieutenant Harry "Breaker" Morant of the Bushveldt Carbineers , that was first performed at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on...
, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company
Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, on Thursday, 2 February 1978. In the UK in the mid-1990s Donovan played Captain Hook
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is the main antagonist of J. M. Barrie's play Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and its various adaptations. The character is a villainous pirate captain of the Jolly Roger brig, and lord of the pirate village/harbour in Neverland, where he is widely feared. Most...
in a successful UK tour of a musical version of Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
alongside co-stars Nicola Stapleton
Nicola Stapleton
Nicola Kathleen Stapleton is an English actress. Stapleton began her career at an early age. She is most famous for her work on British television, in particular her roles as Mandy Salter in BBC's EastEnders and Janine Nebeski in ITV's Bad Girls.-Early life:Stapleton grew up off East Street, which...
, famous for her role in Eastenders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
and a young Laurence Mark Wythe
Laurence Mark Wythe
Laurence Mark Wythe is an award winning English composer, lyricist and writer for West End and Off-Broadway musicals. He is principally known for the off-Broadway musical Tomorrow Morning and Through the Door seen in the West End at the Trafalgar Studios starring Julie Atherton...
(who has since gone on to become a successful composer and lyricist in musical theatre). In 2007 Donovan performed the role of Boswell in the Magnormos
Magnormos
Magnormos is an independent musical theatre production company based in Melbourne, Australia, that specialises in producing musicals written by Australian writers, and landmark international works....
production of Mary Bryant.