This hub is dedicated to the memory of a great Australian. Veteran Australian Actor Charles "Bud" Tingwell died today, 15/5/09, aged 86 years of age after losing a battle to prostate cancer. A great Australian, he leaves behind a son and a daughter. He has been publicly remembered for his craft and skill and for his generosity to the arts - particularly to the Australian film industry.

Mr.Kevin Rudd - Australia's Prime Minister said "Bud Tingwell is in every sense an Australian legend,"

"From older generations knowing him through Homicide and newer generations knowing him as the battlers' friend from The Castle. He is so much a part of the Australian character as it's been shaped and as it will evolve in the future. A great Australian and all Australians are sad to see his passing".

It is understood that Mr Tingwell has been battling his illness for some number of years but according to an ABC television program last night (15/5/09) he lived to work and work is what kept him going.

Charles "Bud" Tingwell played lead roles in "Breaker Morant", the television series "Homicide" and in the movie beloved by many "The Castle".

He started his illustrious career in 1945 after he won his first speaking role in the film Smithy, which was about the Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. In 1952 he played alongside Richard Burton in the "Desert Rats" after which he went on to play roles in many Australian fims and television shows. These included All Saints and Neighbours, All The Rivers Run, The Flying Doctors, Puberty Blues, Innocence, Jindabyne and Ned Kelly. Tingwell's final role was as Winston Churchill in the television miniseries "Menzies and Churchill at War". While Bud Tingwell also wrote and directed films he also continued to work in television and film up to the time of his death.

I enjoyed his role in the "Dish" an Australian movie about the role/s played by the varying Australian tracking stations in supporting the great space race with the ultimate prize being to put a "Man On The Moon". The movie portrayed the Parkes Tracking Station as performing as the most important tracking station,taking the role of being central to the project, rather than portraying parkes in the supporting role it really played. Controversially those working in the other space stations felt that despite the movie making such a great hit with it's viewers, it was in reality quite galling to see Parkes being portrayed as being the leaders in this Australian segment of the space race, greatly usurping and overshadowing the integral roles played by both Honeysuckle Creek and Orroral Valley Tracking Stations.The bit I remember totally annoying the people who worked at Honeysuckle was the scene showing the workers playing cricket on the "Dish" - as if.....

A nice movie but not accurate in it's portrayal of actualities. I suppose the filmakers could jump in here to say that it was fictional but my answer to that would be if indeed it was meant to be fictional then why use the name "Parkes Tracking Station" - better to call it e.g. "The Green Galah Tracking Station" or some such. No relation to actualities - no hassle.
But I guess controversy hits all of us at some time and although I have never read anywhere how Bud Tingwell felt about the above issue, one can suppose it didn't do the box office any harm.

A movie beloved by most of us was "The Castle" and in it Bud Tingwell played the part of the battler's friend - a heart warming film where he helps to support, shape and show the building blocks of the basic "aussi" characteristics; and Bud is reported to say of the part he played in the film that ""It was a very interesting part. He's the mysterious person who offers the unexpected help well into the story."

And as I have heard from many people Mr. Tingwell enjoyed a philanthropic attitude towards newcomers to the Australian film industry. He gave of his time and without cost to help others learn the ropes - even acting in small and often uncredited roles - a generous man who gave back.

For his most generous support of the film industry he was awarded in 1999, the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his services to the industry and to the community.

copyright:a.a.gallagher - may 2009

And now for some quotations from some of the people who knew him best......

*Rob Sitch, who directed Tingwell in both "The Castle" and "The Dish", says the actor's life was defined by a willingness to try new things.
"He said that one of the secrets to life was saying 'yes', because you end up meeting people, you have new experiences - you know, luck seems to follow you," Sitch said.

"I don't know that anyone's kind of lived a life in entertainment that's proved that point better."
Sitch says Tingwell's death has surprised him.

"Because I visited him last week in hospital and he completely foxed me. We were talking about work and what he was going to do -
he was in the middle of a production at the time and he said, 'It's such a bother, I just can't wait to get all these tubes off me'," Sitch recalled.

"I walked away thinking, 'Oh we've got Bud back'.

"It's incredible to think that someone that was so ill was being so positive and welcoming." *

*Tom Gleisner from Working Dog Productions, who collaborated with Tingwell on a number of projects, says the actor was a "delight" to work with. "He would willingly throw himself into anything - from Neighbours to a small and often uncredited role in a film," Gleisner told Jon Faine on ABC Radio 774.

Gleisner said Tingwell was a master of learning his lines and was happy to "jump into" projects, which helped give him his longevity in the industry.

"He had an interesting philosophy. Some actors are very selective about what they do or are cautious about their image, but Bud had the other end of the spectrum. He virtually never said no to anything," he said.*

Margaret Pomeranz from ABC 1's At The Movies says Tingwell was an exceptional talent.

"To maintain your craft for that length of time and to put yourself out there and be brave in the films that you take on, I mean it's a pretty wonderful life actually," she said.

"He's given us a lot."

Triple J film critic Marc Fennell says Tingwell's contributions to the local entertainment industry ran deep.

"The thing with Bud Tingwell is that everyone knows the big roles that he's done in The Dish and The Castle, but what a lot of people don't know is that he would do tons of Australian short films and student films," Fennell said.

'He foxed me'
Fellow actor Jack Thompson, whose parents were friends with Tingwell, says he will be greatly missed."It's like a great tree has been felled in the landscape of our culture and, in particular, in the landscape of our film world," he told Sky News.