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James Thomas Condon (27 September 1923 – 14 February 2014) was an Australian actor of radio and stage, a scriptwriter and voice over, however best known for his numerous television roles in serials and television movies in Australia, particularly for appearing as the title character in the early soap opera The Story of Peter Gray,[1] as well as smaller roles in Number 96 and Neighbours. He was the husband of Neighbours actress Anne Haddy[1][2]
James Condon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | James Thomas Condon 27 September 1923 Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia |
| Died | 14 February 2014 (aged 90) Narrabeen, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1942–2003 |
| Spouse(s) | Joan Cranmer (?-1977); 4 children Anne Haddy (1977–1999; her death) |
Early life
editJames Thomas Condon was born in Fremantle, Western Australia. His career started in repertory theatre, before he joined ABC Radio in Perth in 1942. He served with the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II, being promoted to flight lieutenant.[3]
Career
editAfter the war, Condon worked for the BBC before returning to Australia in 1951 to resume his acting career, working on radio serials, including Portia Faces Life. When TV arrived in 1956 he moved to Sydney and appeared on the opening night of ABN2, Sydney, and in a number of ABC plays, including Tomorrow's Child and A Phoenix Too Frequent.[4]
He played the lead role in ATN7's The Story of Peter Grey, one of the first soap opera dramas produced for Australian television in 1961.[citation needed]
Also in 1961, while hosting his variety show What's Next, Condon hosted an old friend from Perth, Ray Hartley, to talk about his recent successes in London and New York.[5] Hartley was a world-class Australian pianist, composer, arranger and philanthropist.
He made many other appearances on television, including Homicide, Matlock Police, Number 96 (both the TV serial and the 1974 feature film spin-off, playing different characters), Bellamy, The Young Doctors, Carson's Law, Sons and Daughters, Prisoner, The Flying Doctors, Blue Heelers and Something in the Air.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1958 | The Stowaway | The Purser | Feature film |
| 1959 | Desert Conquest | Narrator | Documentary film |
| 1973 | The Three Musketeers | Voice | Animated TV movie |
| 1974 | Number 96 | Nicholas Brent | Feature film spin-off |
| 1975 | Scobie Malone | Walter Helidon | Feature film |
| 1976 | Silent Night, Holy Night | Voice | Animated TV movie |
| 1978 | Cass | TV movie | |
| 1979 | Tim | Mr Harrington | Feature film |
| 1979 | Barnaby and Me | The Chairman | TV movie |
| 1981 | Hoodwink | Newsreader | Feature film |
| 1984 | Supersleuth | Dennis Powell | TV movie |
| 1985 | The Boy Who Had Everything | Televisio Newsreader | Feature film |
| 1986 | Body Business | Sir Charles | TV movie |
| 1988 | Backstage | Frank Turner | Feature film |
| 1988 | Evil Angels | Reginald Scholes | Feature film |
| 1989 | Trouble in Paradise | Captain Londstrom | TV movie |
| 1990 | Bony | Tom Hemmings | TV movie |
| 1991 | The Private War of Lucinda Smith | Mr Spencer Grant | TV movie |
| 1991 | Spotswood ( aka The Efficiency Expert) | Executive 1 | Feature film |
| 1997 | Kangaroo Palace | Judge | TV movie |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Three Cornered Moon | Duke of Mall | TV play |
| 1957 | Tomorrow's Child | TV play | |
| 1957 | A Phoenix Too Frequent | Tegeus | TV play |
| 1957 | The Importance of Being Earnest | John Worthing | TV play |
| 1958 | Point of Return | TV play | |
| 1958 | Sixty Point Bold | President Ortega de Riverde | TV play |
| 1958 | An Enemy of the People | Dr Stockman | TV play |
| 1959 | Lady in Danger | Bill Sefton | TV play |
| 1959-60 | Shell Presents | John Roberts / Dr Davidson | TV play series, 2 episodes |
| 1960 | Stormy Petrel | Colonel Maurice O'Connell | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1960 | The Life and Death of King Richard II | Bolingbroke | TV play |
| 1961 | The Big Client | JG Henderson | TV play |
| 1961 | Play of Daniel | Narrator | TV play |
| 1961 | The Story of Peter Grey | Peter Grey | TV series, 156 episodes |
| 1961 | The Outcasts | Colonel Maurice O'Connell | TV series, 1 episode (sequel to Stormy Petrel) |
| 1961 | What Next | Host | TV variety show |
| 1962 | The Patriots | William Wentworth | TV miniseries, 10 episodes |
| 1962 | Jonah | William Wentworth | TV series, 2 episodes: "The Marquis of Mullambimbee", "The Treaty of South Island" |
| 1963 | The Long Sunset | Arthur | TV play |
| 1964 | Tribunal | James Connolly | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1964 | The Purple Jacaranda | Max Stevenson | TV miniseries, 7 episodes |
| 1964 | The Play of Herrod | Narrator | TV play |
| 1966 | Point of Departure | Molac | TV play |
| 1966-72 | Homicide | Christoper White / Gerard Naismith | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1968 | Contrabandits | Austin | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | I've Married a Bachelor | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1970 | The Link Men | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1970 | The Rovers | John Fleming | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | Chequerboard | Creon | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1971-72 | Catwalk | Ray Shannon | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | Matlock Police | Eric Bard | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972-73 | Number 96 | S r Arnold Ashton | TV series, 9 episodes |
| 1972-75 | Behind the Legend | Wentworth | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1974 | Ryan | John Moss | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | Shannon's Mob | Sir Arthur Maitland | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | McCloud | Charles Oakland | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1976 | Luke's Kingdom | Jason Firbeck | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1976 | King's Men | Petersen | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1977 | The Young Doctors | Sir Thomas Kendall | TV series, 40 episodes |
| 1978 | Case for the Defence | Nathan | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Chopper Squad | Norman Chambers | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Carrots | Horace W Hathaway | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1980 | Cop Shop | Doug Francis | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1981 | Bellamy | Daley | TV series, 21 episodes |
| 1982 | 1915 | Mr Gillen | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1982 | Secret Valley | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1982 | Der Schwarze Bumerang | Arzt | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1983 | The Catlins | Senator Mahoney | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1984 | Sons and Daughters | Sean O'Donnell | TV series, 6 episodes |
| 1984 | Carson's Law | Attorney General / Sir Harold Watson | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1982-88 | A Country Practice | Flynn / Michael Christie / Doug Abbott / James Saunders | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1985-86 | Neighbours | Douglas Blake | TV series |
| 1985-86 | Prisoner | James Dwyer | TV series, 23 episodes |
| 1987 | The Petrov Affair | Robert Menzies | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1987 | The Flying Doctors | Bob Cameron | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1989 | The Magistrate | Sampson | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1991 | Boys from the Bush | John | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | Half a World Away (aka The Great Air Race) | Sir Macpherson Robertson | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1992 | The Late Show | Oir Man from the Hardly Permanent | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1993 | Time Trax | Sal Mondriano | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | Neighbours | Reuben White | TV series, 37 episodes |
| 1998 / 2000 | Blue Heelers | Doc Bourke / Klaus Schultz | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 2000 | Something in the Air | Gordon Flood | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2003 | After the Deluge | Brian Corstairs (uncredited) | TV miniseries |
Theatre
editRadio
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Portia Faces Life | Walter Manning | 3UZ Melbourne |
| 1957 | Jenny Villiers | Julian Napier | ABC Radio play |
| 1957 | Quadrille | Hubert, Marquess of Heronden | ABC Radio play |
| 1979 | Incompletions | Father / Barber | ABC Radio Sydney |
| 1979 | Lies My Father Told Me | Father | ABC Radio Sydney |
| 1979 | Laura and the Angel | Azrafel | ABC Radio Sydney |
| 1979 | Amphitryon 38 | Jupiter | ABC Radio Sydney |
| We'e Asking You | Compère | Radio quiz show |
Personal life
editCondon was the brother of actress and theatre producer Coralie Condon, who was a recipient of the Order of Australian and was known as "The First Lady of Western Australian Television"[2] and had a brother Terry. His first marriage was to Joan Cranmer. The couple had four daughters.[7][8] Condon was married to Australian actress Anne Haddy, best known for the role of matriarch Helen Daniels in Neighbours, from 1977 until her death in 1999. Condon was the stepfather of Haddy's children Jane and Tony.[7] He acted alongside Haddy in Neighbours twice – as Douglas Blake in 1985 and again in 1995 as Reuben White after previously appearing with Haddy in several episodes of Cop Shop in 1980. Condon suffered a stroke in 2013.[9]
Death
editHe died from a stroke at an RSL retirement home in Narrabeen, Sydney on 14 February 2014, aged 90.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "James Condon obituary". televisionau.com.
- ^ a b Candice Barnes (23 January 2015). "WA's 'first lady of television' Coralie Condon farewelled in Fremantle". The Sydney Morning Herald.
- ^ "Item details for: A9300, CONDON J T". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 30 May 2014.
Service Number: 436069
- ^ "The PRIVATE EYE of TV". ABC Weekly. 20 July 1957. pp. 4–5.
- ^ "Western Australian Television History (WA TV History) » Blog Archive » Tribute to James Condon (1923-2014)".
- ^ a b "AusStage".
- ^ a b "James Thomas Condon obituary". The Age. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ "Tribute to James Condon (1923–2014)". WA TV History. 15 February 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ^ Knox, David (17 February 2014). "Vale: James Condon". TV Tonight. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
- ^ James Condon obituary Archived 23 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, westannouncements.com.au; accessed 3 April 2015.
External links
edit- James Condon at IMDb