Bud Tingwell dead at 86 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

What a great Aussie gentleman Bud was.

I think I first saw him on TV when I was 10 years of age, when he was in "Bellbird"

Bud you will be missed.

Bud Tingwell dead at 86 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/20...

Veteran Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell has died aged 86. His agent Joanne Baker confirmed he died this morning in a Melbourne hospital. "He had been suffering from prostate cancer," Ms Baker said. It is understood Tingwell had been battling the disease for the last couple of years. The Sydney-born star first appeared on the silver screen in 1946 and is best known for his roles in classic Australian films Breaker Morant, The Castle and TV cop show Homicide. He became a radio actor while still at school, before joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and serving as a reconnaissance pilot flying Spitfires and Mosquitoes over Nazi-occupied north Africa and southern Europe. After leaving the service, he entered the film industry and landed his first speaking role in 1945 in the film Smithy, which was about aviator Charles Kingsford Smith. In 1952, he was invited to Hollywood to work alongside Richard Burton on The Desert Rats. He went on to have roles in a number of Australian films and TV shows, including All The Rivers Run, Puberty Blues, The Flying Doctors, All Saints and Neighbours. Most recently, Tingwell had small roles in The Craic, The Dish and the ABC series Changi and Bed Of Roses. He was awarded the AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 1999 for his services to the performing arts as an actor, director, producer, and to the community. He is survived by his son Christopher and daughter Virginia - who is an actress. Tingwell's wife Audrey died in 1996. 'Australian legend' Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has paid tribute to Tingwell as an "Australian legend". "Bud Tingwell is in every sense an Australian legend," Mr Rudd said. "From old 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...

Veteran Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell has died aged 86.

His agent Joanne Baker confirmed he died this morning in a Melbourne hospital.

"He had been suffering from prostate cancer," Ms Baker said.

It is understood Tingwell had been battling the disease for the last couple of years.

The Sydney-born star first appeared on the silver screen in 1946 and is best known for his roles in classic Australian films Breaker Morant, The Castle and TV cop show Homicide.

He became a radio actor while still at school, before joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and serving as a reconnaissance pilot flying Spitfires and Mosquitoes over Nazi-occupied north Africa and southern Europe.

After leaving the service, he entered the film industry and landed his first speaking role in 1945 in the film Smithy, which was about aviator Charles Kingsford Smith.

In 1952, he was invited to Hollywood to work alongside Richard Burton on The Desert Rats.

He went on to have roles in a number of Australian films and TV shows, including All The Rivers Run, Puberty Blues, The Flying Doctors, All Saints and Neighbours.

Most recently, Tingwell had small roles in The Craic, The Dish and the ABC series Changi and Bed Of Roses.

He was awarded the AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in 1999 for his services to the performing arts as an actor, director, producer, and to the community.

He is survived by his son Christopher and daughter Virginia - who is an actress.

Tingwell's wife Audrey died in 1996.

'Australian legend'

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has paid tribute to Tingwell as an "Australian legend".

"Bud Tingwell is in every sense an Australian legend," Mr Rudd said.

"From old 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."

'A delight'

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.

Rob Sitch, who directed Tingwell in films 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."

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'

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."

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.