Terry Norris obit

Terry Norris

Veteran Australian character actor Terry Norris, best known for Cop Shop, Bellbird and Jack Irish, has died.

 

He was not on the list.

Veteran Australian character actor Terry Norris, best known for Cop Shop, Bellbird and Jack Irish has died, aged 92.

Norris was one of Australia’s most experienced character actors with nearly 80 screen credits, not including stage and radio work.

Married to veteran performer Julia Blake (Bed of Roses, Prisoner, Travelling North), meeting the love of his life in a theatre troupe after travelling to the UK age just 21.

“The West End was one’s Mecca and so I went to England and I spent the next 12 years bumming around in repertory theatre. It was fantastic. Every town of every size had its own professional theatre. England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, even the bloody Channel Islands I played,” he said in one of his last ever  interviews  with TV Tonight in 2018.

“We met in York, a lovely city, we were both in a company there. We got married between a matinee & evening performance of the show we were doing.

“A lot of performers you worked with in those days spent their entire lives in ‘rep’ and I didn’t want to finish up in a bloody bed sitting-room somewhere, down on my bean end, never going to get any further. We wanted to have a family so I persuaded Julia to come back to my hometown.”

Both were awarded Lifetime Achievement by the Equity Foundation in 2018.

Settling in Melbourne in 1962, he had plenty of work.

“I had 20 years with the longest run of luck of any actor on the face of the earth! I was never, ever out of work. Sometimes doing two and three at the same time, because in those days there were lots of bits and pieces,” he recalled.

“We did a radio play from Melbourne every week, so that was a little bit of jam on the bread, and at that same time you were doing a stage show or theatre restaurant, and two long-running soap operas. I did 20 years so bloody lucky, never out of work. It’s amazing. So that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

In Bellbird he played mechanic Joe Turner, filmed at Ripponlea studios for 8 years. After a day’s work he would jump on a train for evening performances at Tikki & John’s Theatre Restaurant or Brian Hannan’s Squizzy’s. There were guest roles on Crawford Productions, Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police before landing the role of the memorable Senior Sgt. Eric O’Reilly on hit police show, Cop Shop and winning a Silver Logie as Best Supporting Actor.

“It was a show that never took itself seriously. It had comedy in it which is most unusual for a police show. Gil Tucker (Constable Roy Baker) and I were the comedy relief,” he said.

“They were a lovely, happy cast and another joy to go to work. I can never ever remember a moment in that show when anyone showed any temperament.”

His CV includes Power Without Glory,  Blue Heelers, Changi, Stingers, Something in the Air, City Homicide, Killing Time, Miss Fishers Murder Mysteries, The Society Murders, Hawke,  The Damnation of Harvey McHugh, Ryan, Consider Your Verdict, Bobby Dazzler, Hunter, The Last of the Australians, Bloom and films including Stork, Road to Nhill, Paper Planes, , The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Judy & Punch, Looking for Grace, The Dressmaker, Romulus my Father (produced by son in law Robert Connolly).

In 1982 he detoured from acting to a 10 year term as a member of the Victorian Labor government, which he says emerged from union work for Actors Equity. Representing voters in Dandenong, he described it as “an experience,” if not necessarily enjoyable. But one that gave him insight into humanity.

“I had the biggest ethnic group in the state and the biggest unemployment and drug problem. It was challenging but nevertheless interesting. I worked my arse off and kindly (thanks) to the people I increased my vote at every election so I was doing something right,” he recalled.

“But you never get what you want, totally so you come to some sort of agreement. But it’s like life anyway, isn’t it?”

On the Guy Pearce drama Jack Irish he joined veteran performer John Flaus and the late Ronald Falk as one of the barflies at the Prince of Prussia pub.

“We’ve struck a chord with a lot of viewers. Oddly enough, they represent an era that’s gone. These old Australian types sitting in a bar -not a lot of them left. It has just struck a chord with many viewers who come up and say ‘I know that bar.’

“It’s fun to go to work. All I’ve got to do is sit there and say the words!

“I’ve had such a bloody, charmed life. It’s a terrible business that you wouldn’t want any of your children or your best friends ever to go into.”

But he added, “I call myself a ‘jobbing actor.’ I’ll do a reasonably professional job, and I’ve been lucky enough to make a living from it.”

 

Filmography

 

Year     Title            Role

1961    The Eggheads (TV series)

1964    Nude with Violin (TV movie)

1964    The Sponge Room ( TV movie)            Colin

1964    Barley Charlie (TV series)  Herb

1963–1964            Consider Your Verdict (TV series)            Crown Prosecutor

1964            Corruption in the Palace of Justice (TV movie)

1964    The Physicists (TV movie)

1964    Six Characters in Search of an Author (TV movie)

1964    Luther (TV movie)

1964    A Man for All Seasons (TV movie)

1965    The Winds of Green Monday (TV movie)

1965    Othello (TV movie)            Roderigo

1967–1977            Bellbird (TV series)            Joe Turner

1968–1969            1967 (TV series)            3 roles

-Delaney

-Grant

-Peter Kramer

1969            Dynasty (TV series)            Jim Richards

1971    Stork            Anna's Father

1964–1972            Homicide

(TV series) || 12 roles

-Terence Garrick (16 episodes, 1964–1965)

-Chris Lodge (1 episode, 1965)

-Sean Rogan (1 episode, 1966)

-Frank Lord (1 episode, 1967)

-Vance Pritchard (1 episode, 1968)

-Vince (1 episode, 1968)

-Dr. Pringle (1 episode, 1968)

-Des Bishop (1 episode, 1969)

John Jackson (1 episode, 1969)

-Noel Franklin (1 episode, 1969)

-Herb Thomas (1 episode, 1972)

-Lennie Walker (1 episode, 1972)

 

1973    Ryan (TV series)            Fruit picker

1972–1975            Matlock Police (TV series)  5 roles

-Herbie Marsh

-Bill Thomas

-Clive Atkinson

-Sam Rigby

-Frank Simpson

1975    The Great McCarthy            Vera's Dad

1969–1975            Division 4 (TV series)            4 roles

Des Phillips

-Joe Swithen

-Les Jackson

-Fred

1975–1976            The Last of the Australians (TV series)  Blue Dawson

1976    Solo One (TV series)

1976    Power Without Glory (TV series)            Ron Lassiter

1969–1977            Bellbird (TV series)            Joe Turner

1977    High Rolling in a Hot Corvette            Farmer

1977    Young Ramsay (TV series)  "Old Wombat" Thompson

1977–1978            Bobby Dazzler (TV series)  Uncle Oz

1977–1980            Cop Shop (TV series)  Sr. Sgt. Eric O'Reilly

1994            Paperbook Romance            Judge

1994    The Damnation of Harvey McHugh (TV series)  Judge. Brown

1997    Road to Nihill            Ted

1998            Deathbed of an Undertaker (short)  Bert

1998    Driven Crazy (TV series)            Gentleman Bowler #1

1998    Mrs Craddock's Complaint (short)

1999    Noah's Ark (TV mini-series)

1999    Pigs Breakfast (TV series)

1996–1999            Blue Heelers (TV series)  Max Arnold

2000            Innocence         John

2000    Waiting at the Royal (TV movie)            Diana's Father

2001            Something in the Air (TV series)            Fred

2001            Hostage to Fate            Mr Boyle

2001    Horace and Tina (TV series)  Ern

2001    Changi (TV mini-series)  Old Bill Dwyer

2001    Bowl Me Over (short)  Bob

2002            Marshall Law (TV series)  Mr. Grand

2002    Stingers (TV series)            Arthur Gascon

2003            Crashburn (TV series)

2004    Human Touch            Ouspensky

2005    Three Dollars Alfred Price

2006            Irresistible            Magistrate

2006    The Barrows (short)            Mr. Barrow

2006    The Society Murders (TV movie)  Paul King

2007            Romulus, My Father            Tom Lillie

2008            Valentine's Day (TV movie)  Stump Woods

2008            Salvation          Gallery Guide

2008    Zyco Rock    Granpa

2010    Hawke (TV movie)            Clem Hawke

2010    City Homicide (TV series)  Bill Lalor

2010    The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader            Lord Bern

2011    Killing Time (TV series)  Rod Fraser

2012    Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (TV series)            Franklin D. Weston

2012    Jack Irish: Black Tide (TV movie)  Eric Tanner

2012    Jack Irish: Bad Debts (TV movie)  Eric Tanner

2014    Jack Irish: Dead Point (TV movie)  Eric Tanner

2014    Paper Planes            Grandpa

2015    Force of Destiny            Derek

2015            Looking for Grace            Morris

2015    The Dressmaker            Septimus

2018            Romper Stomper (TV series)  Arty

2016–2021            Jack Irish (TV series)  Eric Tanner (15 episodes)

2018    Mortal Engines            Professor Arkengarth

2019    Punch and Judy            Saramouche

2019–2020            Bloom            Herb Webb (10 episodes)

2022    The King's Daughter            Great Chamberlain