Peter Cummins obit

Tributes flood in for iconic Aussie actor who starred in Storm Boy as he dies aged 93

 

He was not on the list.

Respected Australian actor Peter Cummins died in Melbourne earlier this year aged 93.

The veteran performer passed away on October 4, with reports of his death only recently becoming public.

No cause of death was given, but it is believed Peter was in poor health for some time after retiring from acting in 2003.

The iconic actor starred in the beloved 1976 Australian movie Storm Boy opposite David Gulpilil, which is based on the 1964 Colin Thiele novel.

He played the father of the title character, in the world famous movie about a young boy who becomes friends with a pelican.

Peter also starred alongside American actor Dennis Hopper and Jack Thompson in the 1976 movie Mad Dog Morgan.

Across his three-decade plus career in film and TV, Peter appeared in some of Australia's most beloved productions including A Country Practice, GP and Return to Snowy River.

His final role was in a 2003 TV movie called The Forest, directed by Red Dog star Jo Kennedy.

The upbeat entertainer was also a popular stage actor in Melbourne across the 60s and 70s, appearing in productions of Oklahoma!, Waiting for Godot, A Midsummer Night's Dream and many more.

Peter's heartbroken fans took to social media to pay tribute to him.

Melbourne's Cinema Reborn confirmed the heartbreaking news of Peter's passing: 'Old mate Peter Cummins has died. He was in his 90s and when I saw him about a year ago on a visit to Melbourne he was in very good spirits.

'He had long ago stopped drinking and as was his form throughout his life he enjoyed the solitude of his house in Fitzroy.

'I remember him particularly for his two separate and disparate productions of A Stretch of the Imagination, still the greatest play ever written in these parts in my opinion.

'Peter made a huge contribution and his death takes away one of the key figures in the revival of Australian film and theatre in the 60s and 70s.'

Meanwhile, another fan was left speechless by the tragic news: 'I don't yet know what to say.'

'Goodbye Peter,' a third person wrote.

He is survived by his nieces Juliet and Jane.

His death came almost three years after the tragic passing of his Storm Boy co-star David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu, in November 2021.

The beloved actor died at 68 at his home in South Australia, after a long battle with lung cancer.

The multi-talented performer was immortalised in an Archibald Prize-winning portrait in 2004 and once danced for The Queen.

His daughter Phoebe Marson announced two years ago that her father had been diagnosed with the aggressive cancer and he would soon 'go to the Dreamtime'.

As an actor he appeared in iconic Australian films like Storm Boy, Crocodile Dundee, Charlie's Country, Ten Canoes, Rabbit-Proof Fence, and The Tracker.

Filmography

Film

Nothing Like Experience (1970)

Country Town (1971)

Bonjour Balwyn (1971) as TV repairman

Stork (1971) as Sculptor

Brumby Innes (1973)

Dalmas (1973) as Plastic Man

Alvin Purple (1973) as Cab Driver

Between Wars (1974)

The Firm Man (1975) as Gerald Baxter

Sunday Too Far Away (1975) as Arthur Black

The Great Macarthy (1975) as Rerk

The Removalists (1975) as Sergeant Simmonds

The Dreamers (1976)

God Knows Why, But it Works (1976)

Mad Dog Morgan (1976) as Gibson

Storm Boy (1976) as Hideaway Tom

High Rolling (1977) as Bus Driver

Blue Fire Lady (1977) as McIntyre

Trial of Ned Kelly (1977)

The Lion's Share (1978)

Double Deal (1983)

Robbery Under Arms (1985)

I Live with Me Dad (1985)

Twelfth Night (1986) as Malvolio

The Local Rag (1986)

Sky Pirates (1986) as Colonel Brien

Frog Dreaming (1986)

The Fish Are Safe (1986) as Ned Foley

Kangaroo (1987) as Struthers

The Umbrella Woman (1987) as Ned Hopper

Slate, Wyn & Me (1987) as Old Man Downer

Ground Zero (1987) as Ballantyne

The Man from Snowy River II (1988) as Jake

Rikky and Pete (1988) as Delahunty

Beyond Innocence (1989)

Turn It Up (1991)

The Forest (2003)

Television

The Outsiders (1976)

Phoenix (1993) as Superintendent Wallace (13 episodes)

Theatre roles

Oklahoma! (1965)

Commitment (1968)

Dimboola (1969, 1973, 1977)

Escape (1969)

I Don't Know Who to Feel Sorry For (1969)

May Day (1969)

Mr Big the Big Big Pig (1969)

The Elephant Calf / The Exception and the Rule (1969)

The Kitchen Table (1969)

Whatever Happened to Realism? (1969)

Customs and Excise (1970)

The Coming of Stork (1970)

The Front Room Boys (1970)

The Man from Chicago (1970)

[Life of] Galileo (1971)

The Removalists (1971, 1977)

A Stretch of the Imagination (1972, 1973)

Bastardy (1972)

Brumby Innes (1972)

One of Nature's Gentlemen (1972)

One of Nature's Gentlemen / O / Just Before the Honeymoon / Mrs Thally F (1973)

The Waltzing Matilda Pantomime (1973)

The Floating World (1974, 1995)

Chidley (1976)

The Overcoat (1976)

Waiting for Godot (1976)

Memories of a Carlton Bohemian: Revival (1977)

Ravages: Heels Over Head / Dropping In (1977)

Oh / Let Me In (1978)

Errol Flynn's Great Big Adventure Book for Boys (1979)

Flexitime (1979)

The Club (1979)

The Hypothetical End of Bert Brecht (1979)

A Month in the Country (1980)

The One Day of the Year (1980, 1986)

The Seagull (1980)

The Ship's Whistle (1980)

Fanchen (1981)

I Sent a Letter to My Love (1981)

True West (1981)

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982, 1983)

Lighthouse Playreading (1982)

Mother Courage and Her Children (1982)

Royal Show (1982)

Signal Driver (1982)

Silver Lining (1982)

Spellbound (1982)

The Prince Of Homburg (1982)

Netherwood (1983, 1984)

Pal Joey (1983)

Sunrise (1983)

The Blind Giant is Dancing (1983)

The Marriage of Figaro (1983)

Twelfth Night (1983)

The Christian Brothers (1984)

The Threepenny Opera (1984)

Glengarry Glen Ross (1985)

Trumpets and Raspberries (1985)

Heartbreak House (1986)

The Servant of Two Masters (1986)

Away (1987)

And the Big Men Fly (1988)

Romeo and Juliet / As You Like It (1988)

A Marriage Proposal / A Respectable Wedding (1988)

Little Murders (1989)

The Cherry Orchard (1989)

Top End (1989)

On Top of the World (1990)

Diving For Pearls (1991)

On Our Selection (1991)

The Crucible (1991)

The Taming Of The Shrew (1991)

Coriolanus (1993)

Nowhere (2001)