fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Gordon Maitland Chater AM (6 April 1922 – 12 December 1999) was an English Australian comedian and actor, and recipient of the Gold Logie, he appeared in revue, theatre, radio, television and film, with a career spanning almost 50 years.[1]

Gordon Chater AM
Born	Gordon Maitland Chater (1922-04-06)6 April 1922 Bayswater, England, United Kingdom
Died	12 December 1999(1999-12-12) (aged 77) Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
Education	University of Cambridge
Occupation	Actor, comedian
Years active	1944−1993

Biography

Early life

Chater was born in Bayswater, West London and attended Cottesmore School as a child.[2] He attended Cambridge University to study medicine but did not finish his degree, instead taking part in many student revues.

Radio and theatre

Chater arrived in Australia following World War II. He first came to prominence in Australia as a stage and radio actor, and was a cast member of the 1963 Sydney season of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, the debut production by the Old Tote Theatre Company, the precursor to the Sydney Theatre Company. He appeared in a radio program opposite Gwen Plumb[1]

Television roles

Chater became a national TV star when he was cast with Carol Raye and Barry Creyton in the Australian satirical television series The Mavis Bramston Show,[3] for which he won the 1966 Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television. He cemented his popularity with the title role in the popular sitcom My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?,[3] playing the elderly live-in father of a young married couple, played by John Meillon and Judi Farr. He appeared in many other television comedy series. His fellow actors included Ray Barrett, Stewart Ginn and Charles "Bud" Tingwell, among others.

Chater was critical of early Australian television direction which he characterised as too often "'feet, knees and in the distance pictures'. People watching TV are interested in people and close ups in Australia were hard to come by in the early days of Australian television."[4]

Stage roles in Australia

Amongst work in many other shows, Chater appeared in:

• The Rocky Horror Show in Brisbane in 1988[5]
• The Sydney Theatre Company production of The Importance of Being Earnest as both "Lane" and "Merriman" in 1990.[5]
• Lady Bracknell's Confinement at the Playhouse, in Melbourne in 1993.[5]

Gordon Chater later worked in the United States, including appearing on Broadway.

In the 1970s Chater was particularly associated with the play The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin by Steve J. Spears, the stage role for which he became best known. The play broke new ground in Australian theatre with its shocking opening scene (in which Chater walked onstage naked) and its discussion of paedophilia.[3]

Honours and awards

• Winner of the Macquarie Radio Award in 1952 for Comedy Performance on Radio
• Winner of the Gold Logie in 1966 for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television (The Mavis Bramston Show)
• Member of the Order of Australia (AM), 1999[6]

Selected TV roles

Production	Year	Role
The Adventures of Long John Silver (TV series)	1957	Alfredo
Smiley Gets a Gun	1958	Rev. Galbraith
ITV Television Playhouse	1958/1959	2 episodes Various Heavens as Rev Michael Brute,Private Lives as Victor Prine
Armchair Theatre (TV series)	1959	Episode To Ride A Tiger
ITV Play of the Week (TV series)	1958/1961	2 episodes Man and Superman as Henry Straker, Break from Cover as Mr. Bullivant
The Story of Peter Grey (TV series)	1961	Unknown
My Three Angels (TV movie)	1963	Unknown
The Mavis Bramston Show (TV series)	1964	Original Cast as Various Characters
My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? (TV series)	1966–1968	Dominic McGooley (88 episodes)
Rita and Wally (TV series)	1968	McGooley
The Gordon Chater Show	1968	Host
The Godfathers (TV series)	1971	Jamieson
Snake Gully with Dad and Dave	1972	Dad Rudd
Behind the Legend (TV series)	1974	Episode Thomas Mitchell as title
Mac and Merle (TV series)	John "Mac" McInern
The Dave Allen Show in Australia (TV series)	1975	Various
Celebrity Squares (TV series)	1975	2 episode as Himself
This is Your Life (TV series)	1976	Himself
Matlock Police (TV series)	1976	Doc. Horton
Me and Mr Thorne (TV movie )	1976	Reginald Thorne
Broadway on Showtime (TV series)	1980	Dr. Cedric Seward
Parkinson in Australia	1981	Guest
The Important in Being Ernest (TV movie)	1992	Lane, Merriman
This Wont Hurt A Bit	1993	Dental Professor

References

External links

• Gordon Chater – Stage acting credits
• "The Dictionary of Performing Arts in Australia — Theatre . Film . Radio . Television — Volume 1" — Ann Atkinson, Linsay Knight, Margaret McPhee — Allen & Unwin Pty. Ltd., 1996
• "The Australian Film and Television Companion" — compiled by Tony Harrison — Simon & Schuster Australia, 1994
• "The Importance of Being Earnest" — (information and photo): , , , ,
• Gordon Chater at IMDb
• Gordon Chater at the Internet Broadway Database
• Gordon Chater Dies aged 77 – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• My Name's McGooley – What's Yours? – Classic Australian Television
• The Mavis Bramston Show^{[permanent dead link]} – Nostalgia Central
• The History of The Mavis Bramston Show
• Tributes 1999 – Gordon Chater – Mark Juddery Tributes

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