George Mallaby
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| George Mallaby | |
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| Born | 4 November 1939 |
| Died | 12 July 2004 (aged 64) |
George Mallaby (4 November 1939-12 July 2004) was a British-born actor, best known for his roles in Australian television.
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[edit] Life
Mallaby was born in Hartlepool, England, and came to Australia with his parents when he was 16.[1] His father was a policemen, but Mallaby's first jobs were signwriting and crayfishing.
He was married in 1968.
He suffered his first stroke in 1992, and was confined to a wheelchair. He died of complications from a stroke in 2004.
[edit] Career
Mallaby made his acting debut at the Adelaide Festival of Arts, but soon obtained TV roles in Melbourne.
He played Detective Peter Barnes in the crime series Homicide from 1967 to 1973, representing roughly half the series run.[1] With Alwyn Kurts, Leonard Teale and Norman Yemm, he made up what is often considered "the consummate Homicide cast".[1] He also wrote scripts for the series.[1]
His role in Homicide was followed by stints in The Box (as Paul Donovan), Cop Shop (as Detective Glen Taylor) and Prisoner (as social worker Paul Reid). And, as for Homicide, he also worked on scripts for Prisoner and Matlock Police. He said of scriptwriting that "writing requires a mood. It might be called a creative mood, I suppose. Unfortunately for those close to me, the mood often seems to come around 4am. I get a spasm of creativity and just have to jump out of bed and start writing".[1]
Mallaby also acted in mini-series including Power Without Glory, Sword of Honour and All the Way, and in movies such as Tim Burstall's Eliza Fraser.
During the late 1970s he returned to Britain. There he made appearances in various television series including Secret Army, Survivors and The Professionals, and appeared as a submarine crew member in James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
His last regular role was in Cluedo, the "game show-comedy-mystery series.[1]
[edit] Other interests
He also started one of Australia's first hazelnut farms, something he saw as his "basic protection against the insecurity of show business".[2]
[edit] Awards
- Logie award for role in The Box
