Shane Connor
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Shane Connor (born April 3, 1959) is an Australian actor. He graduated from the Victorian College of Arts. He married Nell Feeney, who played Janelle Timmins in Neighbours, in 1994, with whom he had twins Thomas and Grace (born March 21, 1995). Connor has been acting for over 20 years and has had roles in film, theatre and television.
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[edit] Background
Connor is mainly recognised for several roles in Australian soap operas. He played the recurring role of Bongo Connors in the women's prison set drama serial Prisoner in 1986. The character was the biker brother of then prison top dog, Rita Connors. Earlier he had played Kevin husband of Cheryll (Lisa Aldenhoven).
Connor played another biker in a soap opera, briefly appearing as Angel in Sons and Daughters.
[edit] Awards
- 1984 Penguin Award for Best Actor
- 1995 Green Room Award for Outstanding Fringe Performer
- nominated for 1998 AFI Showtime Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Television Drama
[edit] Neighbours
Connor later played the key on-going role of builder Joe Scully in Neighbours starting in 1999. He was abruptly sacked from the position in October 2003. Eight years previously (in 1991) he had played a one-off character called Phil Hoffman in episode #1.1410.
[edit] Dismissal
Connor had had an amphetamines problem and occasionally reported to work late and hung-over and then performed badly. He was issued warnings by the producers, but managed to get over his addiction and his contract was extended. Some months later, he was dismissed on the grounds that he had breached his contract due to a 'pattern' of 'misconduct'. This culminated in an alleged incident where Connor is rumoured to have dropped the child actor Ingo Dammer-Smith, who played his on-screen son Oscar. However, on November 30, 2005 Connor was awarded AUD$196,709 in damages by a court which ruled that Grundy television had unfairly terminated his contract. He is considering further legal action that could be taken against Grundy.
[edit] Character's Excision
In the show's storyline his character was sent off to a farm, ostensibly on a temporary basis, but he never returned. His wife Lyn (Janet Andrewartha) remained in the series and later their marriage was said to have been dissolved. Lyn subsequently had a relationship with another Joe, the returning Joe Mangel (Mark Little).
[edit] Current Work
Connor has recently worked in the United Kingdom and has appeared as a guest in reality TV shows like The Salon and has appeared in advertisements for Ladies' insurance company 'Sheilas Wheels'. However during 2006 Connor appeared at the University of Hull's Asylum night club as a VIP guest to one of their AU nights, during his time on stage he categorically stated that he was not the actor in the Sheilas Wheels advert.[citation needed]
