| Francis Bell | |
|---|---|
Bell as Max Ramsay in Neighbours |
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| Born | 18 April 1944 United Kingdom |
| Died | May 1994 (aged 50) Auckland, New Zealand |
| Years active | 1976–94 |
Francis Bell (18 April 1944 – May 1994) was a UK-born New Zealand resident actor who achieved international stardom playing the part of original character Max Ramsay in the early years of the popular Australian soap opera, Neighbours. during his career he also acted in Australian serials The Sullivans and Sons and Daughters. He appeared in 15 films from 1976 until his death. He died after falling from a building in 1994, at age 50.
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Max was a key character for the show's first year. Soon after the serial switched to Channel Ten in early 1986, Bell went on sick leave.[1] To accommodate this loss, the new character of Max's brother Tom was hastily introduced. In the story Tom arrived to take the reins of Max's plumbing business while Max was away; behind the scenes the scriptwriters went through the scripts replacing "Max" with "Tom", with Tom speaking the dialogue written for Max.
Bell's Neighbours contract expired during his period of sick leave and he never returned to the series, meaning that Max never had a farewell scene.
Prior to Neighbours, Bell had minor roles in The Sullivans and Sons and Daughters.
He died after falling from a building in Auckland, New Zealand.