John Ewart

Australian actor (1928–1994)

John Ewart
Born	John Reford Ewart 26 February 1928 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died	8 March 1994(1994-03-08) (aged 66) Greenwich, New South Wales Australia
Education	Scots College
Occupation(s)	Actor, entertainer
Years active	1947–1994
Spouse	Jane Fennell
Children	4

John Reford Ewart (26 February 1928 – 8 March 1994) was an Australian actor of radio, stage, television and film. Ewart was a double recipient of the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role^[1]

Biography

Career

Ewart, who was born in Melbourne, Victoria to Alfred Adam Ewart an insurance agent and his wife Jennie Grace Madge Lois (nee Macauley) began his acting career when he was cast at the age four in a radio production of Snow White. At the age of 18, he made his film debut in the lead role of Mickey O'Riordan in Charles Chauvel's production of Sons of Matthew.

Ewart appeared in hundreds of Australian radio, theatre, film and television productions. To many thousands of Australians who grew up in the 1950s and '60s, he will be remembered as "Jimm", the boyishly cheeky co-presenter of the ABC Radio Children's Session, and in the title role of its long-running serial The Muddle-Headed Wombat.

He was well known for his role in the film Sunday Too Far Away, his ongoing role in the Australian TV series The Restless Years in 1980–81, and his lead role opposite Nicole Kidman in Bush Christmas. He was proudest of his starring role in the 1977 film The Picture Show Man.

Personal life

Ewart married four times, firstly to Lorraine Marie Croke, a Sydney beauty consultant in May 1951 and had twins, a son and a daughter, but divorced a few years later, he then married Susan Mary Newton, a broadcasting presentation consultant on 17 April 1966, with whom he had 2 daughters. They divorced in 1978 and on 24 December he married public relations consultant Patricia De Heer

In 1992 he became engaged to TV presenter Jane Fennell, but they postponed the wedding after the death of her father, Ewart's long time friend Willie Fennell. They were married on 8 March 1994 in a bedside ceremony as Ewart was dying of throat cancer. He died five days after the wedding.^[2]

Film awards

In 1976 John Ewart was nominated for the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Let the Balloon Go.
In 1977 he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The Picture Show Man.

Filmography

Film

Sons of Matthew (1949) as Mickey O'Riordan
Bodgie (1959, TV movie) as Kenney
A Night Out (1961, TV movie) as Albert
The Man Who Shot the Albatross (1971)
Soloman (1973, TV movie)
The Hotline (1974, TV movie)
Petersen (1974) as Peter
Sunday Too Far Away (1975) as Ugly
The Love Epidemic (1975, documentary film)
Arena (1976, TV movie)
Master of the World (1976, TV movie) as Voice
Caddie (1976) as Paddy Reilly
Let the Balloon Go (1976) as PC Baird
The Picture Show Man (1977) as Freddie
Blue Fire Lady (1977) as Mr. Peters
Newsfront (1978) as Charlie
Cass (1978, TV movie)
Plunge Into Darkness (1980, TV movie)
The Department (1980, TV movie)
Run Rebecca, Run (1981) as Minister for Immigration
Save the Lady (1982) as Uncle Harry
Deadline (1982, TV movie) as Sam O'Bannon
Crosstalk (1982) as Stollier
Fluteman (1982) as Clarence Quint
Island Trader (1982, TV movie)
Kitty and the Bagman (1983) .as Train Driver
Bush Christmas (1983) as Bill
A Slice of Life (1983) as Hughes
Kindred Spirits (1984, TV movie) as Tommy
Supersleuth (1984, TV movie)
Razorback (1984) as Turner
Frog Dreaming (1986) as Ricketts
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1986, TV movie) as Gabriel John Utterson
The Big Hurt (1986) as Harry Gregory
John Norton: A Willesee Documentary (1987, TV movie) as John Norton
Dear Cardholder (1987) as Hart
The Returning (1990) as Steadman Senior
Hurricane Smith (1992) as David Griffiths
Tracks of Glory (1994) as Syd Melville (final appearance)

Television

The Hungry Ones (1963)
Arthur! and the Square Knights of the Round Table (1966) as Voice
Nice 'n Juicy (1966-67) as Mort Hamlin
The Barry Crocker Show (1966) as Himself
Bellbird (1967)
Contrabandits (1967) as Murdoch
The Long Arm (1970) as Lenny
Division 4 (1970-75) as James Barrett / Logan / Paddy Ryan / Alby / Bernie Lewis / Ted Watts / Bob Shaw
Homicide (1971-74) as Richardson / Derek Thomas / Bert Doyle / Buster White / Andy Simpson / Ron Fisher / Ray
Matlock Police (1971-75) as Billy Ross / Rob Lucas / Arthur Wilson / Harry Green / Geoff Mitchell / Bob Jones / 'Buttercup' Sands
Catwalk (1972) as Torchy Byrne
Behind the Legend as Francis Greenway
Ryan (1974) .... Charlie Bell / Jones
Ben Hall (1975)
The Last of the Australians (1975)
Alvin Purple (1976) .... Sos Temple / Bus Driver / Mack / Murray
Silent Number (1976) as Burton
King's Men (1976)
Who Do You Think You Are? (1976)
Number 96 (1976) as Oswald P. Piper
The Outsiders (1977) as Frank Kennedy
The Restless Years (1977) as Chris Hunter
Cop Shop (1978) as Ted Campbell
Chopper Squad (1978) as The Bushwalker
The Truckies (1978) as Spanner
The Young Doctors (1980) as Horrie Jamison
Bellamy (1981) as Sid Coleman
A Country Practice (1981-90) as Lachlan Morrison / Harry Jolly / Clarrie King / Maurie Wilson / Howard Welbourne
Special Squad (1984) as Mungo Lennox
A Fortunate Life (1986, TV miniseries) as Bentley
The Last Frontier (1986, TV miniseries) as Henry Dingwell
Mother and Son (1986) as Hospital Worker
True Believers (1988, TV miniseries) as Fred Daley
Australians (1988, episode: "John Norton") as John Norton
The Heroes (1988, TV miniseries) as Bill Reynolds

Griffiths

Which Way Home (1991, TV miniseries) as Ferguson
Boys from the Bush (1991)

Radio

Son of Inspector Champion

References

^ Jennie Lees (2020). "Ewart, John Record (1928-1994)". Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
^ Harris M. Lentz (1994). Obituaries in the Performing Arts. McFarland. p. 63.