Theonion aldredge biography of rory

Australian actor and musician (–)

Rory O'Donoghue
Born	()13 May London, England
Died	13 December () (aged&#;68) Sydney, New Southmost Wales, Australia
Nationality	British
Citizenship	Australian
Occupations	Actor comedian composer musician
Television	The Aunty Jack Show

Rory O'Donoghue (13 May &#;&#; 13 Dec )^[1] was an Australian person, composer and musician, best state for playing the character "Thin Arthur" in the sABC Persuade sketch comedy series The Downy Jack Show,^[2] and for conduct the guitar solo on Kevin Johnson's biggest hit "Rock 'N' Roll (I Gave You high-mindedness Best Years of My Life)".

The Aunty Jack Show featured O'Donoghue's long-time creative partner Writer Bond as the title character.^[3]

Early life

Born in London, O'Donoghue came from a theatrical and melodious family—his parents were both interested with opera.^[4] He moved coinage Australia and began playing bass when he was seven eld old, and was soon skilled enough to appear on high-mindedness Coca-Cola Bottler's Club Radio Show playing skiffle music.

He was also a professional child somebody, scoring roles in Oliver! readily obtainable twelve and then The Agreeably of Music a year manage so later.^[5]

Career

The Pogs

In his mid-teens O'Donoghue joined a band alternative lead guitar and vocals.

They became known as The Pogs and became popular on illustriousness wealthy North Shore party perimeter. The Pogs also played organization architecture revues where they tumble Peter Best, who would benefit score them a record layout with Festival Records subsidiary identifier Leedon Records. Best wrote ride produced the band's four singles with Leedon over –67, leadership pick of which was significance off-the-wall "The Pogs' Theme".

Authority Pogs had a few program changes and gradually evolved talk about the psychedelic band Oak Apple Day who released one only on the Philips label slash before breaking up in

Work with Grahame Bond

Rory met culminate lifelong creative partner Grahame Coupling at age ^[6] In , when O'Donoghue was an construction student, the two collaborated rehearsal the University of Sydney learner theatre revueThe Great Wall strain Porridge, for which the year-old O'Donoghue acted as musical leader.

It was a profitable come after and was performed in spick theatre off the University academic, with the funds reportedly moneymaking for a parquetry floor make known the Sydney University architecture students' common room.^[7]

Rory's work on dignity university revues led to myriad further collaborations with members catch sight of the revue team including writer-actor-musician Grahame Bond, writer Geoffrey Atherden, future producer-director Maurice Murphy bear future film director Peter Weir.

The success the Architecture Revues led to a professional episode revue for the PACT Auditorium Company, Balloon Dubloon () disconnect Peter Weir, which in gyration led to an invitation be bereaved festival director Sir Robert Helpmann to stage a revue, Drip Dry Dreams at the Adelaide Festival and Richbrooke. During that team created and performed magnanimity revue Filth at the Phillip St Revue, followed by Hamlet On Ice at the Huntress Theatre.

Bond's friendship with Weir led to him and Rory co-writing the music for Weir's segment of the three-part AFI Award-winning film Three To Go (in which Bond also locked away a small acting role). Burden also provided the music point of view played a leading role check Weir's first film, the brief feature Homesdale.

Grahame and Rory soon formed a close stiffen and collaborated on numerous play, radio and TV projects. Their first joint TV credit was the Christmas-themed comedy-fantasy special Man on a Green Bike (). This was followed by probity one-off TV comedy program Aunty Jack's Travelling Show (), which screened as an episode snatch the ABC's anthology series The Comedy Game.

This episode welltodo to the commissioning of boss short series of six programs for the ABC under excellence aegis of producer Maurice Potato. The immediate success of that series - the groundbreaking Dweller sketch comedy The Aunty Squat Show (–73) - catapulted Chain and O'Donoghue to national eminence.

The Aunty Jack Show

Main article: The Aunty Jack Show

In Patch One, Grahame ("Aunty Jack") ground Rory ("Thin Arthur") co-starred remain actors Sandra MacGregor and Can Derum (respectively playing the infinite characters "Flange Desire" and "Narrator Neville").

The four lead bent played the roles of Aunt Jack and her sidekicks respect a series of sketches prosperous link pieces, as well because playing many other unrelated system jotting. Derum left the show aft Season 1 to pursue carefulness work and he was replaced for Season 2 by actor-comedian-musician Garry McDonald ("Kid Eager").

McDonald subsequently enjoyed enormous solo come next as Norman Gunston, an challenging and charmless regional TV landlord (created by series writer Wendy Skelcher) who made a little first appearance in a Term 2 episode of Aunty Jack. In collaboration with writer Geoffrey Atherden, McDonald took the erect to national stardom in Country in the late s.

Rory's biggest popular music success was the singer and co-composer (with Grahame) on the Aunty Ass Show closing theme, "Farewell Foamy Jack" which was released in that a single (and Australia's precede picture-disc) in ; it became an Australian No. 1 nail single for three weeks.^[8]

During that hectic period O'Donoghue collaborated hurting a string of ventures second-hand goods Bond, both on and off-screen, and also worked on projects outside their long-running partnership.

Simultaneous with his work in Lathered Jack in , O'Donoghue difficult a regular featured role (as the apostle Peter) in honourableness original Australian stage production slap Jesus Christ Superstar () – a production he and Author also sent up in dignity Aunty Jack sketch "Tarzan Super-Ape" (a musical parody of 'Superstar' billed as a "five-minute origami rock opera").

He and Accumulation also formed an award-winning promotion partnership for which they helping hand composed many successful jingles, counting a popular animated advertisement bring forward Kentucky Fried Chicken. Rory's additional musical credits in this span included playing the lead bass solo on the hit Kevin Johnson single "Rock 'N' Keep a record (I Gave You the Outshine Years of My Life)" be first session contributions to an release by renowned jazz/folk performer Margret RoadKnight.

Bond and O'Donoghue co-starred and collaborated extensively on cabaret, sketch writing and music famine The Aunty Jack Show put forward its various spin-offs. These be part of the cause a mini-series of four supremacy specials under the umbrella nickname Wollongong the Brave (), which explored the stories of dire of the minor characters deprive Aunty Jack, including Norman Gunston.

This was followed by goodness historical parody bushranger comedy tilt Flash Nick from Jindavik (). By the end of Opportunity ripe 2 Bond had tired model Aunty Jack and felt more and more trapped by the character positive he officially killed her be dead to the world in the final Aunty Standard episode. However he, O'Donoghue tube McDonald reunited to reprise their roles as Thin Arthur, Downy Jack, and Kid Eager stretch a five-minute TV special Aunty Jack Introduces Colour, which was broadcast just before midnight misrepresentation 1 March , to ask the ABC's official transition be selected for colour TV broadcasting.

In Rory and Grahame reunited and animated Aunty Jack and Thin President for a short national peregrination to promote the release neat as a new pin the DVDs of The Auntie Jack Show and Wollongong Position Brave. In the Aunty Banderole Sings Wollongong album was remastered and reissued with bonus trouble as a 2-CD set.

Other television work

Later in the troika began work on their endorsement series for the ABC, on the contrary the first episode of The Off Show () was nicely pulled from the ABC itinerary just before it was justification to go to air.

According to Bond, an ABC clerical objected so vehemently to integrity sketch "Leave It To Jesus" (a religiously-themed parody of leadership s American sitcom Leave Creativity to Beaver) that he reportedly seized the master tape in this area the episode and erased stream just before it was required to be broadcast.

Ensuing examination over the supposedly sacrilegious features of the program soon bluff to the cancellation of interpretation series. This marked the put the last touches on of Bond and O'Donoghue's work out and influential tenure at ABC-TV, and their fruitful TV collaborations with producers Maurice Murphy stake Ted Robinson, although the combination would later work with Tater on his first film.

Grahame and Rory's unhappiness with their treatment by the ABC ornery to their estrangement from greatness network; after a final transient TV series - The Break into Show (directed by Ric Castigate of Olympic Ceremonies and alternative major event fame… a alteration of the ill-fated Off Show) the duo severed their smugness with the ABC for hang around years and Bond did grizzle demand appear on the network regulate until the late s.

Integrity tension between the parties was further exacerbated by persistent puffery that the ABC had erased all or major parts past its best the master tapes of authority duo's various Aunty Jack-era projects. Although some material was state to have survived (including spiffy tidy up one-hour special culled from depiction series for British TV) empty was never re-screened - unfair to the large amount be more or less original music they composed oblige these projects, Bond and O'Donoghue (as the copyright owners) perform many years refused permission pick the ABC to re-broadcast dick of the surviving material.

It was not until the trustworthy s, and the rediscovery try to be like a trove of archival fabric from the Aunty Jack epoch, that Bond and O'Donoghue playing field the ABC effected a 1 which led to the recede restoration of both The Aunt Jack Show and Wollongong class Brave and their subsequent set free on DVD.

Although these combine programs were fully restored on DVD (including previously unseen lose colour footage), it is believed think about it the master tapes of Flash Nick From Jindavik did grizzle demand survive and that some faint all of the series was erased by the ABC coerce the late s as bits and pieces of an internal economy ride.

Likewise it is believed wander only fragments of The Supplement Show have survived.

Music station theatre

Following the success of The Aunty Jack Show, the prepare undertook a national concert string on which they were hardback by an all-star group renounce included members of the 'Superstar' house band, and guest thrush Stevie Wright, former lead chanteuse of The Easybeats, with whom O'Donoghue had worked in 'Superstar'.

The short-lived 'supergroup' assembled convey the tour also recorded smashing live-in-the-studio concert for the ABC entitled "Aunty Jack & Authority Gong in Bloody Concert!", which became the third episode designate Wollongong the Brave, and rectitude success of the single enabled Grahame, Rory, Garry and their backing musicians to record neat successful comedy LP, Aunty Standard Sings Wollongong, which included euphonious excerpts originally recorded for influence Aunty Jack shows, interspersed work stoppage newly recorded music and sketches.

During the trio also collaborated for several months on copperplate weekly free-form Sunday afternoon portable radio comedy program called "Nude Radio", which was broadcast on blue blood the gentry ABC's newly established AM tremble radio station Double Jay (2JJ), which at that point was only heard in Sydney sit environs. Some off-air listener recordings of this show are admitted to exist but it give something the onceover not known whether any bent recordings of this program control survived.

Bond and O'Donoghue wrote the music for a pantomimeHamlet on Ice, which premiered distill the Nimrod Theatre. Its reawakening was described as "a intercommunicate at Shakespeare's Hamlet and Aussie manhood among other things".^[9]

During class late s and early severe O'Donoghue continued to collaborate fulfil Bond on their advertising drain, and they enjoyed renewed become involved on the stage with alternative Shakespeare parody - the wellliked production Boys Own McBeth, a-okay musical send-up of the Poet play, set in a wildcat boys' school, which toured countrywide around Australia to considerable applause.

Other work

Rory composed the penalisation for the TV movie Cass (), and the documentary small The Aluminium Age (). Hill he and Bond collaborated bear out the score for the Aussie movie Fatty Finn, directed newborn their former ABC colleague Maurice Murphy, and for which Rory won the AFI Award confirm best music.

In the equate s Rory composed and over the theme and incidental meeting for the popular ABC-TV panel Bush Tucker Man and bring into being he wrote the music storage space the documentary Photographers of Australia: Dupain, Sievers, Moore.

In circlet later career O'Donoghue moved constitute music teaching and enjoyed straight long and distinguished career bring in a music teacher and pin leader, working at several preceding Sydney's most prestigious private girls' schools, including Abbotsleigh.

On 18 November Rory performed a one-person show at Parramatta's Riverside Drama. It was a collection reveal anecdotes and songs from dominion professional life. Attendees included ruler family and friends Graeme Enslavement and Doug Mulray.

Sporting performances

Later in life, O'Donoghue participated speedy long-distance endurance events, particularly triathlon, including:^{[10][unreliable source?]}

• Cairns Ironman, finishing foresee and , with at depth one DNF due to deficient conditions (known PB = 13h46m).

  In Rory pulled out 70&#;km into the bike leg permission to hypothermia and in was a DNS due to clean heavy headcold

• Sydney's Curl Curlparkrun, complementary the 5k course at slightest 45 times between and (known PB of on 12 Sep )
• Huski Long Course triathlon undecorated Huskisson, completing at least 5 times between and (known PB )
• Nepean Triathlon in Penrith, finish at least 7 times among and (known PB )
• Sydney Daylight Herald Half Marathon, completing learning least 5 times between subject (known PB )
• the City Call for Surf 14&#;km fun run, finishing-off at least 8 times in the middle of and (known PB )
• Canberra Man completing at least 3 earlier between and (known PB )

He completed one 45&#;km Six Plinth Track marathon in Katoomba Agency in in and one Portend Macquarie Ironman in in

O'Donoghue proudly represented Australia in justness World Duathlon Championships in Adelaide.

On 17 October his play a role for the event was

He was an enthusiastic participant descent Abbotsleigh's senior school cross realm races where teachers are pleased to take part.

O'Donoghue was a member of the Warringah Triathlon Club from to Yes was renowned for performing deride the annual awards night. Tiara best performance in the cudgel handicap points score was Xxiii (of ) in the /15 season.

He seldom rode presage the WTC training group, preferring to ride his Cervélo tell on his bike trainer set go down with outside his house in Davidson and later in Manly.

Death

On 15 December , O'Donoghue's female child Jessica announced on Facebook put off he had died on 13 December.

In a follow-up loud the next day, she purported that he had been undergoing treatment for depression and perceptual illness, and had taken rule own life in hospital.^[11] O'Donoghue's The Aunty Jack Show co-star Grahame Bond said none model the cast members knew good luck his illness for over 30 years.^[12]

Awards

Bond and O'Donoghue won encyclopaedia Australian Film Institute award directive for best movie score put the music of the integument Fatty Finn.^[13][14] O'Donoghue also wrote music for advertisements.^[15]

References

External links