Ray Meagher
Ray Meagher | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 4 July 1944 Roma, Queensland, Australia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse |
Gilly Meagher (m. 2010) |
Raymond Francis Meagher OAM (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Stewart on Home and Away, having played the role since the first episode in 1988. Meagher won a Gold Logie Award for his role in Home and Away in 2010 and has currently played the role of Alf for over 36 years.
Early life
Meagher was born and raised on a sheep and cattle station in Queensland, before attending a boarding school on the Gold Coast from the age of nine. He became a keen sportsman at high school, Marist College Ashgrove in Brisbane, representing the school at a number of sports including rugby union, a sport which he ultimately played at state level.[1]
Meagher played at first five eighth for Queensland at senior level in the late 1960s, including playing against France.[2]
Career
Film
His early film roles included appearances Breaker Morant, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Newsfront, My Brilliant Career and The Shiralee.[1] He also had a cameo in the 1979 war comedy The Odd Angry Shot.
Television
He first appeared on television as host of the late night ABC folk music programme Around Folk in June–August 1973. His first regular acting work on television was in the soap opera Number 96, briefly appearing as Fred Shrimpton in 1977.[3] Subsequent television acting roles included three different roles as villains in Prisoner, including Geoff Butler between 1979 and 1980, Kurt Renner in 1984, and Ernest Craven in 1986. He also had two different guest starring roles in A Country Practice and substantial roles in several 1980s miniseries, including A Fortunate Life.[1]
Meagher joined the cast of soap opera Home and Away in 1987 and has appeared in the role of Alf Stewart continuously since the first episode aired in January 1988. Meagher holds a Guinness World Record as the longest-serving actor in an Australian serial.[4]
In September 2009, Meagher was the third-highest paid personality on Australian television, behind Eddie McGuire and Rove McManus.[5]
Meagher won the Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television at the 2010 Logie Awards, where he was also nominated for "Most Popular Actor".[6] Meagher subsequently won that Logie Award in 2018.[7]
Stage
In 2007, Meagher took over the role of Bob the mechanic in Priscilla Queen of the Desert from Bill Hunter.[8] From 30 September 2010, he took over the role of Bob in the West End production of Priscilla until March 2011.[9] In June 2011, it was announced that Meagher would be returning to the West End production from October.[10] He then rejoined the show for its New Zealand tour in 2016.[11]
Meagher regularly travels to the United Kingdom to take part in the traditional Christmas pantomimes. In December 2008, he played Abanazar in a production of Aladdin at the Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke and in 2009 he performed as Captain Hook in Peter Pan at the Assembly Hall Theatre in Royal Tunbridge Wells.[12][13]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Do I Have to Kill My Child? | Des | TV film |
| 1978 | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | Dud Edmonds | Feature film |
| Newsfront | Len's Second Brother | Feature film | |
| Because He's My Friend | Kevin | TV film | |
| 1979 | The Odd Angry Shot | Range Corporal | Feature film |
| My Brilliant Career | Mailman | Feature film | |
| The Journalist | Senior Investigator | Feature film | |
| 1980 | Breaker Morant | Sgt. Maj. Drummond | Feature film |
| Mystery Island | Policeman | ||
| A Piece of Cake | Duty Sarglant | Short film | |
| 1981 | Hoodwink | Shaw | Feature film |
| 1982 | Mystery at Castle House | Stakovich | TV film |
| Runaway Island | TV film | ||
| 1983 | On the Run | Joe Thompson | Feature film |
| The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain | Mr. Lowe | TV film | |
| 1984 | On the Loose | Russell Leech | Feature film |
| The Fire in the Stone | Dosh | ||
| Mail Order Bride | Kevin | TV film Penguin Award for Best Actor (1984)[14] | |
| 1985 | Relatives | Herb Taylor | Feature film |
| Bootleg | Lawker | Feature film | |
| 1986 | Short Changed | Marshall | Feature film |
| The Blue Lightning | Hale | TV film | |
| 1987 | Dark Age | Rex Garret | Feature film |
| The Place at the Coast | Uncle Doug | Feature film | |
| The Shiralee | Polkadot | TV film | |
| 1989 | Luigi's Ladies | Lance | Feature film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | Around Folk | Host | TV series |
| Matlock Police | Kurt Fisher | TV series. Episode: "By Hook or by Crook" | |
| 1977 | Number 96 | Fred Shrimpton | TV series. Season 6 |
| 1978 | Glenview High | Policeman | TV series. Episode: "Accident" |
| Run From the Morning | TV series | ||
| 1979 | Skyways | Sergeant Murphy | TV series. Episode: "The Crated Crim" |
| Top Mates | Miniseries | ||
| 1979–80; 1984; 1986 | Prisoner | Geoff Butler / Ernest Craven / Kurt Renner | TV series. Season 1–2 28 episodes |
| 1981 | Sporting Chance | TV series | |
| Holiday Island | TV series | ||
| 1982–86 | A Country Practice | Wally Stanley / Trev Bennett / Tom Skilton | TV series, 6 episodes |
| The Weekly's War | Frank Packer | Miniseries | |
| 1984 | Five Mile Creek | Lightning Ridge | TV series. Episode: "The Hangman's Noose" |
| Kingswood Country | Keith Mitchell / Bank Manager | TV series, 2 episodes | |
| 1985 | A Fortunate Life | Bad Bob | Miniseries. Episode: "Starting Out (1897–1905)" |
| Mother and Son | Geoff | TV series. Episode: "The Card Game" | |
| Colour in the Creek | Clarrie | TV series, 8 episodes | |
| 1986 | Land of Hope | Miniseries | |
| Five Times Dizzy | TV series | ||
| The Great Bookie Robbery | Bob Temple | Miniseries | |
| 1988 | True Believers | Tom Burke | Miniseries |
| The True Story of Spit MacPhee | Frank Arbuckle | Miniseries | |
| Vietnam | Army Sergeant | Miniseries | |
| 1988–present | Home and Away | Alf Stewart | TV series; pilot episode, season 1–present Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television (2010) Logie Award for Most Popular Actor (2018) Nominated – Logie Award for Most Popular Actor (2010) Nominated – Logie Award for Most Popular Actor (2012) |
| 2002 | Home and Away: Secrets and the City | Alf Stewart | Video special |
| 2003 | Home and Away: Hearts Divided | Alf Stewart | Video special |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Floating World | Nimrod Theatre Company | |
| 2007 | Priscilla Queen of the Desert | Bob the mechanic | Regent Theatre, Melbourne |
| 2008 | Aladdin | Abanazar | Anvil Theatre in Basingstoke |
| 2009 | Peter Pan | Captain Hook | Assembly Hall Theatre, Tunbridge Wells |
| 2010-11 | Priscilla Queen of the Desert | Bob the mechanic | West End of London |
| 2016 | Priscilla Queen of the Desert | Bob the mechanic | New Zealand tour |
References
- ^ a b c Home and Away: Ray Meagher Archived 30 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Yahoo!7.
- ^ "Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson star struck by Home and Away veteran". The New Zealand Herald. 6 October 2016.
- ^ Duck, Siobhan (29 July 2008). "Home and Away's Ray Meagher OK with career character". The Courier-Mail (Brisbane).
- ^ Fife-Yeomans, Janet (19 December 2009). "Shadows fall on Home And Away – behind the scenes at Australia's most troubled soap opera". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney.
- ^ Clune, Richard (13 September 2009). "Flamin' heck! Alf Stewart's worth a quid". Sunday Mail (Adelaide).
- ^ "2010 Logie Awards: Full List of Winners". Perth Now. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
- ^ Lilly, Alex (1 July 2018). "Logies 2018: Ray Meagher dedicates his win to his late Home and Away co-star, Cornelia Frances". TV Week. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
- ^ "Culture: Slurs and slingbacks". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 April 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Meagher taking Home and Away break". RTÉ TEN. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 20 April 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ^ "Ray swaps the Bay for UK". Holy Soap. Channel 5. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ Andrew Whiteside (14 October 2016). "Priscilla the Musical hits Auckland". Archived from the original on 22 December 2021 – via YouTube.
- ^ Margrave, Lauren (24 December 2008). "Aussie soap star crosses the globe for panto". Get Hampshire. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ Baynes, Valkerie (21 December 2009). "Light relief for Home and Away Meagher". Ninemsn. Archived from the original on 1 May 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Mail Order Bride (1984)". Australian Screen Online. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1944 births
- Living people
- Australian people of Irish descent
- People from Roma, Queensland
- Australian male film actors
- Australian male soap opera actors
- Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
- Gold Logie winners
- Queensland rugby union team players
- Australian rugby union players
- Rugby union fly-halves
- Male actors from Queensland
- 20th-century Australian male actors
- 21st-century Australian male actors
- People educated at Marist College Ashgrove