Bill Kerr

Birthday: 1922-06-10
Deathday: 2014-08-28
Birthplace: Cape Town, South Africa
Gender: Male
Owned By: Unowned

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  

William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian film and television actor. He was born into a performing arts family in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia.

He began working as a child actor in depression era Australia, taking his first major role in The Silence of Dean Maitland, one of Australia's first talking films.

After serving in the Second World War, Kerr moved to England to further his acting career, and during the 1940s he was regularly featured in the BBC radio series Variety Bandbox. His trademark was his catch phrase "I'm only here for 4 minutes..."

In the 1950s, he had a recurring role as an Australian lodger in the BBC radio comedy series Hancock's Half Hour. Initially sharper than Hancock's characterisation, it was developed into a more dim-witted character who became the butt of Hancock's jokes. His television appearances in Britain include a 1968 Doctor Who story called The Enemy of the World, with Patrick Troughton, and a long running part in the early 1960s BBC-TV soap, Compact.

Bill Kerr had much theatrical success in Britain, playing The Devil in the original West End production of Damn Yankees, directed by Bob Fosse, and Cole. He also worked with Spike Milligan. He appeared in Milligan and John Antrobus's stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre on 31 January 1963. A subsequent production opened on 3 May 1967 at the Saville Theatre, and "a cast containing an unusually high proportion of Australian actors including Bill Kerr and David Nettheim." Then in 1972 he co-starred with Anthony Newley in the long running Newley/Bricusse musical, The Good Old Bad Old Days. In 1975, Kerr took the part of Bluey Notts, described as "an Australian bookie's clerk, a crude racialist", in The Melting Pot. This was a sitcom written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast.

He also appeared in several British films, including The Dam Busters and The Wrong Arm of the Law, before moving back to Australia. Although probably best known as a comic actor, and especially for his appearances in Hancock's Half Hour, he has since played a number of serious roles, notably in Peter Weir's films Gallipoli (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). He also worked on the Australian stage in the 1980s, in musicals such as My Fair Lady, where he received excellent reviews as Alfred Doolittle. In 2001, he appeared in the Australian comedy Let's Get Skase.

Kerr also appeared in Glenview High and the 1998 television comedy series Minty.

Kerr has also been involved in documentaries, providing the narration for No Survivor - The Mysterious Loss of HMAS Sydney Nine Network Australia (1995), Malice or Mutiny for the ABC Australia 2003 and Animal X Natural Mystery Unit series for Discovery in the US, TV2 Norway and many others.

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Credits

Year Title Character
2003-12-18 Peter Pan Fairy Guide
2001-10-18 Let's Get Skase Mitchell Vendieks
1992-06-30 Over the Hill Maurice
1991-05-10 Sweet Talker 'Uncle' Cec
1989-06-01 Kokoda Crescent Russ
1988-05-08 Mortuary Academy Brody
1987-12-10 Bushfire Moon Trevor Watson
1987-09-16 Running from the Guns
1987-09-10 The Lighthorsemen Gen. Sir Harry Chauvel
1987-01-01 Rob Roy
1986-10-09 Double Sculls Curly
1986-01-01 Platypus Cove Mr. Anderson
1985-07-14 The Coca-Cola Kid T. George McDowell
1984-10-01 Vigil Birdie
1984-07-19 The Settlement Kearney
1984-04-19 Razorback Jake Cullen
1983-04-21 Dusty Tom Lincoln
1983-03-31 Great Expectations (Voice)
1982-12-17 The Year of Living Dangerously Colonel Henderson
1982-08-06 The Pirate Movie Major General
1982-01-01 Deadline Willliam Ashby
1981-12-28 Save the Lady MacDuff
1981-08-13 Gallipoli Jack
1976-02-03 House of Mortal Sin Mrs. Davey
1976-02-03 House of Mortal Sin Mr. Davey
1975-06-06 Girls Come First Hugh Jampton
1973-01-01 Ghost in the Noonday Sun Giacomo
1968-01-27 Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World Giles Kent
1966-10-16 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Gladiator-in-Training
1966-03-08 Doctor in Clover Digger
1963-07-30 Doctor in Distress Australian Sailor
1963-03-17 The Wrong Arm of the Law Jack Coombes
1962-03-01 A Pair of Briefs Victor - Club Owner
1962-03-01 A Pair of Briefs Victor
1961-09-05 Spike Milligan: A Series of Unrelated Incidents at Current Market Value Various
1959-01-06 The Captain's Table Bill Coke
1957-07-11 The Shiralee Shopkeeper (uncredited)
1956-05-01 Port of Escape Dinty Missouri
1955-05-16 The Dam Busters Flight Lieutenant H. B. Martin, D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C.
1955-03-22 The Night My Number Came Up Soldier
1953-02-17 Appointment in London Bill Brown
1952-08-01 My Death Is a Mockery Hansen
1951-04-25 Penny Points to Paradise Digger Graves
1933-02-11 Harmony Row Leonard