Bernard Norman Gannon (23 September 1952 – 4 January 2007), known as Ben Gannon, was an Australian film,
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
Maffra
Maffra is a town in Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne. It is in the Shire of Wellington local government area and it is the second most populous city of the Shire. It relies mainly on dairy farming and other agriculture, and is the sit ...
in Victoria's
Gippsland
Gippsland is a rural region that makes up the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains to the rainward (southern) side of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers ...
, his father was a land surveyor and farmer.
After schooling at Melbourne's
Xavier College
Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878.
Th ...
Lanbury House, Gannon graduated from the then production course of the
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 1970.
He was known as Ben.
Career
After graduation, Gannon worked at the
Queensland Theatre Company
Queensland Theatre, formerly the Queensland Theatre Company and Royal Queensland Theatre Company, is a professional theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia. It regularly performs in its own Bille Browne Theatre and the Queensland Performi ...
, before stage-managing the original Australian production of ''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...
'' for
Harry M. Miller
Harry Maurice Miller (6 January 1934 – 4 July 2018) was a New Zealand Australian promoter, publicist and media agent.
Life and career
Born on 6 January 1934 in New Zealand, Miller grew up in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn. He moved to Aus ...
Attractions. This was followed by eight years in London, where Gannon was company manager of ''Hair'' in the West End, and worked as a
theatrical agent
A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or sport ...
at the American Talent Agency, ICM, before forming his own talent agency, representing actors, writers, directors, and designers.
Gannon returned to Australia in 1980 and was appointed general manager of Associated R & R Films, the
Robert Stigwood
Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer and impresario, best known for managing Cream, Andy Gibb and the Bee Gees, theatrical productions like ''Hair'' ...
/
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch ( ; born 11 March 1931) is an Australian-born American business magnate. Through his company News Corp, he is the owner of hundreds of local, national, and international publishing outlets around the world, including ...
joint venture which produced the acclaimed film ''
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
'', of which he was associate producer. After forming his own production company, View Films, he produced two mini-series ''
Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe
''Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe'' is a two part Australian dramatisation about the life of musician Johnny O'Keefe from his peak success in the 1950s. The project was written by Robert Caswell.Terry Serio
Terry Serio is an Australian actor, director, musician and singer-songwriter. He has played recurring roles in several television series, including ''Blue Heelers'', ''Halifax f.p.'' ''Ocean Girl'', '' All Saints'', '' Young Lions'', ''Home and A ...
) and ''
Shadow of the Cobra
''Shadow of the Cobra'' is a 1989 television miniseries based on the book ''The Life and Crimes of Charles Sobhraj'' by Richard Neville and Julie Clarke.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p233
R ...
'' (starring
Rachel Ward
Rachel Claire Ward (born 12 September 1957) is an English-Australian
and
Art Malik
Athar ul-Haque Malik (born 13 November 1952), known professionally as Art Malik, is a Pakistani-born British actor who achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and subsidiary roles in assorted British and Merchant Ivory tel ...
).
He produced the award-winning films ''
Travelling North
''Travelling North'' is a 1987 Australian film directed by Carl Schultz and starring Leo McKern, Julia Blake, Graham Kennedy, and Henri Szeps. Based on an original 1979 play of the same name by David Williamson, it is one of Williamson's favourit ...
'' (starring
Leo McKern
Reginald "Leo" McKern, Order of Australia, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notabl ...
Bryan Brown
Bryan Neathway Brown AM (born 23 June 1947) is an Australian actor. He has performed in over eighty film and television projects since the late 1970s, both in his native Australia and abroad. Notable films include ''Breaker Morant'' (1980), ' ...
and
Karen Allen
Karen Jane Allen (born October 5, 1951) is an American film and stage actress. After making her film debut in ''Animal House'' (1978), she portrayed Marion Ravenwood opposite Harrison Ford in '' Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981), a role she lat ...
), ''
The Girl Who Came Late
''The Girl Who Came Late'' aka ''Daydream Believer'' is a 1991 Australian romantic comedy film starring Miranda Otto, Martin Kemp and Gia Carides; and directed by Kathy Mueller. Otto was nominated for an Australian Film Institute Award
The A ...
'' – also known as ''Daydream Believer'' – (starring
Miranda Otto
Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a variety of ...
and
Martin Kemp
Martin John Kemp (born 10 October 1961) is an English musician and actor, best known as the bassist in the new wave band Spandau Ballet and for his role as Steve Owen in ''EastEnders''.
He is the younger brother of Gary Kemp, who is also a ...
), ''
Hammers Over the Anvil
''Hammers Over the Anvil'' is a 1993 Australian biographical romantic drama film starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ann Turner, who also co-wrote with Peter Hepworth. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Alan Marshall. The ...
'' (starring
Charlotte Rampling
Tessa Charlotte Rampling (born 5 February 1946) is an English actress, known for her work in European arthouse films in English, French, and Italian. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, she began her career as a model.
She was cast in the role ...
and
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maxi ...
), and ''
The Man Who Sued God
''The Man Who Sued God'' is a 2001 Australian comedy film starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis, and directed by Mark Joffe. The film was a financial success, debuting at number one at the Australian box office in the week of its launch.
Plot
...
'' (starring
Billy Connolly
Sir William Connolly (born 24 November 1942) is a Scottish actor, retired comedian, artist, writer, musician, and presenter. He is sometimes known, especially in his homeland, by the Scots nickname the Big Yin ("the Big One"). Known for his ...
and
Judy Davis
Judith Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress in film, television, and on stage. With a career spanning over 40 years, she has been commended for her versatility and regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation. Frequen ...
).
His film '' The Heartbreak Kid'', based on the play by Richard Barrett, was the catalyst for his award-winning television series ''
Heartbreak High
''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television program created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on the ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with so ...
''. This proved to be one of Australia's most successful television exports ever, being sold to 80 countries, and eventually running to 210 hours.
Believing that there was a stage musical in the life and compositions of the Australian songwriter/performer Peter Allen after being alerted to him by
Stephen MacLean
Stephen MacLean (1950 – April 2006) was Australian screenwriter, journalist, broadcaster, and director of films and television series. His best known work is a biography of Peter Allen which was adapted to create the hit musical ''The Boy fr ...
, he commissioned a book to be written by
Nick Enright
Nicholas Paul Enright AM (22 December 1950 – 30 March 2003) was an Australian dramatist, playwright and theatre director.
Early life
Enright was born on 22 December 1950 to a prosperous professional Catholic family in East Maitland, New Sou ...
, based on MacLean's earlier biography. Enright's version was published as ''Peter Allen: The Boy From Oz''. He first produced a documentary of the same name for
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
, which aired in 1995.
In 1998 Gannon co-produced with London producer Robert Fox, Australia's highest-grossing theatre production ''The Boy from Oz'', based on Enright's book and directed by
Gale Edwards
Gale Edwards (born 14 November 1954) is an Australian theatre director, who has worked extensively throughout Australia and internationally. She has also directed for television and film.
Professional career
Edwards began her career at Adelaid ...
– which was successfully presented on Broadway, receiving a 2004
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
nomination for Best Musical, and winning the Tony for Best Male Performer in a Musical for its star,
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...
.
Honours
Gannon was appointed an Officer of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...
(AO) in 2006 "For service to the performing arts as a producer contributing to the development of film, television, and theatre in Australia, and in promoting Australian productions and talented actors overseas, and to the community".
Death
He died of cancer, at home in Sydney on 4 January 2007, aged 54. He had been treated for cancer in 2003.
Selected filmography
Film
* ''
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
Travelling North
''Travelling North'' is a 1987 Australian film directed by Carl Schultz and starring Leo McKern, Julia Blake, Graham Kennedy, and Henri Szeps. Based on an original 1979 play of the same name by David Williamson, it is one of Williamson's favourit ...