Francis Bell (actor)
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Wayne Francis Earl Bell (18 April 1944 – 3 May 1994) was a
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
-born actor who achieved international stardom playing the part of original character Max Ramsay in the early years of the popular Australian soap opera, ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
''. During his career he also acted in Australian serials ''
The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
'' and '' Sons and Daughters''. He appeared in 15 films from 1976 until his death.


Career in ''Neighbours''

His character Max Ramsay, was a key character for the show's first year. Soon after the serial switched from the Seven Network to Channel Ten in early 1986, Bell abruptly left the show. To accommodate this loss, the new character of Max's brother Tom was hastily introduced. In the story Tom arrived to take the reins of Max's plumbing business while Max was away; behind the scenes the scriptwriters went through the scripts replacing "Max" with "Tom", with Tom speaking the dialogue written for Max.


Other roles

Prior to ''Neighbours'', Bell had minor roles in ''
The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
'' and '' Sons and Daughters''. In 1985 Bell played the role of Major-General Howard 'Pompey' Elliott in the critically acclaimed Australian mini-series ''
Anzacs ''Anzacs'' (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion (Austr ...
''. Also starring in the series were
Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...
, Andrew Clarke, Jon Blake, Megan Williams,
Tony Bonner Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in the ...
,
Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Worl ...
,
Ilona Rodgers Ilona Jeannette Rodgers (born 28 April 1942) is an actress of stage, television and film. Born in Harrogate, West Riding of Yorkshire, where she started her career, she later went on to appear in New Zealand and Australian productions. Rodger ...
,
Robert Coleby Robert Coleby (born 1947) is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for the Queensland Thea ...
and David Bradshaw


Death

On 3 May 1994, Bell was found dead after falling from a building in
Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
, New Zealand. The city's police released a statement stating that there were no suspicious circumstances regarding his death. He was buried at Purewa Cemetery. His agent Graham Dunster later revealed that Bell had been hospitalised with depression prior to his death.


Filmography

*''
The Sullivans ''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
'' (TV series 1976) *'' Sons and Daughters'' (TV series 1982) *''
Who Killed Baby Azaria? ''The Disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain'' is a 1983 Australian television docufilm about the Azaria Chamberlain case.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p. 45 Michael Thornhill later said that ...
'' (TV movie 1983) *''
Five Mile Creek ''Five Mile Creek'' is a western television drama series adapted from Louis L'Amour's novel ''The Cherokee Trail'' and produced in Australia. It starred Liz Burch, Louise Caire Clark, Rod Mullinar, Jay Kerr, Michael Caton, Peter Carroll, Gus ...
'' (TV series 1983) *''
Anzacs ''Anzacs'' (named for members of the all volunteer army formations) is a 1985 Australian five-part television miniseries set in World War I. The series follows the lives of a group of young Australian men who enlist in the 8th Battalion (Austr ...
'' (TV mini-series 1985) *''Glass Babies'' (Miniseries) (TV mini-series 1985) *''
Rubbery Figures ''Rubbery Figures'' was a satirical rubber puppet series and segment that screened in Australia in various forms from 1984 to 1990. The series ran on the ABC until 1988, when it was axed and subsequently revived as a segment on Seven Network's ...
'' (TV series 1986) *''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
'' (TV series 1985–1986) (191 episodes) *''
Bushfire Moon ''Bushfire Moon'' is a 1987 Australian drama film about a young boy, Ned, who thinks a swagman is Santa Claus. It was released in the United States as “The Christmas Visitor” on the Disney Channel and as “Miracle Down Under” on VHS. Cast ...
'' (TV movie 1987) * ''
Against the Innocent ''Against the Innocent'' is a 1989 Australian film about terrorism directed by Daryl Dellora. References External links''Against the Innocent''at Screen Australia''Against the Innocent''at IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie D ...
'' (1989) *''
The End of the Golden Weather ''The End of the Golden Weather'' is a play by Bruce Mason about a boy's loss of innocence in Depression-era New Zealand. It was written for solo performance by the author but can be performed by an ensemble and was made into an award-winning ...
'' (1991) *''
Absent Without Leave Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which a ...
'' (1992) *''Homeward Bound'' (TV series) (TV series 1992) *''Alexander Graham Bell: The Sound and the Silence'' (TV movie 1992) *''
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...
Hercules and the Lost Kingdom ''Hercules and the Lost Kingdom'' is the second television movie in the syndicated fantasy series ''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys''. In the film, Hercules comes to the aid of a young woman who is seeking the lost city of Troy. Eventually, H ...
'' (TV movie 1994) *''
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle ''Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle'' is a series of children's books written by Betty MacDonald. The first book is ''Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle'', published in 1947; three sequels by MacDonald are ''Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic'', ''Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm'', and '' ...
'' (TV series 1994)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Francis 1944 births 1994 deaths Australian male television actors Suicides by jumping in New Zealand British male television actors Burials at Purewa Cemetery 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century British male actors 1994 suicides