Fred MacDonald (1895–1968), was an Australian actor best known for playing Dave Rudd opposite

Bert Bailey Albert Edward Bailey (11 June 1868 – 30 March 1953), better known as Bert Bailey, was a New Zealand-born Australian playwright, theatrical manager and stage and screen actor best known for playing Dad Rudd, in both mediums, the character from ...

on stage and screen, starting with the original 1912 production of ''

On Our Selection ''On Our Selection'' (1899) is a series of stories written by Australian author Steele Rudd, the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis, in the late 1890s, featuring the characters Dad and Dave Rudd. The original edition of the book was illustrated by ...

''. He also played a similar role, Jim Hayseed, several times on screen for director

Beaumont Smith Frank Beaumont "Beau" Smith (15 August 1885 – 2 January 1950), was an Australian film director, producer and exhibitor, best known for making low-budget comedies. Smith made his first film in 1917, '' Our Friends, the Hayseeds''. He went on t ...

Biography

MacDonald was born in Scotland and moved to Australia when he was four. He established himself as a matinee idol on stage, acting with the Allan Wilkie Shakespeare Company. He first appeared opposite

in a comic part in ''The Shamrock and the Rose''. He hit it off with Bailey, who cast him in ''On Our Selection''. Bailey and MacDonald also appeared on stage together in ''

The Sentimental Bloke ''The Sentimental Bloke'' is a 1918 Australian silent film based on the 1915 verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' by C. J. Dennis. Produced and directed by Raymond Longford, the film stars Arthur Tauchert, Gilbert Emery, and Lottie L ...

'', playing Ginger Mick and the title role respectively. MacDonald also featured in ''

Possum Paddock ''Possum Paddock'' is a 1921 Australian film based on a popular play by Kate Howarde. It was the first Australian feature film to be directed by a woman. Only portions of it survive today. Plot Andrew "Dad" McQuade (John Cosgrove), a tough farm ...

'' originating the role of Bill McQuade. In addition to his stage and film performances, MacDonald worked extensively in Melbourne radio.'"Dave" Was Once a Matinee Idol. FRED McDONALD FOUND FILM FAME BY LUCK', ''Morwell Advertiser (Morwell)'', Thursday 8 May 1941 Edition: morning. p 12
/ref>

Select filmography

*''

The Hayseeds' Back-blocks Show ''The Hayseeds' Back-blocks Show'' is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It was the third in his series about the rural family, the Hayseeds. It is considered a lost film. Synopsis Dad Hayseed and his friends from Stone ...

'' (1917) *''

The Hayseeds Come to Sydney ''The Hayseeds Come to Sydney'' (also known as ''The Hayseeds Come to Town'') is a 1917 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. The second in the Hayseeds series of movies, is considered a lost film. Synopsis In Stoney Creek, Dad H ...

'' (1917) *''

The Hayseeds' Melbourne Cup ''The Hayseeds' Melbourne Cup'' is a 1918 Australian rural comedy from director Beaumont Smith. It was the fourth in his series about the rural family, the Hayseeds, and centers on Dad Hayseed entering his horse in the Melbourne Cup. It is consid ...

'' (1918) * ''

'' (1932) *'' The Squatter's Daughter'' (1933) *''

The Silence of Dean Maitland ''The Silence of Dean Maitland'' is an 1886 novel by Maxwell Gray (the pen name of Mary Gleed Tuttiett). Set in a fictionalized Isle of Wight, particularly around Calbourne, it concerns an ambitious clergyman who accidentally kills the father o ...

'' (1934) * ''

Grandad Rudd ''Grandad Rudd'' is a 1935 comedy featuring the Dad and Dave characters created by Steele Rudd and based on a play by Rudd. It was a sequel to ''On Our Selection (1932 film), On Our Selection'', and was later followed by ''Dad and Dave Come to Tow ...

'' (1935) * ''

Dad and Dave Come to Town ''Dad and Dave Come to Town'' is a 1938 Australian comedy film directed by Ken G. Hall, the third in the 'Dad and Dave' comedy series starring Bert Bailey. It was the feature film debut of Peter Finch and is one of the best known Australian fi ...

'' * ''

Dad Rudd, MP ''Dad Rudd, M.P.'' is a 1940 comedy that was the last of four films made by Ken G. Hall starring Bert Bailey as Dad Rudd. It was the last feature film directed by Hall prior to the war and the last made by Cinesound Productions, Bert Bailey and ...

'' (1940)

References

External links

*
Fred MacDonald
at

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Fred MacDonald
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

Australian male stage actors Australian male film actors 20th-century Australian male actors 1895 births 1968 deaths British emigrants to Australia {{Australia-actor-stub