George Assang (1927–1997) was an Australian jazz and blues singer and actor from

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately north of Cape ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, Australia. He performed under his own name and the stage name Vic Sabrino. Assang was of Aboriginal,

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n descent.

Music career

As Vic Sabrino, he may have made the first Australian Rock'n'Roll recording. A single he recorded with French jazz artist Red Perksey and his orchestra included a version of " Rock Around the Clock". This single may have been recorded in 1955, some three years before

Johnny O'Keefe John Michael O'Keefe (19 January 1935 – 6 October 1978) was an Australian rock and roll singer whose career began in the 1950s. Some of his hits include " Wild One" (1958), " Shout!" and "She's My Baby". In his twenty-year career, O'Keefe rel ...

's recording of " Wild One" in 1958.

Acting career

As an actor, Assang was featured in televisions and films. Assang had a major part in the TV series ''

Barrier Reef A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

'' (1971–1972), appeared in episodes of '' Skippy'' and '' Hunter'' (1968), ''

Spyforce ''Spyforce'' is an Australian television series that aired from 1971 to 1973 on Nine Network. The series was based upon the adventures of Australian Military Intelligence operatives in the South West Pacific during World War II. It was produced ...

'' (1971), '' Boney'' (1972 and ''

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'' (1974). He also acted in several films, the 1969 film '' The Intruders'', the 1973 film ''

And Millions Will Die ''...And Millions Will Die!'' (aka "And Millions Die") is a 1973 Australian television film directed by Leslie H. Martinson. It was shot in Hong Kong. Premise Nazi war criminal Franz Kessler (Joseph Furst), a wealthy germ warfare expert livin ...

'', and was one of the voices in the animated movie ''

Dot and the Kangaroo ''Dot and the Kangaroo'' is an 1899 Australian children's book written by Ethel C. Pedley about a little girl named Dot who gets lost in the Australian outback and is eventually befriended by a kangaroo and several other marsupials. The book w ...

'' (1977).IMDb: George Assang, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0039768/, accessed 22 August 2012 Under the Vic Sabrino name he had a short-lived television series in 1958 called '' Vic Sabrino Sings''.

Personal life

Assang was briefly married to actress

Rowena Wallace Rowena Wallace (born 23 August 1947) is an English-born Australian stage and screen actress, most especially in the genre of television soap opera. She is best known for her Gold Logie-winning role as conniving Patricia "Pat the Rat" Hamilton/M ...

from 1973 until their divorce in 1974.

Discography

George Assang

;with Trevor Jones' Orchestra * "Daughter of Mona Lisa" (1955) Mercury

George and Ken Assang

* ''Just A Closer Walk'' (1965) Philips * "Songs From Down Under" - The Colonials (1967) Phillips PD 200

Vic Sabrino

* "Dust in the Sun / Who Needs You" Festival ;with Red Perksey & His Orchestra and Sheila Sewell * "The End of the Affair/Drifting Along" Pacific AUS #19 ;with Red Perksey & His Orchestra * "The Magic of Love/(We're gonna) Rock Around the Clock" (1955) Pacific * "Merry-go-round/Time For Parting" (1955) Pacific * "Blue Suede Shoes/Heartbreak Hotel" (1956) Pacific ;with Dave Owens and his Blue Boys with The Blue Notes * "Long, Long Lane/Painted Doll" (1957) Festival ;with Gus Merzi's Orchestra and with Harry Willis Orchestra; and The Belltones & Iris Mason Singers * "Fraulein/Hitch-Hiking Heart" (1957) Festival ;with Graeme Bell and his Skiffle band * "Sweet Georgia Brown/ Freight Train" (1957) Columbia * "John Henry/Don't You Rock Me, Daddy-O" (1957) Columbia * "The Gospel Train/Come Skiffle Chicken" (1957) Columbia * "Gamblin' Man/Skiffle Board Blues" (1957) Columbia

References

THE FIRST WAVE: Australian rock & pop recordings, 1955–1963
by Ross Laird (pdf)
Australian Popular Music Recordings 1955–1969
by Ross Laird (pdf)

External links

Pop Archives featureNational Library of Australia
Biographical cuttings on Vic Sabrino, actor and singer {{DEFAULTSORT:Assang, George 1927 births 1997 deaths 20th-century Australian male singers Indigenous Australian actors Indigenous Australian musicians