Graeme Blundell (born 7 August 1945) is an Australian actor, director, producer, writer, playwright, lyricist and biographer

Early life

Blundell was born on 7 April 1945 in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

; he grew up in the suburb of Clifton Hill. He was educated at Merrilands College and Coburg High School, where he served as a Prefect. He then studied arts at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb ...

, where he resided at Ormond College and became involved in student theatre. He has a younger brother, Dennis, and two younger sisters, Margaret and Kathryn.

Career

In his early years, Blundell worked at La Mama Theatre, the

Pram Factory __NOTOC__ The Pram Factory was an Australian alternative theatre venue in the Melbourne suburb of Carlton from around 1970 until the 1981. It was home to the Australian Performing Group and Nindethana, Australia's first Aboriginal theatre gr ...

, Hoopla, the Playbox Theatre Company, and the Melbourne Theatre Company. He directed and acted in the premiere performance of

Jack Hibberd John Charles Hibberd (born 12 April 1940 in Warracknabeal, Victoria) is an Australian playwright and physician. Biography Hibberd studied medicine at the University of Melbourne and resided in Newman College. He worked as a registrar in th ...

's play '' Dimboola'' at La Mama. His first television appearance was as an uncredited extra in the debut episode of '' Homicide'' (1964). He is best known as playing the title character in the 1973 sex-comedy film '' Alvin Purple'' and its 1974 sequel, '' Alvin Rides Again''. He has written extensively in ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'' newspaper as well as writing biographies of Brett Whiteley (''Brett Whiteley: An Unauthorised Life'', 1996, with his then wife

Margot Hilton Margot Hilton (born 1947) is a British-born Australian author who also writes under the pen name of F.F. Piano. Biography Hilton was born in London and graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA English Hons (1971) and an MA Drama & Theat ...

), and Graham Kennedy. From March 2011, Blundell hosted ''Sunday Night at the Movies with Graeme Blundell'' on

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

's Fox Classics channel. On 29 January 2015, it was announced that Margaret Pomeranz had signed with Foxtel to present a new film and television program on Foxtel Arts, along with Graeme Blundell, a series called ''Screen''. The series was renewed in 2018. , Blundell continues to appear in ''Screen'', and past episodes are uploaded to

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. He is also TV writer for ''

'' newspaper.

Personal life

Blundell has been married to playwright Kerry Dwyer, author

, and journalist Susan Kurosawa.

Filmography

*1969: '' Two Thousand Weeks'' – Journalist *1970: ''Brake Fluid'' *1971: ''

Stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

'' – Westy *1973: '' Alvin Purple'' – Alvin Purple *1974: '' The Box'' (TV series) – Don Cook *1974: '' Alvin Rides Again'' – Alvin Purple / Balls McGee *1976: '' Mad Dog Morgan'' – Italian Jack *1976: '' Alvin Purple'' (TV series) – Alvin Purple *1976: '' Don's Party'' – Simon *1978: ''

Weekend of Shadows ''Weekend of Shadows'' is a 1978 film directed by Tom Jeffrey and starring John Waters. Premise In the 1930s, a farmer's wife in a small town is murdered. Suspicion falls on a Polish labourer and a posse is formed to catch him. Cast *John Water ...

'' – Bernie *1979: '' The Odd Angry Shot'' – 'Dawson' / Dawson *1979: ''Kostas'' – John *1981: ''

Pacific Banana ''Pacific Banana'' is a 1981 Australian bawdy comedy film which reunites the star and writer of ''Alvin Purple''.Doctors and Nurses'' – Mr X *1982: '' The Best of Friends'' – Tom *1983: ''

Midnite Spares ''Midnite Spares'' is a 1983 Australian action film starring Gia Carides, James Laurie, Max Cullen, Graeme Blundell, Bruce Spence, David Argue and Jonathan Coleman. Plot Steve Hall (James Laurie) is a young sprintcar driver from Toowoomba wh ...

'' – Sidebottom *1984: ''

Melvin, Son of Alvin ''Melvin, Son of Alvin'' is a 1984 Australian comedy film. It is a sequel to ''Alvin Purple'',David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p.309 but also was released in the Unite ...

'' – Alvin Purple *1986: '' Australian Dream'' – Geoffrey Stubbs *1987: '' Those Dear Departed'' – Dr. Howie *1987: '' The Year My Voice Broke'' – Nils Olson *1994: ''Gino'' – Larry Stone *1996: ''Idiot Box'' – Detective Eric *1999: '' Looking for Alibrandi'' – Ron Bishop *2002: '' Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones'' – Ruwee Naberrie (scenes deleted) *2005: '' Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith'' – Ruwee Naberrie *2008: ''

The Hollowmen ''The Hollowmen'' is an Australian television comedy series set in the offices of the Central Policy Unit, a fictional political advisory unit personally set up by the Prime Minister to help him get re-elected. Their brief is long-term vision; t ...

'' (TV Series) – Geoff *2009: ''

In Her Skin ''In Her Skin'' (also known as ''I Am You'' from the working title ''How to Change in 9 Weeks'') is a 2009 Australian drama movie written and directed by Simone North. The film is based on the true story of the murder of 15-year-old Rachel Bar ...

'' – Ivan

Writing

* '' Brett Whiteley: An Unauthorised Life'', with

(Macmillan, 1996) * ''King: The Life and Comedy of Graham Kennedy'' (Pan Macmillan, 2003) * ''Australian Theatre: Backstage with Graeme Blundell'' (edited) (Oxford University Press, 1997) * ''The Naked Truth: A Life in Parts'' (Hachette Australia, 2008)

References

External links

Graeme Blundell at the National Film and Sound Archive
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blundell, Graeme 1945 births Australian biographers Male biographers Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Living people Writers from Melbourne Theatre directors from Melbourne The Australian journalists