Grant Leonard Ridgway Tilly (12 December 1937 – 10 April 2012) was a New Zealand stage, movie and television

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, set designer, teacher and artist.

Life and career

Grant Tilly was educated in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, taking art at Wellington Technical College in the early 1950s. He then attended teachers college in Wellington and Dunedin, specialising in arts and crafts teaching. He was awarded an overseas bursary and studied children's drama in England during the early 1960s, learning from the best, Peter Slade and Brian Way. On his return to New Zealand he tutored drama with Nola Millar and later became a senior acting tutor at New Zealand Drama School. In 1976, Tilly helped establish Wellington's Circa Theatre, where he acted in a number of plays written by playwright Roger Hall, one of New Zealand's most successful playwrights. He designed the set for Hall's breakthrough hit, the public service satire ''

Glide Time ''Gliding On'' is a New Zealand sitcom that aired from 1981 to 1985. It was written by Roger Hall and adapted from his play ''Glide Time'', and directed by Tony Holden. The series depicts the working lives of four staff members at a government ...

.'' Tilly is known for his acting role in the follow-up '' Middle Age Spread'' and solo rugby play '' C'mon Black,'' that playwright Roger Hall wrote with Tilly in mind. Tilly designed the theatre space of Circa Theatre for the original location in a building in Harris St, and worked with the architects designing the theatre space the new and much larger building that opened in 1994. Aside from a busy stage career, Tilly acted often for the screen. He made his television debut in the 1967 one-off comedy '' The Tired Man'' then ad-libbed alongside playwright

Joseph Musaphia Joseph Musaphia (born 1935) is a New Zealand writer and actor who was born in London. Biography Joseph Musaphia was born in 1935 in London and he has Portuguese ancestry. He moved with his family to Melbourne, Australia and lived there from 1 ...

on the children's show ''

Joe's World ''Joe's World'' is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from December 28, 1979 to July 26, 1980. Premise Joe is a hardworking house painter with a wife and five kids, yet he is deeply unhappy. Cast *Ramon Bieri as Joe Wabash *K Callan as Katie ...

''. Tilly's biggest screen roles include that of a headmaster who has an affair in 1979's film adaptation of '' Middle Age Spread'' (showbusiness magazine

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

compared him to "an antipodean Woody Allen") and in the 1982 comedy ''Carry Me Back'', as the farmer who must sneak his father's body back home after he unexpectedly dies. Grant Tilly's is the voice in the Oscar-nominated animated Western short The Frog, the Dog and the Devil. His television credits include an award-winning performance as artist

Toss Woollaston Sir Mountford Tosswill "Toss" Woollaston (11 April 1910 – 30 August 1998) was a New Zealand artist. He is regarded as one of the most important New Zealand painters of the 20th century. Life Born in Toko, Taranaki in 1910, Woollaston attended ...

in the teleplay '' Erua'', Reverend Henry Williams in the historical epic '' The Governor'', the

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

fantasy ''

Cuckooland ''Cuckooland'' is the eighth studio album by jazz rock artist Robert Wyatt. It was released in 2003 on Hannibal Records. The artwork is by Alfreda Benge. ''The Wire'' named ''Cuckooland'' the record of the year in its annual critics' poll. ...

'' (1995), and a starring role in 2009 short '' Roof Rattling''. Tilly also had many smaller parts in feature films, including two adventures shot partly or wholly in New Zealand: he was "The Collector" in the chase movie '' Race for the Yankee Zephyr'', and a villainous German officer in ''

Savage Islands The Savage Islands or Selvagens Islands ( pt, Ilhas Selvagens ; also known as the Salvage Islands) are a small Portuguese archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean, south of Madeira, and north of the Canary Islands.30,000), white-faced storm- ...

'' (also known as ''Nate and Hayes''). In addition to acting, Tilly worked as an illustrator and writer for the Wellington newspaper ''Evening Post'' in the 1970's and 1980's''.'' Amongst his artistic outputs were artworks encompassing prints, drawings, three-dimensional artworks made with wood and furniture. His "Drawing on History" articles focused on the changing face of Wellington's urban landscape. In the

1988 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Tilly was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, for services to the theatre. In 2002, Tilly donated his skill to design a flexible 90-seat performance space for Stagecraft Theatre (a non-professional theatre company in Wellington). The Ngā Whakarākei O Whātaitai / Wellington Theatre Awards annually an award called The Grant Tilly Actor of the Year.

Death

In April 2012, Tilly died from

prostate The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and phys ...

and

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include sp ...

after being bedridden since January. He was 74 years old and cremated in

Filmography and television appearances

*'' Gone Up North for a While'' (1972, TV Movie) – Doctor *''Telephone Etiquette'' (1974) – Jenkins *'' Skin Deep'' (1978) – Phil Barrett *'' The Les Deverett Variety Hour'' (1978, TV Series) – Various Characters *'' Middle Age Spread'' (1979) – Colin *''

Beyond Reasonable Doubt Beyond a reasonable doubt is a legal standard of proof required to validate a criminal conviction in most adversarial legal systems. It is a higher standard of proof than the balance of probabilities standard commonly used in civil cases, bec ...

'' (1980) – David Morris *'' Race for the Yankee Zephyr'' (1981) – Collector *'' Carry Me Back'' (1982) – Arthur Donovan *''

'' (1983) – Count Von Rittenberg *''

Other Halves ''Other Halves'' is a 1984 New Zealand film directed by John Laing. The film is based on a book by Sue McCauley. Synopsis A relationship develops between a Maori boy in drug rehab and a married Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a M� ...

'' (1984) – Dr. Wray *''

Dangerous Orphans ''Dangerous Orphans'' is a 1986 New Zealand action film directed by John Laing. Synopsis Harry, Moir and Rossi after growing up together orphanage, as adults they pull off the occasional heist together. They plan an international heist to aven ...

'' (1985) – Beck *'' Cuckoo Land'' (1986, TV Series) – Branchy *''

Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train ''Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train'' is a 1988 Australian film directed by Bob Ellis and starring Wendy Hughes, Colin Friels, and Norman Kaye. Nominated at the AFI Awards in the Best Achievement in Cinematography (Yuri Sokol) category. Premis ...

'' (1988) – Politician *''

The Ray Bradbury Theatre ''The Ray Bradbury Theater'' is an anthology series that ran for three seasons on First Choice Superchannel in Canada and HBO in the United States from 1985 to 1986, and then on USA Network, running for four additional seasons from 1988 to 19 ...

'' (1989) – Stockwell *''

The Returning ''The Returning'' is a 1990 Australia-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 ...

'' (1990) – Dr. Pitts *''

Shark in the Park ''Shark in the Park'' is a New Zealand police procedural. It revolved around the professional and private lives of a group of officers at a Wellington police station under the command of Inspector Brian "Sharky" Finn. The title came from the i ...

'' (1990, TV Series) – Inspector Englebretsen *'' Alex'' (1992) – Mr. Upjohn *'' Mirror, Mirror'' (1995, TV Series) – Sir Gerald Salisbury *'' Flight of the Albatross'' (1995) – Narrator (voice) *''

Brilliant Lies ''Brilliant Lies'' is a 1996 Australian drama (film and television), drama film produced by Bayside Pictures and Beyond Films. It stars Gia Carides and Anthony LaPaglia. It was directed by Richard Franklin (director), Richard Franklin and produce ...

'' (1996) – Steve Lovett *'' Every Woman's Dream'' (1996, TV Movie) – Phil Dobrowski *''

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 ...

'' (1997, TV Series) – Toth *''

The Chosen Chosen or The Chosen may refer to: The chosen ones *Chosen people, people who believe they have been chosen by a higher power to do a certain thing including **Jews as the chosen people Books * ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel), a 1967 novel by Chaim ...

'' (1998, TV Movie) – Father McCrory *'' The Legend of William Tell'' (1998, TV Series) – Mondar *'' Dark Knight'' (2000, TV Series) – Fadain *'' Turangawaewae'' (2002, Short) – Mr. Finch *'' The Strip'' (2002–2003, TV Series) – Ken Walker *'' 30 Days of Night'' (2007) – Gus Lambert *'' Roof Rattling'' (2010, Short) – Old Man

References

External links

*
Grant Tilly: A career on screen and stage
''NZonscreen''. 29 March 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2010.
Grant Tilly: biography
at South Coast Gallery. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilly, Grant 1937 births New Zealand male film actors New Zealand male television actors New Zealand artists 2012 deaths Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from kidney cancer Deaths from cancer in New Zealand New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Male actors from Wellington City Male actors from Sydney Australian emigrants to New Zealand