Henri Szeps OAM, (born 2 October 1943) alternatively Henry Szeps, is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

character actor of theatre and television. He has also featured in films and worked in voice roles, and has worked in productions in the United Kingdom.

Early life

Szeps was born in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland to Polish parents. Due to the German invasion of Poland during World War II, his parents fled to France in 1938. His father left the family to join the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

. In 1943, his mother and three-year-old sister made their way to a refugee camp in Lausanne, where Henri was born. At 1 months he was fostered to a Swiss couple in Blumenstein. His mother reclaimed him when he was three years old, and returned to the Swiss couple when he was 4. He was reclaimed by his mother to Paris, and due to her illness, at the age of six was placed at the Rothschild Orphanage. He came to

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

at the age of eight in 1951 or 1952 with his mother and sister.

Career

Szeps studied acting at

Ensemble Theatre The Ensemble Theatre is an Australian theatre company and theatre, situated in the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli, New South Wales. History It is Australia's longest continuously running professional theatre group, having given its first performa ...

during weekends, under the direction of

Hayes Gordon Hayes Gordon OBE, AO (February 25, 1920October 19, 1999) was an American actor, stage producer and director and acting teacher with a considerable career in Australia. Early life Gordon was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was mentored by O ...

, while gaining science and electrical engineering degrees at Sydney University. In 1963, while sitting for the BSc in maths and physics during the day he was appearing every night at the Ensemble Theatre in his first play there, called ''The Physicists'', which ran for six months. Szeps is probably best known for his role as selfish dentist Robert Beare in the classic Australian television comedy series ''

Mother and Son ''Mother and Son'' is an Australian television sitcom that was broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris. It ...

'' (1984 to 1994), with

Garry McDonald Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is bes ...

Ruth Cracknell Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM (6 July 1925 – 13 May 2002) was an Australian character and comic actress, comedienne and author, her career encompassing all genres including radio, theatre, television and film. She appeared in many dramatic as we ...

and

Judy Morris Judith Ann Morris (born 17 February 1947) is an Australian character actress, as well as a film director and screenwriter, well known for the variety of roles she played in 58 different television shows and films, starting her career as a child ...

. Another prominent role was in ''

Palace of Dreams ''Palace of Dreams'' is a 1985 Australian fictional mini series about a Jewish family running a hotel in working class inner city of Sydney in the 1930s.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p221 ...

'' for which he received a

Penguin Award The Penguin Award is an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954. The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin, hence the ...

. He played the Doctor in the world première of

David Williamson David Keith Williamson AO (born 24 February 1942) is an Australian dramatist and playwright. He has also written screenplays and teleplays. Early life David Williamson was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 24 February 1942, and was brought ...

's play, ''

Travelling North ''Travelling North'' is a 1987 Australian film directed by Carl Schultz and starring Leo McKern, Julia Blake, Graham Kennedy, and Henri Szeps. Based on an original 1979 play of the same name by David Williamson, it is one of Williamson's favou ...

'', and was asked to repeat the performance in the 1987 film, with

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Cla ...

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...

. He appeared in 1981 TV movie ''

A Step in the Right Direction "A Step in the Right Direction" is a song written by Robert and Richard Sherman for the 1971, Walt Disney musical film production ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks ''Bedknobs and Broomsticks'' is a 1971 American live-action animated musical fantasy ...

''. Szeps won the Penguin Award for best actor for ABC's 10 part series ''

''. He has performed in five one-man shows, produced by the

, the last three self-penned: ''The Double Bass'' (1990), ''Sky'' (1992) (written for him by John Misto, ''I'm Not a Dentist'' (1997), ''Why Kids'' (2003) and ''Wish I'd Said That'' (2010). He has written a book on acting, ''All in Good Timing'' (1996), which is used by drama schools.

Honours and awards

Filmography

Personal life

He met his wife of 47 years, New Zealand Australian actress

Mary Ann Severne Mary Ann Severne (b. Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born Australian actress active in Australian made films and television programs from the 1970s. Career She began her acting career in various theatre productions including playing P ...

, during the Sydney season of '' The Boys in the Band'', and they were married soon after. They have two sons, one of whom is

Josh Szeps Josh Szeps, previously known as Josh Zepps, is an Australian media personality, political satirist, and television presenter. Szeps has previously hosted ''Weekend Breakfast'' on ABC News. He was a founding host for HuffPost LiveABC Radio Sydney ABC Radio Sydney (official call sign: 2BL, formerly 2SB) is an ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 kHz on the AM dial. The station transmits with a power ( C ...

. He is the former co-host of Weekend Breakfast on the Australian

ABC News 24 ABC News (formerly ABC News 24; also referred to as the ABC News channel) is an Australian 24-hour news channel launched and owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The channel replaced the former ABC HD channel (which simulcast AB ...

channel.

References

External links

*
Henri Szeps Webpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szeps, Henri Australian male television actors Australian male stage actors Australian male film actors Helpmann Award winners Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian people of French descent Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent 1943 births Living people Drama teachers Swiss emigrants to Australia Swiss people of French descent Swiss people of Polish-Jewish descent Swiss Jews People from Lausanne Australian Jews 20th-century Australian male actors People with Alzheimer's disease