Henry Murdoch (17 September 1920 - 24 April 1987), born as George Henry Murdock, was an

Australian aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

actor and stockman who appeared in

Australian films The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of ''The Story of the Kelly Gang'', arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian crews have produced many films, a number of which have received internati ...

of the 1940s and 1950s. He was working as stockman in

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

when discovered by

Ralph Smart Ralph Foster Smart (27 August 1908 – 12 February 2001) was a film and television producer, director, and writer, born in England to Australian parents. Biography Smart found work in Britain with Anthony Asquith and later alongside the film dir ...

, who was helping make '' The Overlanders'' (1946). The film's director,

Harry Watt Harry Watt (18 October 19062 April 1987) was a Scottish documentary and feature film director, who began his career working for John Grierson and Robert Flaherty. His 1959 film ''The Siege of Pinchgut'' was entered into the 9th Berlin Inter ...

, later claimed Murdoch and fellow aboriginal actor Clyde Combo "proved to be first-class actors and were exceedingly quick witted and intelligent. They certainly disproved the conventional idea that the Australian aboriginal is an animalistic caveman." ''Filmink'' said "It was Henry Murdoch who personified a specific type of role in the 1940s and 1950s, the aboriginal stockman who was a sidekick/tracker to the white hero." Murdoch thought that was the end of his acting career, but he was called back to make several films by visiting companies in Australia. "I'd like to be a full-time actor and a part-time stockman", he said in 1949. "Film work's good—if there's enough of it." He later made two films for Lee Robinson.

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death ...

claimed Murdoch carried a volume of Shakespeare with him.

Select Credits

References

External links

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Henry Murdoch
at

Australian Dictionary of Biography The ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'' (ADB or AuDB) is a national co-operative enterprise founded and maintained by the Australian National University (ANU) to produce authoritative biographical articles on eminent people in Australia's ...

1920 births 1987 deaths Australian male actors Indigenous Australian male actors {{Australia-actor-stub