John Edward Corby Appleton (20 October 1905 – 13 September 1990) was an Australian theatre and radio director and actor prominent in the 1950s.
Early life
Born in
Walham Green, England the oldest of eight children of an English father and an Australian-born mother,
[Johnson, Rob ''Golden Age of the Argonauts'' Hodder and Stoughton 1997 ] Frank and Irene, he was educated at
Fort Street Boys' High School
, motto_translation = Each person is the maker of their own fortune
, sister_school = Suginami Sogo High School, Tokyo, Japan
, location = Parramatta Road, Petersham, Inner West Sydney, New South Wales
, ...
.
He joined the Sydney ''
Evening News'' as a journalist but after six years was sacked for supporting striking workers. During this time he had been taking night classes at the
Julian Ashton Art School and started a small business painting 24-sheet posters for billboards.
Amateur theatre
In 1928 he joined the Sydney Players Club, of which his father Frank was an active member, initially as an actor then producer, known as "Jack Appleton".
He then joined
Doris Fitton's
The Independent Theatre, where he gained further experience as actor and producer.
Professional and Wartime experience
At least partly because of his horsemanship, he was engaged to play
Dan Kelly Daniel, Dan or Danny Kelly may refer to:
Academics
* Daniel Kelly (sociologist) (born 1959), British sociologist and nursing professor
* Daniel Kelly (philosopher) (born 1975), American philosopher
* Daniel P. Kelly, American physician and Prof ...
in the 1934 film "When the Kellys Rode", which failed to find a distributor.
In 1936 he joined
radio 2GB's "B.S.A. Players" (from 1938 known as the "
Macquarie Players
2GB is a commercial radio station in Sydney, Australia owned by parent company Nine Radio, a division of Nine Entertainment Co., who also own sister station 2UE.
2GB broadcasts on 873 kHz, AM.
In 2010, 2GB held 14.7% of the total radio ra ...
"), which led to further employment with 2GB. There he teamed up with
Jack Davey and together set up an independent production company as his producer and announcer.
In 1940 he was engaged to fellow Independent Theatre actor Sheila Carter (1918–)
They married and by war's end had one child.
He spent the war years with the
RAAF firstly with the American 19th Bomber Group, planning the secret Hobert (spelling?) airfield in Northern Australia, then as Intelligence Officer with 75 Squadron for 14 months. He was then involved in a group organising escape lines from
New Britain
New Britain ( tpi, Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi the Dam ...
, followed by a stint with MI9.
His radio production company continued to grow. One notable client, from 1947 to 1949, was
Robert Menzies
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...
' Liberal Party.
Australian Broadcasting Commission
He was appointed Supervisor of Children's Programmes for ABC Radio in 1952. By this time he was married with three daughters.
He took a very hands-on approach to the running of the
Children's Session
''The Argonauts Club'' was an Australian children's radio program, first broadcast in 1933 on ABC Radio Melbourne. Its format was devised by Nina Murdoch who had run the station's Children's Hour as "Pat". The show was discontinued in 1934 when Ni ...
, including persuading
Ruth Park to write him a part, "Tabby Cat", in the
Muddle-Headed Wombat
The Muddle-Headed Wombat is a fictional wombat featured in the radio serials and later in the children's books of the same name written by Australian author Ruth Park. The books are considered classics of Australian children's literature.
History ...
serial.
He was outspoken on the damaging effects of TV on children's minds.
With his conservative outlook and RAAF demeanor, he was treated as an outsider by the governing clique of the ABC. He retired in October 1970.
Theatre
He acted in a great number of amateur productions (aided by his very "proper" English accent) including:
*''The School for Scandal'' (Sheridan) with Sydney Players' Club at
St James' Hall
St. James's Hall was a concert hall in London that opened on 25 March 1858, designed by architect and artist Owen Jones, who had decorated the interior of the Crystal Palace. It was situated between the Quadrant in Regent Street and Piccadilly, ...
*''Scrapped'' (Alma Brosnan) with Turret Theatre at their
Milsons Point
Milsons Point is a suburb on the lower North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located 3 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of North Sydney Council.
...
clubhouse
*''The Passion Flower'' (Benavente) with Turret Theatre
*''The Last Enemy'' (Frank Harvey – an Australian writer) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
*''Dutch Courage'' (Mac Luker – an Australian writer) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
*''Intruders'' (Mac Luker – an Australian writer) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
*''Art and Mrs Bottle'' (Benn Levy) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
*''The Shadow of a Gunman'' (
Seán O'Casey) with Independent Theatre at its clubrooms 175 Pitt St.
*''
The Importance of Being Earnest (
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
) with Independent Theatre
*''
Thunder Rock'' (
Robert Ardrey) with Independent Theatre group
As assistant producer
*''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' (
Shakespeare) with Shakespearean Repertory Company
He served as producer for the Junior Theatre League and acted as judge for several of its annual drama festivals. and was producer for the
Sydney Players Club
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
based at
St James's Hall:
*''The Small Hour'' (
Sidney Barrington Gates)
*''
The Rivals'' (
Sheridan
Sheridan may refer to:
People
Surname
*Sheridan (surname)
*Philip Sheridan (1831–1888), U.S. Army general after whom the Sheridan tank is named
*Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751–1816), Irish playwright (''The Rivals''), poet and politician
...
)
*''Doctor Knock'' (
Jules Romains trans.
Harley Granville-Barker)
*''Jonah and the Whale'' (
James Bridie)
*''Everyman of Everystreet'' (
Mary D. Stocks)
*''Libel'' (
Edward Wooll
Edward Wooll, OBE, QC (31 March 1878 – 20 May 1970) was a British barrister, playwright, and novelist.
Biography
The eldest son of the Reverend C. W. Wooll, Vicar of Ditton, Lancashire, Edward Wooll was educated at Liverpool College and New ...
)
*''Peace and Quiet'' (
Quintero brothers trans.
Harley Granville-Barker)
*''Red Sky at Night'' (
Dymphna Cusack – a member of SPC)
*''Dragon's Teeth'' (
Shirland Quin)
*''Haunted Houses'' (
Geoffrey Whitworth)
*''The Maitlands'' (
Ronald MacKenzie
Ronald Conrad MacKenzie (May 3, 1934 – October 29, 2020) was an American attorney and Republican politician who served in the Massachusetts Senate from 1967 to 1977. He resigned following his conviction for extortion, conspiracy, and other rel ...
)
*''A Sleeping Clergyman'' (
James Bridie)
*''Bees on the Boat Deck'' (
J. B. Priestley)
*''In Theatre Street'' (
Henri-René Lenormand)
and:
*''Judgment Day'' (
Elmer Rice) assisting
Doris Fitton for Independent Theatre at the Conservatorium of Music.
*''Two Gentlemen of Soho'' (
A. P. Herbert) for Independent Theatre at its clubrooms 175 Pitt St.
*''There Is No Armour'' (by Australian writer
Lynn Foster
Lynn Foster (1914-1985), was a playwright, radio producer and writer, a script editor and television writer. She was the first woman in Australia both to direct and write a major national radio show, this being the serial " Big Sister".
In ...
) for Independent Theatre at its clubrooms 175 Pitt St.
*''Misalliance'' (
George Bernard Shaw) for
John Alden at St James' Theatre, North Sydney
*''It All Takes Time'' (by Australian writer John Watson) for Independent Theatre at St James' Theatre, North Sydney
at the Mercury Theatre (St James's Hall renamed)
*''
Love in Albania'' (
Eric Linklater)
*''Dragon's Mouth'' (
Jacquetta Hawkes and
J. B. Priestley)
*''Day's Mischief'' (
Lesley Storm)
and at the Metropolitan (for whom?):
*''Richard II'' (
Shakespeare)
*''Jitta's Atonement'' (
George Bernard Shaw)
*''
Carnival of Thieves'' (
Jean Anouilh)
Radio
*''The Terrible Twins'' (2CH play) (actor)
*''
Beau Geste'' (2CH serial) (as "Digby")
*''The New Adventures of Tiger Bryce'' (2CH serial)(as actor)
*''Adventure'' (2UW series)
*''Dithering with Davey'' (2GB, 2UE series)
[ScreenSound Australia (prev. National Film and Sound Archives)](_blank)
/ref>
*''Dr Davey, the Happiest Man on Earth'' (2GB series)
/ref>
Other interests
He wrote a number of radio broadcasts for commercial radio on historic Australian homes, the scripts of which are held in the Mitchell Library.
He was active in the Pony Club movement.
Bibliography
*''The Australian Horse & Pony Handbook'' (ill. Walter Stackpool) Angus & Robertson 1986
:(a revised edition of his ''Horse & Pony Handbook'' first pub. 1972)
Sources
Interview with Hazel de BergScreenSound Australia
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replacing dead link
National Film and Sound Archives
->
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appleton, John E. C.
Australian theatre directors
Australian theatre managers and producers
Australian radio producers
Australian male radio actors
1905 births
1990 deaths
20th-century Australian male actors
Julian Ashton Art School alumni
British emigrants to Australia