John Stanton (born 28 October 1944) is an Australian actor. Stanton has appeared in many stage, television and film productions throughout his extensive fifty-year career.

Early life

Stanton was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. He attended

Banyo State High School Earnshaw State College is a P-12 college in the Brisbane North Education District. Established in 2003 and located in Queensland, Australia in the suburb of Banyo in northeast Brisbane. Earnshaw has a short history as a College but a long histor ...

for his secondary education where he was a runner and swimmer. He is the brother of ecologist

Peter Stanton James Peter Stanton (born 23 April 1940) is an Australian landscape ecologist, fire ecologist, botanist and biogeographer who individually conducted systematic environmental resource surveys throughout Queensland whilst working for the Natio ...

. Despite his obvious sporting talents, Stanton was more interested in pursuing acting as a career although he also had a desire to become a veterinarian. Stanton worked various jobs including as a school teacher and as a prawner on

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

. At the age of 24, he unsuccessfully auditioned for the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

Stage

Stanton moved to Melbourne to further his career. He played the major supporting role of

Peter Handcock Peter Joseph Handcock (17 February 1868 – 27 February 1902) was an Australian-born Veterinary Lieutenant and convicted war criminal who served in the Bushveldt Carbineers during the Boer War in South Africa. After a court martial, Handcock (a ...

(to Terence Donovan's leading role of

Breaker Morant Harry "The Breaker" Harbord Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902), more popularly known as Breaker Morant, was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, bush poet, military officer, and war criminal who was co ...

) in the first public performance of

Kenneth G. Ross Kenneth Graham Ross (born 4 June 1941) is an Australian playwright, screenwriter, and lyricist best known for writing the 1978 stage play ''Breaker Morant'', that was based on the life of Australian soldier Harry "Breaker" Morant. With the ...

's play '' Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts'', presented by the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne on 2 February 1978. He also played many other roles on stage including the lead in Shakespeare's ''

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 ...

''. In 1979, Stanton appeared in the

production of the

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

play ''

Betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. Ofte ...

'' which was the first time the production had been staged outside the United Kingdom. In 2013, Stanton appeared as

Willy Loman William "Willy" Loman is a fictional character and the protagonist of Arthur Miller's play ''Death of a Salesman'', which debuted on Broadway with Lee J. Cobb playing Loman at the Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949. Loman is a 63-year-old t ...

in the

Black Swan Theatre Company Black Swan State Theatre Company (formerly The Black Swan Theatre Company) is Western Australia's state theatre company. It runs an annual subscription season in Perth at the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, tours its productions reg ...

production of ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montag ...

''.

Television

Stanton's early television work included a stint in the soap opera '' Bellbird'' in 1972, and various guest-starring roles in the

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfords ...

police dramas ''

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

'', ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...

'', ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...

''. He also acted in the miniseries '' Against the Wind''. Despite having made six earlier appearances as different characters in ''Homicide'', Stanton was cast as a regular character, lead detective Pat Kelly, in 1973–74. In his final episode, Pat Kelly engaged in a romance with a woman played by his real-life wife

Jill Forster Jill Forster (born 1936), is an English Australian actress who came to Australia as a model in 1964 and appeared in the Crawford Production series '' Hunter''. She is well known for appearance's in TV series, but has also appeared in made for T ...

, with whom he previously appeared in an episode of ''

''. After leaving ''Homicide'', Stanton continued to make guest appearances in TV dramas, and was later signed to replace the departing

Gerard Kennedy Gerard Michael Kennedy (born July 24, 1960) is a Canadian politician in Ontario, Canada. He served as Ontario's minister of Education from 2003 to 2006, when he resigned to make an unsuccessful bid for the leadership of the Liberal Party of C ...

in ''

'' – however, the series was summarily cancelled upon Kennedy's leaving, and Stanton's character of Sen. Det. Tom Morgan appeared in the final episode only. He then played the regular lead role of Nick Manning in the later years of soap opera '' The Box''. Jill Forster at that time also played the regular role of prim secretary Enid Parker in ''The Box'', and in the storyline Enid eventually had a one-night stand with Stanton's character. When Stanton and Forster became expectant parents in real life and Forster left ''The Box'' to have the baby, likewise Enid fell pregnant and left to have the baby, and in the story Nick was the father. When Forster returned for the show's final episode in 1977 Enid's baby was played by Stanton and Forster's real-life child. In 1981 he played the title character of Det. Sgt. Steve Bellamy in the police series '' Bellamy''. He was acclaimed in his role as

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

in television mini-series '' The Dismissal'', for which he was awarded a Logie Award for Best Actor in a single drama or mini-series. When Stanton was cast in ''The Dismissal'', the producers wanted him to wear a wig and prosthetics which Stanton refused. In a 2013 interview, Stanton said: "I said 'there's no way I'm going to do that. Either I will create my own reality or I'm not going to be there at all' so I was one of the few that went without make-up." During the interview, Stanton also revealed what Fraser had said about the mini-series, recalling that he had said: "Well they got someone decent to play me - they should have got someone decent to play Whitlam", referring to the performance of Max Phipps. During the early 1990s Stanton portrayed the character of Oliver Blackwood in the TV series ''

The Man from Snowy River The Man from Snowy River may refer to: * "The Man from Snowy River" (poem), an 1890 Australian poem by Banjo Paterson. * '' The Man from Snowy River and Other Verses'' an 1895 poetry collection by Banjo Paterson (including the above) * ''The Man ...

'', and appeared in a recurring role as Bryce Redstaff in ''

McLeod's Daughters ''McLeod's Daughters'' is an Australian drama television series created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton for the Nine Network, which aired from 8 August 2001, to 31 January 2009, lasting eight seasons. It stars Lisa Chappell and Brid ...

'' from 2003–07. Stanton appeared in eight episodes of ''

The Doctor Blake Mysteries ''The Doctor Blake Mysteries'' (also ''The Blake Mysteries'') is an Australian television series that premiered on ABC TV on 1 February 2013 at 8:30 pm. The series stars Craig McLachlan in the lead role of Dr. Lucien Blake, who returns home t ...

'' as retired, then acting Superintendent Douglas Ashby, from Season 1 to Season 3, In 1997, he appeared in an episode of ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...

'' playing the character of Dougall Frazer.

Films

In addition to his stage and television work, Stanton has appeared in numerous movies with numerous film credits to his name. In 1981, he appeared with

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

and

Simone Buchanan Simone Louise Buchanan is an Australian film and television actress, and television director. She is best known for her television roles as Debbie Kelly in the situation comedy '' Hey Dad..!'' and Samantha Fitzgerald in the soap opera '' Neighb ...

in '' Run Rebecca, Run''. He starred as the ''bagman'' in the 1982 comedy film ''

Kitty and the Bagman ''Kitty and the Bagman'' is a 1983 Australian film about gangsters in the 1920s. It was based on the rivalry of Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine. Premise Kitty O'Rourke arrives in Australia from England as a war bride. Her husband is arrested by a ...

''. In 1983, Stanton appeared in the movie

Dusty Dusty may refer to: Places in the United States * Dusty, New Mexico, an unincorporated community * Dusty, Washington, an unincorporated community * Dusty Glacier, Washington People * Dusty (given name) * Dusty (nickname) * Slim Dusty, Austra ...

with

Bill Kerr William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian actor, comedian, and vaudevillian. Born in South Africa, he started his career as a child actor in Australia, before emigrating to Britain after the Second Wor ...

. Stanton starred in the

Daryl Duke Daryl Duke (8 March 1929 – 21 October 2006) was a Canadian film and television director. Biography Duke was born at Vancouver, British Columbia, where he became one of CBC Television's earliest regional producers. His career continued with C ...

-directed 1986 adventure drama film ''

Tai-Pan A tai-pan (,Andrew J. Moody, "Transmission Languages and Source Languages of Chinese Borrowings in English", ''American Speech'', Vol. 71, No. 4 (Winter, 1996), pp. 414-415. literally "top class"汉英词典 — ''A Chinese-English Dictionary' ...

'' and in the 1987 Australian film '' Great Expectations: The Untold Story''. Stanton also appeared in ''

Rent-a-Cop ''Rent-a-Cop'' is a 1987 American thriller comedy starring Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli. Reynolds plays a disgraced police officer, now working as a security guard, who falls in love with Minnelli, who plays a prostitute. The film saw both ...

'' which starred

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture. Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...

and

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

but received mostly negative reviews.

Voiceover roles

Stanton is known for his distinctive deep and rich voice, which has led to voiceover work. This included being the English language announcer for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony. He was also the voice on one or more television ads for the Opening Ceremony Official Album. He has also been the voice-over announcer for numerous television and radio ads, including Forty Winks bedding. He is also doing voice overs for Designer Direct. He voiced of The Brolga in the animated TV series '' The Silver Brumby''. He is the narrator for the 8-part TV series Australians at War, which commenced Anzac Day, 25 April 2001.''Australians at War''
Accessed 6 February 2010 He was also the narrator of the Australian commercial ''

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

''. He has also narrated "Hitler: The Final Chapter" released in 1992 by "Cyril Jones & Associates" and released in the U.S. in 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, John 1944 births Living people Australian male film actors Australian male stage actors Australian male television actors Australian male voice actors Logie Award winners Male actors from Brisbane 20th-century Australian male actors