John Bernard Derum (born 9 January 1946) is an Australian stage, film and television actor. He has also directed and produced for theatre companies throughout Australia and for television.
Career
Theatre
Derum walked in on Wal Cherry's Emerald Hill Theatre a mere seventeen years old in late 1963 and was cast by George Whaley in his production '' Billy Liar''. Within six months he was working as a supporting actor beside
Keith Michell
Keith Joseph Michell (1 December 1926 – 20 November 2015) was an Australian actor who worked primarily in the United Kingdom, and was best known for his television and film portrayals of King Henry VIII. He appeared extensively in Shakespeare ...
and Googie Withers in the nationwide tour of a Shakespearean celebration, ''The First Four Hundred Years''. The young actor continued to work and mature and was to play roles including Kostya in ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...
'' (
Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
The Crucible
''The Crucible'' is a 1953 play by American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during 1692–93. Miller wrote the play as ...
'' (Sydney Theatre Company 1991-93) and numerous revues, musicals and variety performances.
John Derum was Artistic Director of the Canberra Company, Theatre ACT in 1985–86. He was awarded a Literary Fellowship at the
Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Aus ...
in 1990, which enabled the publication of the expanded script of ''More Than A Sentimental Bloke''.
Between 1996 and 1999 Derum was the General Manager of the Independent Theatre in North Sydney, charged with overseeing the completion of the restoration and the successful re-opening of that historic theatre.
Since his return from the Blue Mountains to Sydney in 2007, he has resumed his career as actor and director. He has directed more than a dozen rehearsed readings of new scripts and directed ''Waiting For Gotterson'' by
Sam Atwell
Samuel Atwell (born 6 April 1979) is an Australian actor, producer, writer and director.
Born in Nambour, Queensland, he and his family lived in Indonesia for 6 years before returning to Queensland where he grew up in Brisbane. He has always h ...
for original and return seasons at Newtown Theatre in 2008, and ''Housebound (Crime Scenes 2009)''. He played Lord Augustus in Oscar Wilde's ''
Lady Windermere's Fan
''Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman'' is a four-act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London.
The story concerns Lady Windermere, who suspects that her husband is ...
'' (
Darlinghurst Theatre
Darlinghurst Theatre is an independent theatre company based at the Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst, New South Wales.
Glenn Terry established the company in 1993 initially as an inner-city drama school. Darlinghurst Theatre productions were ...
, 2009), Aidan Turner and David Marsh in David Hare's ''
The Power of Yes
''The Power of Yes'' is a 2009 play by English playwright David Hare. It is the story of a dramatist seeking to understand the financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It ...
'' ( Belvoir 2010), and he continues to record a wide range of voice tracks and readings for radio.
Television
Derum first appeared on Australian television in the first episode of '' Homicide'' in 1964, a serious role as the delinquent son of a bank security guard. Later he appeared in another Australian police drama ''
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 ...
''. He became famous for his appearances as Narrator Neville in the first season of the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's irreverent satire/comedy ''
The Aunty Jack Show
''The Aunty Jack Show'' was a Logie Award-winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day.
The lead chara ...
''. Derum appeared in a number of comedy and revue series including ''
Ratbags
''Ratbags'' is an Australian comedy series which screened on Network Ten in 1981. The show was loosely based on the life and times of office rat, Benny Gordon.
Cast
* Rod Quantock
* Mary Kenneally
* Benny Gordon
* John Derum
* Adam Bowen
* Joan ...
'' (1982). He appeared in the final edition of ''
The Mavis Bramston Show
''The Mavis Bramston Show'' was a weekly Australian television satirical sketch comedy revue series which aired on the Seven Network from 1964 to 1968. Inspired by the British TV satirical revue TV shows of the period (notably ''That Was The Week ...
'' in 1975.
He played
B. A. Santamaria
Bartholomew Augustine Santamaria, usually known as B. A. Santamaria (14 August 1915 – 25 February 1998), was an Australian Roman Catholic anti-Communist political activist and journalist. He was a guiding influence in the founding of the Dem ...
The Gadfly
''The Gadfly'' is a novel by Irish-born British writer Ethel Voynich, published in 1897 (United States, June; Great Britain, September of the same year), set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and upris ...
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 ...
'' in the 1990s.
For
ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to:
*ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or
*ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia
ABC Television or ABC ...
, he hosted more than 200 editions of the national quiz '' The Oz Game'' and more than 50 episodes of the Australian music and folklore program '' That's Australia''.
Derum also lent his voice to the ABC children's animated television series ''
The Adventures of Sam
''The Adventures of Sam'' was an Australian children's animated television serial, written by Ken Kelso, that aired on the ABC in 1999. Set in the 1850s, it followed a sea-faring boy named Sam Donahue as he goes on many adventures around the w ...
''.
Narrator
He narrated the audio-book ''Sanctuary'' by Judy Nunn.
Film
His film appearances include ''
Mad Dog Morgan
''Mad Dog Morgan'' is a 1976 Australian bushranger film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson and David Gulpilil. It is based upon the life of Dan Morgan.
Plot
Dan Morgan witnesses the (fictitious) bloody massa ...
The Night the Prowler
''The Night the Prowler'' (also known as ''Patrick White's The Night the Prowler'') is a 1978 Australian film written by Patrick White, produced by Anthony Buckley and directed by Jim Sharman. Ruth Cracknell was nominated in 1979 for an AFI Aw ...
'' (1978; as John).
John Derum has become widely identified with his interpretation of the work of Australian writers, particularly
C. J. Dennis
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis (7 September 1876 – 22 June 1938), better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet and journalist known for his best-selling verse novel ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' (1915). Alongside ...
. He performed ''More Than A Sentimental Bloke'', his tribute to Dennis, more than 500 times around Australia between 1979 and 1994. He has also recorded and performed ''The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke'' and the Dennis masterpiece ''The Glugs of Gosh''.
Politics
Derum was elected to
Blue Mountains City Council
The City of Blue Mountains is a local government area of New South Wales, Australia, governed by the Blue Mountains City Council. The city is located in the Blue Mountains range west of Sydney.
The Mayor of Blue Mountains City Council is coun ...
from 1995 to 1999 and worked as a political adviser between 2001 and 2007. He was appointed to the Theatre Committee of the NSW Government Arts Advisory Board, and worked on the staff of the NSW Minister for the Environment and Attorney-General and as electorate advisor for three members of parliament. He has twice held office in Actors Equity and he founded the actors' support group, Actors Forum.
Awards
Derum was made a member of the
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...
(AM) on 26 January 2019 for significant service to the performing arts as an actor, director and administrator, and to the community.
References
External links
*
* ,
AusStage
AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...