Lloyd Berrell (13 February 1926 – 30 December 1957) was a New Zealand actor who played Reuben "Roo" Webber in the original Sydney production of ''
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' is an Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne on 28 November 1955. The play is considered to be the most significant in Australian theatre history, and a " ...
''. He worked extensively in Australian radio and theatre, appearing in a large portion of the films being shot locally at that time. He also starred in the original stage production of
Sumner Locke Elliott
Sumner Locke Elliott (17 October 191724 June 1991) was an Australian (later American) novelist and playwright.
Biography
Elliott was born in Sydney to the writer Sumner Locke and the journalist Henry Logan Elliott. His mother died of eclam ...
's ''
Rusty Bugles'' as well as numerous productions for the
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury als ...
.
Biography
Berrell was born in Wellington, New Zealand, and was an only child while his father was a doctor. His family moved to Australia when Berrell was a child, and he began acting on radio, appearing on ''The Youth Show''. In this role, he performed a variety of acts and often worked as a compère.
Berrell received acclaim for playing the title role in the radio play ''Ned Kelly'' in 1942.
In 1944 Berrell was questioned by police for his role in disturbances in a strike by Actors Equity.
During World War II, he served in the Australian Broadcast Control Unit from 1944 to 1946. In 1945 he was in ''Sons of the Morning'' on stage at the New Theatre.
In 1948, Berrell had a key role in the long-running play ''
Rusty Bugles''. That year, he performed in ''A Pickwick Story'' for Mercury Mobile Players, a company originally established by
Peter Finch.
By 1948 he earned over £1,000 a year, mostly in radio.
In 1950 he was in a production of ''Julius Caesar'' at the Independent Theatre alongside
Rod Taylor. The following year he did ''
Anna Christie
''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the ...
'' for John Alden.
Berrell did voice over for the documentary ''
Fighting Blood'' (1951). He was also in several plays at the Mercury Theatre in Sydney in 1952, including ''The Twins'', ''Point of Departure'', and ''The Happy Time''.
In 1953 he won a Macquarie Award for best actor in a radio drama. He also took a lead role in the Australian radio version of "Tom Corbett Space Cadet" for Artransa in 1953, originally a U.S. TV and radio series between 1950 and 1955. Then, Berrell formed a short lived radio production company with James Workman, called Workman-Berrell Productions.
His last appearance on Australia radio was in '
''The Closing Door.
Films
Berrell featured in
Byron Haskin's ''
His Majesty O'Keefe'' (1954), shot in Fiji.
Berrell was cast as the villain in ''
King of the Coral Sea
''King of the Coral Sea'' is a 1954 film starring Chips Rafferty and Charles Tingwell, directed by Lee Robinson and shot on location in Thursday Island. It was one of the most commercially successful Australian films of the 1950s and was Rod Ta ...
'' (1954), a rare Australian financed feature of the time, then Haskin used him again in ''
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a Character (arts), fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel ''Treasure Island'' (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular cult ...
'' (1954), filmed in Australia.
He did the narration for ''Antarctic Voyage'' (1956).
''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll''
In 1956, Berrell achieved his greatest success when he was cast as 'Roo' in the Sydney production of ''
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' is an Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne on 28 November 1955. The play is considered to be the most significant in Australian theatre history, and a " ...
.'' He toured with the production around the country for the
Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust
The Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust is a theatre and performing arts company that was founded in September 1954, with the aim of establishing drama, opera and ballet companies nationally.
Founding
In 1954 the Australian Elizabethan Theatre T ...
.
Also for the Trust, Berrell was in ''The Relapse'' (1957) and ''Hamlet'' (1957, as Claudius), which both toured.
Berrell's last appearance was as a truck driver in ''
The Shiralee'' (1957).
Personal life
Berrell was married in 1946 but the marriage ended in 1948. Berrell tried to sue his ex-wife in an attempt to get her back, but lost the case when he admitted to have spanked his wife twice. Together, they had one child. The divorce came through in 1951.
His second marriage, to Betty, who was a fellow actor, was a happy one. According to a historian, "it was a successful marriage; Betty was good for Lloyd. He had been a hard worker and player. He drank heavily and ran himself into the ground. Betty had helped him turn his life around."
Death
Berrell died on 30 December 1957 while on board the French liner Caledonian which was off the north west coast of Africa and traveling to London. At the time of his death, he was 31 years old. News of his death did not reach Sydney until a fortnight later. The cause was initially thought to be flu. Then when Berrell's widow returned to Australia she said the cause was a heart attack, which he had ten days out of Guadeloupe. "He had a very strenuous tour with ''The Relapse'' over its eight months run," said Betty Berrell. "He wore heavy cloaks and padding for his role and I believe the strain was too much for him."
According to one writer, "December 30, 1957 is a day actors will always recall; the day a profession cried; everybody loved Berrell as he was one of the most respected people in the trade. He was known as someone who was fun to be with. Despite his youth, he challenged much older people in the craft of radio. Berrell was dynamic and his work was full of energy. “He had probably the best natural voice that this country had ever heard, a voice and personality that could create any character in radio."
[Philp p 491]
Filmography
Theatre credits
* ''
Rusty Bugles'' by
Sumner Locke Elliott
Sumner Locke Elliott (17 October 191724 June 1991) was an Australian (later American) novelist and playwright.
Biography
Elliott was born in Sydney to the writer Sumner Locke and the journalist Henry Logan Elliott. His mother died of eclam ...
– Independent Theatre, Sydney, 1948
* ''A Pickwick Story'' adapted by
Creswick Jenkinson – Sydney Town Hall, 1948
* ''
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...
'' by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
– Independent Theatre, Sydney, 1950 – with
Rod Taylor
* ''
Anna Christie
''Anna Christie'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According to historian Paul Avrich, the ...
'' by
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...
– John Alden Company, 1951 – with
Lyndall Barbour
Lyndall Harvey Barbour (19 May 1916 – 10 October 1986) was an Australian actress, primarily of radio, although she also added stage and television work (both series and made-for-television movies) to her repertoire. Born in Egypt to Australian p ...
, Lou Vernon
* ''
The Twins'' by
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...
– Mercury Theatre, Sydney, 1952 – with
Rod Taylor and
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 ...
* ''
Point of Departure'' by
Jean Anouilh
Jean Marie Lucien Pierre Anouilh (; 23 June 1910 – 3 October 1987) was a French dramatist whose career spanned five decades. Though his work ranged from high drama to absurdist farce, Anouilh is best known for his 1944 play ''Antigone'', an a ...
– Mercury Theatre, Sydney, 1952 – with Alan White
* ''
The Happy Time
''The Happy Time'' is a 1952 American comedy-drama film directed by the award-winning director Richard Fleischer, based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Robert Fontaine, which Samuel A. Taylor turned into a hit play. A boy, played by Bobb ...
'' by
Samuel A. Taylor
Samuel A. Taylor (June 13, 1912 – May 26, 2000) was an American playwright and screenwriter.
Biography
Born Samuel Albert Tanenbaum, in a Jewish family, in Chicago, Illinois, Taylor made his Broadway debut as author of the play ''The Hap ...
– Mercury Theatre, Sydney, 1952 – with
Rod Taylor
* ''
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll
''Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' is an Australian play written by Ray Lawler and first performed at the Union Theatre in Melbourne on 28 November 1955. The play is considered to be the most significant in Australian theatre history, and a " ...
'' by
Ray Lawler
Raymond Evenor Lawler (born 23 May 1921) is an Australian actor, dramatist, and theatre producer and director. His most notable play was his tenth, '' Summer of the Seventeenth Doll'' (1953), which had its premiere in Melbourne in 1955. The ...
– Elizabethan Theatre, Sydney, 1956
* ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'' by
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
– Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Sydney, 1957
* ''
The Relapse
''The Relapse, or, Virtue in Danger'' is a Restoration comedy from 1696 written by John Vanbrugh. The play is a sequel to Colley Cibber's '' Love's Last Shift, or, The Fool in Fashion''.
In Cibber's ''Love's Last Shift'', a free-living Rest ...
'' by
John Vanbrugh – Elizabethan Theatre, Sydney, 1957 – with
Zoe Caldwell
Zoe Ada Caldwell, (14 September 1933 – 16 February 2020) was an Australian actress. She was a four-time Tony Award winner, winning Best Featured Actress in a Play for '' Slapstick Tragedy'' (1966), and Best Actress in a Play for '' The Pri ...
References
External links
*
Lloyd Berrellat
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 ...
Lloyd Berrellat the
National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Berrell, Lloyd
1926 births
1957 deaths
New Zealand male film actors
New Zealand male television actors
New Zealand male stage actors
20th-century New Zealand male actors
Male actors from Wellington City
New Zealand expatriates in Australia
People who died at sea