Lance Charles Curtis, was an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n actor, writer and comedian who became well known in Australia in the early 1980s through his many radio, TV and film appearances. He was best known for his work on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

's ''Off The Record'' and The J-Team with comedians

Angela Webber Angela Webber (12 January 1955 – 10 March 2007) was an Australian author, TV writer, producer and comedian. Early life Webber was born in 1955 to Bruce Webber, the head of light entertainment for ABC radio, and Nan, a journalist. She grew u ...

and

Adam Bowen Adam Bowen (born 1974/1975) is an American businessman, and the co-founder (with James Monsees) and currently advisor at Juul Labs, an electronic cigarette company. Bowen earned a BA in physics from Pomona College, followed by an MS in product d ...

and presenters Jonathan Coleman,

Ian Rogerson The ''Jono & Dano'' Show was a radio and later television show hosted by Jonathan Coleman (Jono) and Ian Rogerson (Dano). Original radio programming The original ''Jono & Dano'' show was broadcast on Triple J as a Saturday night show, before mo ...

and Rusty Nails. Curtis was also well-known for his comic partnership with satirist

Geoff Kelso Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the m ...

, which included their collaboration on Double J's ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' sendup '' Doctor Poo'', which ran from 1979-81There is only one Doctor: Poo
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 12 August 2005. (not to be confused with the 1996 '' Viz'' comic strip of the same name). The team released an LP record, ''Dr Poo: Knees Ahoy!'' An EP, The Universe is Big by "Dr Poo and the Psychic Koalas" was recorded in 1981 but not released. It included five songs based around the major characters of the series. It was eventually released in 1985, as a tribute after the sudden death of Lance Curtis. Curtis' regular ''Off The Record'' and J-Team characters included nervous teenage Double J work-experience intern Wayne Simpson - who nursed a deep unrequited passion for

Bananarama Bananarama are an English pop duo from London, formed as a trio in 1980 by friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when the trio became a duo. Thei ...

singer

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the US number one hit single "Venus". She later ...

- and doddering pensioner Harold Davenport, the foil for Angela Webber's "punk grannie" character Lillian Pascoe. In one famous segment broadcast after the federal election of 1983, Curtis and his colleagues lampooned the defeat of the then Liberal government led by

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 ...

(who famously broke down and cried on camera when conceding defeat) by portraying Davenport's deep distress at being deposed as president of his local bowls club. In the early 1980s, Curtis made numerous appearances on the

Donnie Sutherland Donald Sutherland OAM (born 22 December 1946) is an Australian radio and television presenter. He was the host of TV pop music show ''Sounds'' between 1975 and 1987. Sutherland has also worked as a TV producer and music journalist, and is asso ...

-hosted music programmes ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'' and '' After Dark''. He had a regular segment on ''Sounds'' (as Wayne Simpson), called ''Wayne at Work'', and he also made several memorable appearances in character on ''After Dark'', including the humourless Det. Sgt. Frank Masarati of the NSW Police Entertainment Squad (whose job was to carry out "random laughter tests"), and as Harold Davenport, who appeared in a parody of contemporary pop duo

Haysi Fantayzee Haysi Fantayzee were a short lived British pop band of the early 1980s. Their best known songs are "John Wayne Is Big Leggy", released in 1982 and " Shiny Shiny", released in 1983. Career Haysi Fantayzee was an avant-garde, new wave pop proj ...

with his "deeply platonic" friend Lillian Pascoe (Webber). Excerpts from several of Curtis' appearances on ''After Dark'' were compiled as a tribute to him and included in the final episode of the series, which went to air the week after Curtis died.YouTube - ''After Dark'' final episode, Part 2
/ref> One of Curtis' final screen performances was a minor role as a nosy neighbour in the 1985 movie ''Rebel'', which starred

Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Oscar and Grammy nomination. Dillon made his feature film debut in '' Over the Edge'' (1979) and established himself as a te ...

and

Debra Byrne Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding ...

Death

Lance Curtis died on 9 June 1985 as the result of an accidental fall from a balcony, whilst hosting a party at his Sydney home. His J-Team colleague Angela Webber died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...

in 2007.

References

External links

* Year of birth unknown 1985 deaths Australian male actors Australian satirists Australian male comedians Accidental deaths from falls {{Australia-actor-stub