Michael Boddy (8 March 193413 April 2014) was an English-Australian actor and writer. His best known works include co-writing the play '' The Legend of King O'Malley'' with

Bob Ellis Robert James Ellis (10 May 1942 – 3 April 2016) was an Australian writer, journalist, filmmaker, and political commentator. He was a student at the University of Sydney at the same time as other notable Australians including Clive James, Germa ...

Personal

Boddy was born in the village of

Baldersby Baldersby is a village and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England, about west of Thirsk and north-east of Ripon on the A61. The parish includes the village of Baldersby St James, south east of the village of Balde ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

. His father George Boddy was the local vicar. He studied at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

and the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

; two years of medicine were replaced by studies in natural sciences, classics and literature. He met his first wife, the poet and writer Margaret Scott, in England, and they migrated to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

in 1959. There he taught at a

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

high school, while Margaret developed her career as a poet and writer. His second wife, whom he married in 1968 after moving to

Sydney 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 Mountain ...

in 1965, was the artist

Janet Dawson Janet Dawson MBE (born 1935) is an Australian artist who was a pioneer of abstract painting in Australia in the 1960s, having been introduced to abstraction during studies in England while she lived in Europe 1957–1960 She was also an accomp ...

. She won the 1973

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

with a portrait of Boddy. Boddy and Dawson moved to

Binalong Binalong (Bine-a-long) is a village in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia, 37 km north-west of Yass in Yass Valley Shire. At the , Binalong and the surrounding area had a population of 543. History Original inhabit ...

, from where he wrote a regular food column for ''

The Canberra Times ''The Canberra Times'' is a daily newspaper in Canberra, Australia, which is published by Australian Community Media. It was founded in 1926, and has changed ownership and format several times. History ''The Canberra Times'' was launched in ...

''. He died in April 2014, aged 80; he was survived by Janet Dawson Boddy, two children (a third son predeceased him), six grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and a sister.

Select credits

*''

John Forrester Awaits the Light "John Forrester Awaits the Light" is the eighth television play episode of the second season of the Australian anthology television series ''Australian Playhouse''. "John Forrester Awaits the Light" originally aired on ABC on 11 September 1967 ...

'' (1966) - TV Play *'' All Fall Down'' (1967) - TV play for the ABC *'' Intersection'' (1967) - TV play *''

Breakdown Breakdown may refer to: Breaking down *Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated *Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components *Decompo ...

'' (1967) - TV play *'' The Legend of King O'Malley'' (1970; with

) *''Hamlet on Ice'' *''Biggles'' *''Cash'' *''Cradle of Hercules'' (1974) *''Lust for Power'' (1977) *''Crushed by Desire'' (1978) *''The Smallest Frog in the World''

References

External links

* * *
Biography
at National Gallery
Obituary
by

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boddy, Michael Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Australian male dramatists and playwrights Australian male actors English emigrants to Australia 1934 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights