Noel Christian Tovey (born 25 December 1934) is an Australian dancer, actor, mentor, director and choreographer. He was the artistic director for the

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

welcoming ceremony at the

Sydney 2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

Early life

Born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, the son of an Aboriginal/ New Zealand mother and father of Scottish-African descent, Tovey endured sexual abuse, neglect and poverty throughout his childhood and adolescence.

Career

Despite this hardship he went on to become successful in the theatre in both Australia and London, including appearing in the world premiere of ''

Oh! Calcutta! ''Oh! Calcutta!'' is an avant-garde, risque theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in London ...

''. He taught at the

Bristol Old Vic Theatre School The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School is a drama school in Bristol, England. The institution provides training in acting and production for careers in film, television and theatre. BOVTS is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. I ...

and the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

in London and co-founded the London Theatre for Children before returning to Australia in 1990. He played the lead role in ''Skipping on Stars'' based on the life of indigenous tightwire walker

Con Colleano Con Colleano (born Cornelius Sullivan; 26 December 1899 – 13 November 1973) was an Australian tightrope walker. He was the first person to successfully attempt a forward somersault on a tightrope and became one of the most celebrated and hi ...

, performed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus. In 2004, Hodder Headline Australia published his autobiography ''Little Black Bastard'' .

Personal life

Tovey is openly gay and has spoken out for the rights of LGBT elders. Tovey was imprisoned for homosexual acts in Pentridge gaol in 1951 and raped by two of the guards. In June 2010 Tovey was recognised for his contribution to the LGBT community by becoming the 2010 recipient of th
Foundation
For All of Us ''Lifetime Achievement Award''. In January 2015, Tovey was made a member of the Order of Australia. Also in 2015, Tovey was inducted to the Victorian Aboriginal Honour Roll. Noel married Barbara Hickling and they had a daughter Felicity in 1961 (deceased).

External links

* The

Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives The Australian Queer Archives (AQuA) (formerly the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives - ALGA) is a community-based non-profit organisation committed to the collection, preservation and celebration of material reflecting the lives and experienc ...

holds a small collection of personal papers relating to Noel Tovey

References

Australian male stage actors Australian people of New Zealand descent Australian gay actors Gay dancers LGBT choreographers Indigenous Australian actors Male actors from Melbourne Choreographers from Melbourne 1934 births Living people Members of the Order of Australia {{Australia-actor-stub