John Shane Porteous (born 17 August 1942) (known as Shane Porteous) is an Australian actor, screenwriter, animation layout artist and animation voice artist. As a screenwriter, he is sometimes credited as "John Hanlon".
He remains best known for his role as in the TV serial ''
A Country Practice'', as Dr. Terence Elliot and original character and his ongoing role in TV series ''
Pizza'' from 2000 until 2007. He has done numerous animation layouts and provided voice roles for feature film and shorts.
Biography
Early life
Shane Porteous was born John Shane Porteous in
Coleraine, Victoria
Coleraine is a town in Victoria, Australia on the Glenelg Highway, west of the state capital, Melbourne and north-west of Hamilton in the Shire of Southern Grampians local government area. It was named after the town in County Londonderry, No ...
in 1942,
to pilot Stanley Porteous and his wife Pat. He was raised in Queensland and attended the
University of Queensland
, mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work
, established =
, endowment = A$224.3 million
, budget = A$2.1 billion
, type = Public research university
, chancellor = Peter Varghese
, vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry
, city = B ...
, graduating with a B.A.
He was a member of the UQ Dramatic Society and performed with actors such as
Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to:
Sports
* Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City
* Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...
and
Michael Caton
Michael Caton (born 21 July 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor, comedian and television host, best known for playing Uncle Harry in the Australian television series '' The Sullivans'', Darryl Kerrigan in 1997's low-budget h ...
at the Avalon Theatre in 1965. Porteous moved to Sydney in 1967.
Porteous‘ grandfather
Gladstone Porteous, served as an Australian missionary to China. His wife Jenny died in 2019 and he has three grown children Fiona, Polly and Ben.
Acting and screenwriting
Porteous is best known the television drama series ''A Country Practice'' as Dr. Elliot during its twelve-year run on the
Seven Network
The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australia ...
(1981–93), a role for which he won the
Silver Logie award in 1992. He has also won
AWGIE Awards
The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967.
The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...
for his various scriptwriting projects. In the series he had various romances including Matron Curtis (
Helen Scott), Dr. Alex Fraser (Diane Smith) and Rosemary Prior (
Maureen Edwards
Maureen Elizabeth Edwards (born 17 April 1944) is a New Zealand-born actress, notable for her TV roles both locally and in Australia.
Her best known soap opera roles include '' A Country Practice'', '' Neighbours'' (in 3 regular roles) and '' ...
) who he married in the final episode.
Other TV credits include ''
Catch Kandy'', ''
Homicide'', ''
Matlock Police
''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...
'', ''
Certain Women'' 1973-76, ''
The Box'' in 1974, ''
Number 96
96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when turned upside down.
In mathematics
96 is:
* an octagonal number.
* a refactorable number.
* an untouchable number.
* a semiperfe ...
'' in 1977, ''
Glenview High'', ''
Cop Shop
''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes.
The show
The show revolved ar ...
'', ''
The Restless Years
''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...
'', ''
Neighbours'', ''
Home and Away'', ''
Blue Heelers
''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...
'' and ''
Heartbreak High
''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television program created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on the ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with ...
''.
Porteous has performed in many stage plays,
among them ''
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 ...
'', ''
Death of a Salesman
''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage ...
'' (1970), the
Sydney Theatre Company's production of ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane ...
'' and ''
Much Ado About Nothing
''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...
''. In June 2010 he completed a touring performance of ''Codgers'' with
Ron Haddrick
Ronald Norman Haddrick (9 April 1929 – 11 February 2020) was an Australian actor, cricketer, narrator and presenter. In 2012, he received the Actors Equity Lifetime Achievement Award for his long and distinguished career in media, spanning s ...
among others.
He was a regular at the Q Theatre in
Penrith, New South Wales, and was also the ambassador for "The Q", which was demolished in August 2005 and moved to the
Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre.
As a television screenwriter he has written scripts for series including ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'', sometimes under the pseudonym of John Hanlon.
Animation
Porteous has also provided animation services to
Hanna-Barbera, and has created layouts for the film versions of ''
The Magic Pudding'' and ''
Blinky Bill
Blinky Bill is an anthropomorphic koala and children's fictional character created by author and illustrator Dorothy Wall. The character of Blinky first appeared in Brooke Nicholls' 1933 book, ''Jacko – the Broadcasting Kookaburra'', which ...
''.
Popular culture
He is referenced in the popular Australian song "
I'm So Post Modern" by
the Bedroom Philosopher.
Awards
Filmography
Scriptwriter
Animation
Appearances
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porteous, Shane
1942 births
20th-century Australian male actors
21st-century Australian male actors
Australian male soap opera actors
Australian soap opera writers
Living people
Logie Award winners
People from Coleraine, Victoria
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Australian male television writers