Steven John Peter Spears (22 January 1951 – 16 October 2007) was an Australian playwright, actor, writer and singer. His most famous work was ''

The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin ''The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin'' is a "one-hander" Play (theatre), play by Australian playwright, author and singer Steve J. Spears (1951 – 2007). It premiered at the Nimrod Theatre in Sydney, Australia, Sydney, Australia in 1976. The pe ...

'' (1976). He was cited as "one of Australia's most celebrated playwrights".

Biography

Early life

Spears was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, South Australia in 1951 and, after his parents separated when he was very young, grew up with relatives in the suburb of

Mile End Mile End is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London, England, east-northeast of Charing Cross. Situated on the London-to-Colchester road, it was one of the earliest suburbs of London. It became part of the m ...

. He studied law at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, but through writing and performing student revues, was distracted into a career in the theatre.

Sydney

Spears moved to Sydney in the 1970s. In his own words, he was a "born-again Sydney-sider".

Later life

Spears died in

Aldinga, South Australia Aldinga is a suburb of Adelaide in South Australia located about south of the Adelaide city centre in the City of Onkaparinga. it is a small suburb (population around 573 in 2016), about a kilometre east of the edge of the larger suburb of A ...

, from brain cancer in 2007. He was 56.

Plays

Spears' theatrical works include: * ''Africa: A Savage Musical'' (1974) * ''People Keep Giving Me Things'' (1975) * ''Roaring Boy'' (1975) * ''There Were Giants in Those Days'' (1975) * ''Young Mo'' (full title ''"The Resuscitation of the Little Prince Who Couldn't Laugh as Performed by Young Mo at the Height of the Great Depression of 1929"'') (1975), about the Australian comedian Roy "Mo" Rene * ''

'' (1976), closely identified with the career of the actor

Gordon Chater Gordon Maitland Chater AM (6 April 1922 – 12 December 1999) was an English Australian comedian and actor, and recipient of the Gold Logie, he appeared in revue, theatre, radio, television and film, with a career spanning almost 50 years. Bio ...

. * ''When They Send Me Three and Fourpence'' (1976) * ''The Death of George Reeves'' (1978) * ''King Richard'' (1978) * ''The Time of the Bodgie'' (1980) * ''Froggie'' (1983) * ''Glory'' (1988) * ''Namatjira Park'' (1992) * ''A Little Theatre'' (1995) His final theatre work was ''The Dance Angelic'' (1995).

Acting work

Television

Spears appeared in ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

'' (1981), ''

Hey Dad! ''Hey Dad..!'' is an Australian sitcom produced by Gary Reilly Productions, originally airing from 1987 to 1994 on the Seven Network. Synopsis Architect Martin Kelly singlehandedly raises his children: Simon, Debbie, and Jenny. His wife, Marga ...

'' (1988), '' G.P.'' (1989), ''

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 so ...

'' (2004).

Film

Among other roles, Spears played the lead in '' Temperament Unsuited'' and "The Mechanic", a wheelchair-using paraplegic, in ''

Mad Max 2 ''Mad Max 2'' (released as ''The Road Warrior'' in the United States) is a 1981 Australian post-apocalyptic action film directed by George Miller. It is the second installment in the ''Mad Max'' franchise, with Mel Gibson reprising his role a ...

''.

Voice work

Spears also supplied the voice of Lion in the popular children's TV series '' Magic Mountain'' for ABC TV,

Southern Star Entertainment Endemol Australia, formerly known as Southern Star Group, Southern Star Productions, Southern Star/Hanna-Barbera Australia and Taft-Hardie Group Pty Ltd, was Australia's largest independent television production and distribution group. On 26 Jul ...

and

China Central Television China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...

Stage

Spears played "Eddie" and "Doctor Scott" in a 1981 Sydney production of

Jim Sharman James David Sharman (born 12 March 1945) is an Australian director and writer for film and stage with more than 70 productions to his credit. He is renowned in Australia for his work as a theatre director from the 1960s to the present, and is b ...

's ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the science fiction and horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the musical tells the story of a newly engaged couple ...

''.

Writing

Over his career, Spears wrote prolifically for television. His credits include: *episodes of: :''

'' :'' Hey Dad..!'' :'' All Together Now'' :''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'' :'' E Street'' :'' G.P.'' :''

'' :the children's series '' The Genie From Down Under''IMDb filmography for "Steve J. Spears"
accessed 20 March 2011 (including the first episode ''Wishing and Hoping'') for the

Australian Children's Television Foundation The Australian Children's Television Foundation (ACTF) is a national non-profit children's media production and policy hub. The ACTF helps develop children's television policy; distributes and pays for Australian children's television series; ...

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

and

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

. :the children's animated series ''The Greatest Tune on Earth'' for the

and

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

. :the children's animated series ''

Fairy Tale Police Department ''Fairy Tale Police Department'' is an Australian animated series, produced by the company Yoram Gross-EM.TV in co-production with EM.TV & Merchandising AG, Victory Media Group, and Talit Communications. It aired on Seven Network at various ...

'' for Yoram Gross-EM.TV and

. :the children's animated series ''Gloria's House'' for Energee and

. :the children's series ''

Sky Trackers The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In th ...

'' for the

and

. *''The Big Wish'' for the

. :which, with co-writer

John Hepworth John Anthony Hepworth (23 March 1944 – 1 December 2021) was an Australian bishop. He was the ordinary of the Anglican Catholic Church in Australia and the archbishop and primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, an international body of ...

was published by Puffin (1990) Spears wrote an "anti-memoir" "In Search of the Bodgie", published in 1989 In 2004, Spears'

detective novel Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

''Murder at the Fortnight'' was published. It was planned as the first of a thirteen part series, ''The Pentangeli Papers'', but only one more, ''Innocent Murders'' (2006) was published before his death.

Partial filmography

*'' Temperament Unsuited'' (1979) - Mark *''

'' (1981) - Mechanic *'' Going Down'' (1983) - Trendy at party *''

The Empty Beach ''The Empty Beach'' is a 1985 Australian thriller film starring Bryan Brown as private investigator Cliff Hardy. Premise Cliff Hardy iinquires into the disappearance of a beautiful woman's wealthy husband from Bondi Beach. Based on the 1983 no ...

'' (1985) - Manny *''

Those Dear Departed ''Those Dear Departed'', also known as ''Ghosts Can Do It!'', is a 1987 Australian black comedy film directed by Ted Robinson and starring Garry McDonald, Pamela Stephenson and Su Cruickshank.David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bu ...

'' (1987) - Dangerman *''

Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train ''Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train'' is a 1988 Australian film directed by Bob Ellis and starring Wendy Hughes, Colin Friels, and Norman Kaye. Nominated at the AFI Awards in the Best Achievement in Cinematography (Yuri Sokol) category. Premis ...

'' (1988) - Singer *''Afraid to Dance'' (1989) - Garage Man

References

External links

* * Penelope Debelle, Obituary, ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 22 October 2007, p. 11
Picture of Spears in his University of Adelaide years
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spears, Steve J. 1951 births 2007 deaths Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian male voice actors Australian male dramatists and playwrights Australian television writers Australian male television writers Deaths from lung cancer People from Adelaide Deaths from cancer in South Australia 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian male writers 20th-century Australian screenwriters