Tom Long (3 August 1968 – 4 January 2020) was an Australian film and television actor. He played court official and avid surfer Angus in the late 1990s TV series ''

SeaChange ''SeaChange'' is an Australian television program that ran from 1998 to 2000 on the ABC and in 2019 on the Nine Network. It was created by Andrew Knight and Deborah Cox and starred Sigrid Thornton, David Wenham, William McInnes, John Howard, ...

'' and Brenden Abbott in the 2003 Australian TV movie ''

The Postcard Bandit ''The Postcard Bandit'' is a 2003 Australian television film directed by Tony Tilse, loosely based on the life of a convicted bank robber Brenden James Abbott. The plot is based on the biographical book ''No Fixed Address'' by newspaperman Dere ...

''.

Early life

Long was born on 3 August 1968 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, as his Australian parents were visiting there at the time. On their return to Australia he grew up on a farm near

Benalla Benalla is a small city located on the Broken River gateway to the High Country north-eastern region of Victoria, Australia, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. At the the population was 10,822. It is the administrative centr ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. He worked as a jackaroo and shearer after attending Geelong Grammar School, before going abroad, travelling to

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. After returning to Australia, Long successfully auditioned for a place at the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including Cat ...

, graduating in 1994.

Career

Long appeared in several Australian television series, most notably the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC) hit ''

'' (1998–2000) and the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

police drama '' Young Lions'' (2002). He appeared in the Australian films '' Two Hands'' (1999) and ''

The Dish ''The Dish'' is a 2000 Australian historical comedy-drama film that tells the story of the Parkes Observatory's role in relaying live television of humanity's first steps on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. It was the top-grossing ...

'' (2000). Long played

Brenden Abbott Brenden James Abbott (born 8 May 1962) is a convicted Australian bank robber. He is reported to have stolen and hidden millions of dollars, and was dubbed "the postcard bandit" by police seeking media coverage.Nyst, Chris (defence lawyer"The U ...

in the 2003 telemovie ''

'' and appeared in the film ''

The Book of Revelation The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...

''. He also appeared in ''The Last of the Ryans'', ''

Doing Time for Patsy Cline ''Doing Time for Patsy Cline'' is a 1997 Australian film starring Miranda Otto, Richard Roxburgh, and Matt Day, and directed by Chris Kennedy. Plot Following a passion for country music, Ralph leaves his father's sheep farm in a remote Australi ...

'', ''Do or Die'', ''

Risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...

'', ''Heroes Mountain: The Thredbo Story'', '' Black Jack: Ghosts'', '' Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback'', and ''

East of Everything ''East of Everything'' is an Australian drama television drama series set in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales which screened in 2008-2009 on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) television network. It was produced by Deb ...

'', and '' Woodley.'' Long stopped acting after he collapsed on stage during a performance of the play ''Coranderrk: We Will Show the Country'' at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

in July 2012.

Personal life

Long was in a long-term relationship with actress

Rachael Maza Rachael Zoa Maza is an Indigenous Australian television and film actress and stage director. Early life and education Maza is of Dutch, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal Australian heritage, the daughter of Bob Maza, also an actor. She is ...

, breaking up in 1998 just before the birth of their son, Ariel. The couple reunited in 2005, after Maza and Ariel survived a deadly car accident, albeit with serious injuries themselves. Long married Rebecca Fleming in February 2019. Long was diagnosed in 2012 with

multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...

, an incurable blood cancer. He underwent

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...

and received

stem cell transplant Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood in order to replicate inside of a patient and to produc ...

to treat the disease. In December 2018, Long was given an updated prognosis of 3–12 months to live. In March 2019, Long travelled to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

to undergo a medical trial, after which he was pronounced "cancer free". On 4 January 2020, Long died of

encephalitis Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain. The severity can be variable with symptoms including reduction or alteration in consciousness, headache, fever, confusion, a stiff neck, and vomiting. Complications may include seizures, hallucinations, ...

at age 51.

Filmography

*''The Leaving of Liverpool'' (1992, TV Movie) as Ned *'' Country Life'' (1994) as Billy Livingstone *''The Last of the Ryans'' (1997, TV Movie) as Peter Walker *''

'' (1997) as Brad Goodall *''

'' (1998–2000, TV series) as Angus Kabiri *'' Two Hands'' (1999) as Wally *''

Strange Planet ''Strange Planet'' is a 1999 Australian comedy directed by Emma-Kate Croghan and starring Claudia Karvan. It was Croghan's follow up to '' Love and Other Catastrophes'' and used many of the same cast and crew. Plot The film explores the lives ...

'' (1999) as Ewan *''

'' (2000) as Ben Madigan *''

'' (2000) as Glenn Latham *''Do or Die'' (2001, TV Mini-Series) as Michael Tyler / Joey *''Hildegarde'' (2001) as Tony *'' Young Lions'' (2002, TV series) as Det. Sr. Const. Guy 'Guido' Martin *''Heroes Mountain: The Thredbo Story'' (2002, TV Movie) as Paul Featherstone *''

'' (2003, TV Movie) as

*''

'' (2006) as Daniel *'' Black Jack: Ghosts'' (2006, TV Movie) as Mike *'' Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback'' (2007, TV Movie) as Tony *''

'' (2008–2009, TV Series) as Vance Watkins *'' Woodley'' (2012, TV Series) as Greg (final appearance)

References

External links

*
Interview : Web Wombat Movie Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, Tom Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Male actors from Victoria (Australia) National Institute of Dramatic Art alumni Male actors from Boston People from Benalla 1968 births 2020 deaths People with multiple myeloma Deaths from encephalitis