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Tom Oliver (born 12 June 1938) is a British-born Australian retired actor who started his career in theatre in his native country, before emigrating to Australia. Oliver, a staple of the small screen since the early 1960s, is best known for his TV soap opera roles, most especially ''
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 ...
'' as
Lou Carpenter Lou Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Tom Oliver. He made his first screen appearance on 30 March 1988. Oliver appeared for a brief time, having been initially contracted for six months ...
, a role he played for 25 years. The character was known for his constant sparring with Harold Bishop, and his trademark dirty laugh, which he previously utilised in an earlier role on ''
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 ...
''. Oliver has stated that it was inspired by the comic actor
Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...
. He appeared in the early
Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfor ...
police procedurals, before having the soap opera roles in '' Bellbird'', as Tom Grey and in ''
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 ...
'' as Jack Sellers. Short term soap roles included ''
Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
'', '' Sons and Daughters'' and '' A Country Practice''.


Biography


Early life

Oliver was born in
Chandler's Ford, Hampshire Chandler's Ford (originally The Ford and historically Chandlersford) is a largely residential area and civil parish in the Eastleigh (borough), Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It has a population of 21,436 in the 2011 UK Census. Cha ...
, England and started appearing in amateur theatricals as an adolescent in Britain before pursuing a career as a
jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
. However, he failed to gain an apprenticeship owing to his size.


British Navy

He joined the Merchant Navy at 16 and travelled the world, eventually settling in
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 1956. Whilst in the British Forces, he worked on the Pacific Nuclear Testing Base,
Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory comprising the island of the same name. It is located in the Indian Ocean, around south of Java and Sumatra and around north-west of the ...
and so is a member of the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association.


Career


Early career

While in Australia, Oliver found work as a stockman, spending three years in this job, working his way around the country. He subsequently returned to the UK before beginning an overland trek across Asia to return to Australia. However, the journey was halted by illness and Oliver returned to Britain where he contacted Albert Finney who was then planning to produce the film ''
Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...
'' in Australia in 1963. Finney gave him a letter of introduction to an agency in Sydney and Oliver emigrated in 1963, later becoming an Australian citizen. He frequently visits Fareham, Hampshire to see his old friends. Oliver became a busy theatre and television actor in Australia. He had many guest starring roles on Australian drama series, appearing frequently in the top-rated
Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfor ...
police dramas ''
Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'', ''
Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...
'', ''
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 ...
'', and in Crawford's adventure series '' Hunter'' (1967). Oliver was then cast in serial '' Bellbird'', playing the role of Tom Grey from 1969 to 1971, and appeared in the 1971 film ''
Nickel Queen ''Nickel Queen'' is a 1971 Australian comedy film starring Googie Withers and directed by her husband John McCallum. The story was loosely based on the Poseidon bubble, a nickel boom in Western Australia in the late 1960s, and tells of an outback ...
'', directed by
John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for ...
. After this he returned to television guest roles for Crawfords, and other companies.Atterton, Margot. (Ed.) ''The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Australian Showbiz'', Sunshine Books, 1984. p 170 He also appeared in several British TV series at the beginning of the 70's, such as ''Paul Temple'', ''Thirty Minute Theatre'', and also played two roles in the
Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...
series ''
UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
'' – a doctor in the episode entitled "Confetti Check A-OK" as well as a SHADO technician in the episode entitled "The Sound of Silence". Oliver also served a stint as a presenter on '' Play School'' in 1967.


''Number 96''

In 1972 he joined the cast of fledgling soap opera ''
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 ...
'' playing the role of Janie Somers' new beau Jack Sellars. Back-slapping rough diamond Jack, nicknamed "Jolly Jack Sellars" was intended as a guest character to appear for a run of just three weeks, but the makers of the show were impressed with his performance and the character was made into an ongoing lead regular in the serial. Oliver became one of the ''Number 96''s most popular cast members. During his run in the show he married fellow ''Number 96'' actress
Lynn Rainbow Lynn Carol Rainbow-Reid (born 19 September 1942) credited also as Lynne Rainbow, is an Australian-based former theatre and television actor who was educated at Ascham School, The Sorbonne and Dante Alighieri in Italy. Lynn was the daughter o ...
, who played Sonia Vansard and opened a wine bar in
Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
, Sydney cunningly named ''Jack's Cellar''. In late 1973, along with much of the show's regular cast including Rainbow, he reprised his television role in a feature film spinoff of the serial, also called ''
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 ...
''. Oliver stayed in the role in the series for more than two years, finally electing to leave in mid-1974. He quickly returned to guest starring roles on television and film roles of varying sizes. He briefly returned to ''Number 96'' in the role of Jack Sellars in September 1975. He has been married to his current wife Jan Oliver since 1985. Whilst acting on ''Neighbours'', he owned a Maltese Shitzu called Lou. He is a keen gardener and mountain fisher.


Television and miniseries and stage

Oliver's film roles included '' ABBA: The Movie'' (1977). His primary role in the film is as
ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
's gruff bodyguard; however, he additionally appears in the film as a barman and as a chatty moustached taxi driver shown mainly from behind. Through the late 1970s and the 1980s, Oliver appeared in guest and regular roles in many Australian drama series and serials, including ''
Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...
'', ''
Holiday Island ''Holiday Island'' is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for Network Ten. The show aired twice weekly from 1981 to 1982, with the first episode going to air on 17 June 1981. Series synopsis Like preceding Crawford ...
'', ''
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 ...
'' and '' Sons and Daughters''. He also appeared in the acclaimed miniseries '' The Dismissal'' portraying
Reg Withers Reginald Greive Withers (26 October 1924 – 15 November 2014) was a long-serving member of the Australian Senate, a government minister, and Lord Mayor of Perth. Early life Withers was born in Bunbury, Western Australia. Withers was the son o ...
. Oliver has been nominated for the Australian Film and Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor three times. Oliver also acted on the stage, appearing in such plays as ''The Knack'', ''Cactus Flower'', ''
How the Other Half Loves ''How the Other Half Loves'' is a 1969 play in two acts by British playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It is a farce following the consequences of an adulterous affair between a married man and his boss’s wife and their attempts to cover their track ...
'' and '' The Club''.


''Neighbours''

Today Oliver is best known for his long-running role of
Lou Carpenter Lou Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Tom Oliver. He made his first screen appearance on 30 March 1988. Oliver appeared for a brief time, having been initially contracted for six months ...
in ''Neighbours''. He first appeared for a handful of episodes as lovable rogue used-car salesman Lou,
Madge Bishop Madge Bishop (also Ramsay and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was introduced as th ...
's former flame, in 1988. In early 1992 the character was reintroduced to the series and was a key character until 2016. Oliver was written out of the show in 1996 but producers relented after numerous petitions from fans and he was quickly reintroduced. By 2009, he was the show's longest serving character, both in continuous and overall duration. From the 2009 season, Oliver reduced his role on ''Neighbours'' to a part-time regular member of the cast. Oliver appeared in a documentary special celebrating the show's 30th anniversary titled '' Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite'', which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015. In 2015, it was announced that Oliver had cut back further on his role as Lou and would only appear from time to time as a guest. In October 2016 it was announced that Oliver had quit the role after 24 years and his last appearance aired in December 2016. Lou did not feature in the series finale, but there was still a reference to his character in the form of a lawyers' office called "T Oliver". Executive producer
Jason Herbison Jason Herbison (born 1972) is an Australian television producer, screenwriter and novelist, most recently serving as the executive producer of the soap opera ''Neighbours''. He has written scripts for numerous television serials, and has publis ...
later revealed that he had personally called Oliver to inquire about returning for the final episode, but Oliver turned it down as he was "at a different point in his life now".


Filmography


Appearances (as himself)


Producer


References


External links

*
Tom Oliver as Lou Carpenter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, Tom 1938 births Living people Australian male film actors Australian male soap opera actors Australian male stage actors British Merchant Navy personnel Australian children's television presenters British children's television presenters English emigrants to Australia English male film actors English male soap opera actors English male stage actors English television presenters People from Chandler's Ford 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century English male actors 21st-century Australian male actors 21st-century English male actors People with acquired Australian citizenship