Career
Donovan, who was born in Staines, England, United Kingdom, has been a staple of Australian television since the early 1960s, when he had minor roles in episodes of the court-room drama series ''Consider Your Verdict'', several ABC drama plays, and the children's series ''The Magic Boomerang''. After moving back to the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s he had guest roles in series including ''The Champions'', ''Man in a Suitcase'', and ''The Prisoner''. After returning to Australia and appearing in guest roles in the Crawford Productions series ''Homicide (Australian TV series), Homicide'' and ''Hunter (1967 TV series), Hunter'' in 1968, he was placed on contract, going on to appear in ''Division 4'', as Detective Mick Peters from 1969 to 1975. In 1976, he played in a popular mini-series adaptation of the novel ''Power Without Glory'' by Frank Hardy. From 1979 to 1981, he starred in ''Cop Shop'' as Detective Sergeant Vic Cameron. Between 1981 and 1984, he had minor roles in Australian television programs, and acted in the film ''The Man from Snowy River (1982 film), The Man from Snowy River'' in 1982, playing Henry Craig. In 1985, he had roles in ''Prisoner'' and ''Sons and Daughters''. From 1986 to 1990, he had more minor television roles including the 1989 pilot episode of ''E Street'' as Ken Swanson which was followed by guest roles in ''The Flying Doctors'' and ''G.P''. in 1990 he starred in ''Home and Away'' as the second actor, after George Leppard, to play Al Simpson (Home and Away), Al Simpson, the father of original character Bobby Simpson (Home and Away), Bobby Simpson. He followed this immediately with the role in ''Neighbours'' of Doug Willis, a character he played regularly until 1994, and made a brief appearance in 2005, when he reprised his role for the show's 20th-anniversary special. He returned in that role again in 2014. Donovan appeared in a documentary special celebrating ''Neighbours'' 30th anniversary titled ''Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite'', which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015. He reprised the role of Doug Willis in episodes of the serial in 2016, culminating in the character's death. In 2003, he appeared in the drama series ''MDA (TV series), MDA'' in the role of Eric Savage, father of Richard Savage (played by his son Jason Donovan). He played the title role of Breaker Morant, Harry 'Breaker' Morant in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's Australian play ''Breaker Morant (play), Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts'', presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Melbourne Athenaeum, Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 2 February 1978. (Donovan also appeared in the 1980 film ''Breaker Morant (film), Breaker Morant'', but in a subsidiary role, rather than as the title character). In the UK in the mid-1990s Donovan featured in a tour of a musical version of ''Peter Pan'' as Captain Hook alongside co-stars Nicola Stapleton, famous for her role in ''EastEnders'', and a young Laurence Mark Wythe (who has since become a composer and lyricist in musical theatre). In 2007 Donovan performed the in the Magnormos production of ''Mary Bryant'' as Boswell. He also played in the Sydney Theatre Company production of Kander as slick, but dishonest lawyer Billy Flynn and Ebb's ''Chicago''.Filmography
References
External links