Robin Ramsay is an Australian former television, film and stage actor. He appeared in the rural series '' Bellbird'' as Charlie Cousins, in which he was best known for the scene where he falls from a wheat silo and dies.
Early life and education
Ramsay is the grandson of
William Ramsay
Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...
, the founder and manufacturer of the shoe polish firm Kiwi,
Ramsay is the disowned son of Thomas Meek Ramsay and Alice née James (1909-2009). His parents divorced, and his mother later married her long-time paramour, the architect
Roy Grounds
Sir Roy Burman Grounds (18 December 19052 March 1981) was an Australian architect. His early work included buildings influenced by the Moderne movement of the 1930s, and his later buildings of the 50s and 60s, such as the National Gallery of V ...
.
Ramsay studied at London's
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Senat ...
, graduating in 1957. He worked briefly for the BBC then returned to Australia.
Career
Theatre
After returning to Australia, Ramsay joined the fledgling Union Theatre Company in Melbourne, whose members included Zoe Caldwell and
Barry Humphries
John Barry Humphries (born 17 February 1934) is an Australian comedian, actor, author and satirist. He is best known for writing and playing his on-stage and television alter egos Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson. He is also a film pr ...
. He starred in ''Moon on a Rainbow Shawl'', produced for the first
Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
in 1960.
He has played roles in theatre locally starting from 1957 and then went to the United States in 1961 and joined the Theatre Company of Boston. He then toured the country in The National Repertory Theatre, with
Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...
and
Faye Emerson
Faye Margaret Emerson (July 8, 1917 – March 9, 1983) was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show ...
.
In 1964 he took the role of
Fagin
Fagin is a fictional character and the secondary antagonist in Charles Dickens's 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist''. In the preface to the novel, he is described as a "receiver of stolen goods". He is the leader of a group of children (the Artful Dod ...
in the hit musical ''
Oliver!
''Oliver!'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age Musical theatre, stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens.
It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre ...
'' on Broadway, a role he played for a further two years in New York, followed by a record-breaking national tour. He shared the bill with the Beatles, singing a song from the musical in a subsequently memorable edition of
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
. In 1966 Ramsay recreated his role of Fagin for a West End revival of ''Oliver!'', with
Marti Webb
Marti Webb (born 13 December 1943) is an English actress and singer, who appeared on stage in '' Evita'', before starring in Andrew Lloyd Webber's one-woman show ''Tell Me on a Sunday'' in 1980. This included her biggest hit single, "Take That ...
as Nancy.
Television
Returning to Australia, Ramsay's role as Charlie Cousens, the dodgy real estate agent in '' Bellbird'', Australia's first successful television soap opera, garnered him considerable public notice. A regular character on the show from August 1967, Ramsay decided to leave in May 1968 to take the role of Fagin in a Japanese stage production of ''Oliver!''.
When the show's producers decided to kill off his character, with Cousens falling off a wheat silo, staging what has been described as "one of the most-watched and best-remembered moments in Australian TV history",Superstar: The Australian Production at MilesAgo: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 Accessed 5 November 2012 fans wrote letters protesting his death and even sent flowers to his funeral.
Return to stage
Ramsay returned to the theatre playing the controversial priest
Daniel Berrigan
Daniel Joseph Berrigan (May 9, 1921 – April 30, 2016) was an American Jesuit priest, anti-war activist, Christian pacifist, playwright, poet, and author.
Berrigan's active protest against the Vietnam War earned him both scorn and admi ...
in the Trial of the
Catonsville Nine
The Catonsville Nine were nine Catholic activists who burned draft files to protest the Vietnam War. On May 17, 1968, they took 378 draft files from the draft board office in Catonsville, Maryland and burned them in the parking lot.
List of the ...
in Sydney. He went on to play
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...
. He was in the first production at the opening of 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 1972: playing MacHeath in
The Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a " play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with mu ...
. Polly Peachum was played by
Pamela Stephenson
Pamela Helen Stephenson, Lady Connolly (born 4 December 1949) is a New Zealand-born psychologist, writer, and performer who is now a resident in both the United Kingdom and the United States. She is best known for her work as an actress and co ...
. Ramsay spent the next few years as a leading actor with the
Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...
the
Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...
, and working in film and television. He has twice won the Melbourne Critics Circle Award for Best Actor. He was in ''Medea'' the opening production of the Melbourne Arts Centre, playing opposite Zoe Caldwell.
In 1977, with
Rodney Fisher
Goodshirt are an alternative/pop/ rock band from Auckland, New Zealand. The band formed when keyboardist Gareth Thomas left his computer recording setup with the Fisher brothers, Rodney and Murray, for safe keeping.
While still a three piece, t ...
, he developed his first solo show, drawn from the writings of
Henry Lawson
Henry Archibald Hertzberg Lawson (17 June 1867 – 2 September 1922) was an Australian writer and bush poet. Along with his contemporary Banjo Paterson, Lawson is among the best-known Australian poets and fiction writers of the colonial perio ...
, ''The Bastard From The Bush''. This refocusing on Lawson as a sophisticated short-story writer and diarist, rather than as a 'bush poet', radically altered Australia's view of their favourite icon. The play toured to
Riverside Studios
Riverside Studios is an arts centre on the banks of the River Thames in Hammersmith, London, England. The venue plays host to contemporary performance, film, visual art exhibitions and television production.
Having closed for redevelopment ...
in London, and played extended seasons at Sydney's Belvoir Street Theatre and the
Victorian Arts Centre
Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central ...
. The production won the Australian Arts Award
In the early 1980s Ramsay was commissioned to create a new solo show celebrating the life and times of
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
, India's
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
-winning poet: titled ''Borderland''. The invitation came from the Indian High Commission in
Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
. The play was performed in Australia, then toured to more than 60 countries, in tandem with ''The Bastard From The Bush''. The tour was sponsored by the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Governmen ...
, the
British Council
The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...
and the
Indian Government
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
.
Ramsay then formed his own chamber theatre company, "Open Secret", and continued touring internationally, developing new productions, notably Vikram Seth's ''Beastly Tales from Here and There'' and incorporating local musicians into the company's presentations. His new solo play ''The Accidental Mystic'', high times on the Indian
ashram
An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions.
Etymology
The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<
Malthouse Theatre
Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD.
A ...
in 1995, after seasons in Sydney and the
Edinburgh Festival
__NOTOC__
This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh F ...
. The play toured to London and throughout India. Ramsay was nominated for a Melbourne Critics Circle Best Actor Award for his performance.
In 1994 he played
Julie Christie
Julie Frances Christie (born 14 April 1940) is a British actress. An icon of the Swinging Sixties, Christie is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She ...
's husband, Wilf Barlow, in the miniseries ''Dada is Death'', and toured to the Tokyo International Theatre Festival with the Playbox Theatre.
Producing and directing
In 2008 he produced and directed the feature film ''Tao of the Traveller'', a spiritual adventure film which won a Best Film Award at the South African International Film Festival in 2008, and was selected for screening at several festivals in 2009, including the British Film Festival in
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 ...
, Egypt International Film Festival, Thailand International Film Festival, and Swansea Bay International Film Festival. In 2008 the film was also invited to the Fallbrook Film Festival in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, and won awards in the Research and Experimental categories at the Accolade Film Festival.
Ramsay became interested in Eastern spiritual matters in the 1960s and studied Taoism and Buddhism and many of the mystical poets such as Rumi, Tagore and Hafiz. During the 1980s, he came across the teachings of Brother
Lekhraj Kripalani
Lekhraj Khubchand Kirpalani (15 December 1876 – 18 January 1969), also known as Dada Lekhraj, was the founder of the Brahma Kumaris.
Life
Lekhraj Kirpalani (commonly known as Dada Lekhraj) was born in Hyderabad, Sindh in 1876. In his fifti ...
, now formalised as the
Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University
The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s.Brahma Kumaris
The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s.Wilton
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
. Ramsay was invited to recreate his
Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...
Lord Mayor of London
The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...
's "India Now" celebrations.
In 2008 Ramsay was asked by BK management to make a film on the history of the Brahma Kumaris. After research in the British and New York public libraries, it became apparent that the group's history had been seriously compromised in its statements and publications. Ramsay's subsequent film on the group, drawn from original BKWSU sources, after its initial popular screening to adherents, was banned from being screened to stakeholders by BK management. BK management held a poll among those who had attended the screening, claiming the audience had strongly disapproved of the film. This turned out to be false, and management apologised.
Curator
Since 2009 Ramsay has been a curator of the forest retreat 'Sanctuary Australia' in northern NSW. The retreat is run on
Brahma Kumaris
The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s.dressage rider
Dressage ( or ; a French term, most commonly translated to mean "training") is a form of horse riding performed in exhibition and competition, as well as an art sometimes pursued solely for the sake of mastery. As an equestrian sport defined b ...
Tamasin Ramsay
Tamasin Ramsay (born 1969) is an Australian anthropologist and former actress. She studied medical anthropology at the University of Melbourne and received her Doctor of Philosophy, PhD in the same field from Monash University in 2009. Ramsay r ...
.
Select filmography
*''Love and War'' TV miniseries. (1967)
*'' Bellbird'' TV series. (1967–1968)
*''
Jesus Christ Superstar
''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...
Shannon's Mob
''Shannon's Mob'' is an Australian TV series about an Australian intelligence agency. It was the last TV series from Fauna Productions, who were responsible for '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' among others.
Synopsis
FIASCO (The Federal Intelligenc ...
'' TV series. (1975)
*''
Mad Dog Morgan
''Mad Dog Morgan'' is a 1976 Australian bushranger film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson and David Gulpilil. It is based upon the life of Dan Morgan.
Plot
Dan Morgan witnesses the (fictitious) bloody massa ...
'' (1976)
*'' Oz'' (1976)
*''Bedfellows'' (1980)
*''Conferenceville'' (1984)
*''A Street to Die'' (1985)
*''
Return to Eden
''Return to Eden'' is an Australian television drama series starring Rebecca Gilling, James Reyne, Wendy Hughes and James Smillie. It began as a three-part, six-hour mini-series shown on Network Ten on September 27–29, 1983. Gilling and Sm ...
'' TV series. (1986)
*''
Dear Cardholder
''Dear Cardholder'' is a 1987 Australian film about a man who gets into debt on his credit cards.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p41 The film failed to find a cinema release, and its director, ...
'' (1987)
*''
Dadah Is Death
''Dadah Is Death'' is a 1988 Australian film based on the Barlow and Chambers execution in Malaysia in 1986.Albert Moran, ''Moran's Guide to Australian TV Series'', AFTRS 1993 pp. 72–73
It was a 2-part mini series running 2 hours per part.Ed. ...
'' (1988)
*''
Embassy
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...
'' TV series. (1990)
*''
The Damnation of Harvey McHugh
''The Damnation of Harvey McHugh'' was an Australian television miniseries made by the ABC. The series consists of 12 episodes and was first broadcast on the ABC in 1994 from 2 June to 18 August of that year.
Overview Cast and crew
The series wa ...
'' TV series. (1994)
*''Mercury'' TV series. (1996)