Charles 'Bud' Tingwell

Charles William Tingwell AM (3 January 1923 – 15 May 2009), known professionally as Bud Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian actor. One of the veterans of Australian film, he acted in his first motion picture in 1946 and went on to appear in more than 100 films and numerous TV programs in both the United Kingdom and Australia.

Early life and military service

Tingwell was born on 3 January 1923 in the Sydney suburb of Coogee, the son of William Harvey Tingwell and Enid (née Green). William volunteered as a surf lifesaver at Coogee Surf Life Saving Club where, in 1922, a colleague noticed Enid's pregnancy and asked, 'What's budding there?', and 'Bud' became the nickname for their infant son. As an adolescent, Bud was encouraged by his father to train as an accountant, but Tingwell failed the entrance exam.

While still at school, he became a cadet at Sydney radio station 2CH, soon becoming the youngest radio announcer in Australia.

Second World War

In 1941, aged 18, Tingwell volunteered for war service overseas with the Royal Australian Air Force. Under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, personnel from Commonwealth air forces formed part of a joint training and assignment system. Consequently, Tingwell trained as a pilot in Canada during 1942. Despite damaging a Harvard training aircraft in August, he later qualified as a pilot and was commissioned as a pilot officer that December. He was posted to the Mediterranean Theatre and underwent operational training with No. 74 Operational Training Unit RAF, in British Palestine, and qualified to fly the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire.

In January 1944, he was posted to No. 680 Squadron RAF, a photo reconnaissance unit, and flew 75 sorties in Mosquitos and Spitfires during the Italian campaign. Other aircraft that Tingwell was qualified to fly included the Bristol Blenheim, Martin Baltimore, Bristol Beaufighter and Airspeed Oxford. He was promoted to flying officer in June 1943 and flight lieutenant in December 1944.

Towards the end of the war, Tingwell was transferred back to Australia. He was posted to No. 5 Operational Training Unit RAAF as a flying instructor in June 1945, and then in December 1945, after the war had ended, he was posted to No. 87 Squadron RAAF, flying photo-reconnaissance Mosquitoes, until his demobilisation in March 1946.

Tingwell's war service earned him the 1939–45 Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal, War Medal 1939–1945, and Australia Service Medal 1939–1945. He remained a reservist into the 1950s.

Post-war life and acting career

Australia

After returning to Australia, Tingwell married his childhood sweetheart, Audrey May Wilson.''Sydney Morning Herald'', 16 May 2009 (obituary). They were to have two children, Christopher and Virginia.

He joined Doris Fitton's Independent Theatre company and appeared on stage from the mid-1940s in such classics as ''The Little Foxes'' by Lillian Hellman and Jean Giraudoux's ''The Madwoman of Chaillot''

In 1946, Tingwell was given his first film role, in '' Smithy'', cast as an RAAF control tower officer – winning the role since he could supply his own RAAF uniform.

Tingwell had an excellent supporting role in '' Bitter Springs'' (1950), made by Ealing Studios with Chips Rafferty; Tingwell played Rafferty's bigoted son. He had a similar role in ''Kangaroo'' (1952), a Hollywood-financed film shot in Australia for 20th Century Fox. He then appeared in '' I Found Joe Barton'' (1952), the first TV show filmed in Australia.

Fox liked Tingwell's work in ''Kangaroo'' and invited him to Los Angeles to play the role of Lt. Harry Carstairs in ''The Desert Rats'', in which he appeared opposite Chips Rafferty, James Mason and Richard Burton. They offered him a long-term contract but Tingwell turned it down because he wanted to return to Australia.

Tingwell played the lead in ''King of the Coral Sea'' (1954) alongside Rafferty. In 1954, he co-starred with Gordon Chater in '' Top of the Bill'', the first of the famous satirical revues staged at Sydney's Phillip Street Theatre.

England

The Australian film and radio industry slumped with the advent of television and Tingwell decided to move to the UK. He used the opportunity of a role in Ealing's '' The Shiralee'' (1957), which was filmed in Australia and London. Tingwell travelled to England to complete his scenes and decided to stay.

The following year, he took on his first recurring television role, as Australian surgeon Alan Dawson in the live TV serial ''Emergency Ward 10'' and its film spin-off ''Life in Emergency Ward 10'' (1959).

He had small roles in Ealing's ''Dunkirk'' (1958), then ''Bobbikins'' (1959), '' Cone of Silence'' (1960), and ''Tarzan the Magnificent'' (1960).

Tingwell played the role of Inspector Craddock in all four films of the ''Miss Marple'' series, starring Margaret Rutherford, from 1961 to 1964: ''Murder, She Said'' (1961), '' Murder at the Gallop'' (1963), '' Murder Most Foul'' (1964) and ''Murder Ahoy!'' (1964). For Hammer Films he appeared in ''The Secret of Blood Island'' (1964) and '' Dracula: Prince of Darkness'' (1966).

He had the lead in a TV series '' An Enemy of the State'' (1965).

In the late 1960s, he performed various minor voice roles for the Gerry Anderson "Supermarionation" TV series '' Thunderbirds'' and ''Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'', besides appearing in the first series of ''Catweazle''.

In 1969 until the end of the play's run, he appeared as Robert Danvers in the long running farce ''There's a Girl in My Soup'' at the Comedy Theatre, London.

He was the recurring character of motel manager Kevin McArthur in ''Crossroads'' in the late 1960s and early 1970s. (Vincent Ball played McArthur in 1970–1973). He had a small role in ''Nobody Runs Forever'' (1968) with Rod Taylor.

Return to Australia

Tingwell appeared in many other films during his time in Britain, spending a total of 16 years as a "London Aussie". In 1973, he returned to Australia with his wife and children, and shortly after won the role of Inspector Reg Lawson in the long-running TV series ''Homicide''. This was followed by small roles in a number of major Australian films, such as ''Breaker Morant'' (1980), ''Puberty Blues'' (1981) and ''All the Rivers Run'' (1983). He also played the recurring role of farmer Ted Campbell in the soap ''A Country Practice'' in the late 1980s and early 1990s and as the Narrator from ''The Flying Scotsman in Australia''

Revival in popularity

Tingwell's career went through a quiet period during the late 1980s and early 1990s, until he took on the role of 'Gramps' in "Charlie the Wonderdog", a recurring segment on ''The Late Show'', in 1993. His role in ''The Late Show'' was later to win him a major role as lawyer Lawrence Hammill in the film '' The Castle'' (1997). He later stated that this role helped him to recover from the death of his wife the previous year.

After the success of ''The Castle'', Tingwell's career underwent a revival during the late 1990s and early 2000s. This saw him take on small roles in the commercial films ''The Craic'' (1999) and ''The Dish'' (2000), and in the TV mini-series ''Changi'', as well as the lead role in the romantic drama film ''Innocence'' (2000). He would also appear on sketch show ''Totally Full Frontal,'' playing himself, as well as a recurring guest role in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 2000 to 2003, playing Henry O'Rourke. He had previously appeared in the soap in 1993 as Bert Willis. He appeared as John Conroy in the musical theatre production '' The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular'', which toured Australian capital cities twice during 2002.

In 2004, Tingwell published a memoir, ''Bud: A Life''. In 2006, he launched his own website, which attracted 500 registered users in just over a week. On 5 October that year, he created his first blog. He continued to act regularly until his death, in a number of films and TV programmes including eight episodes of ''Bed of Roses'' that aired in 2010. Among his last appearances, he hosted both '' Celebrity Circus'' and ''20 to 1'' and appeared on a celebrity special of ''Temptation'' with his daughter, Virginia.

Accolades

Tingwell was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame in 1994. In 2008, he was inducted into Australian Film Walk of Fame in honour of his career and achievements in film and television.

Tingwell was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours of June 1999.

Honours, awards and nominations

Death

Audrey Tingwell died in 1996. Bud Tingwell died in Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, thirteen years later, after a long battle with prostate cancer, on 15 May 2009. He was 86. He was given a state funeral, which was held at St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne, on 20 May.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio (partial)

Theatre

As actor

As writer / director

Discography

Charting singles

Publications

References

External links

*

Bud Tingwell
at the National Film and Sound Archive


Royal Australian Air Force News

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tingwell, Bud
1923 births
2009 deaths
20th-century Australian male actors
20th-century Australian male singers
21st-century Australian male actors
21st-century Australian male singers
Australian expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom
Australian male film actors
Australian male musical theatre actors
Australian male soap opera actors
Australian male stage actors
Australian male voice actors
Australian radio personalities
Australian World War II pilots
Deaths from cancer in Victoria (state)
Deaths from prostate cancer in Australia
Logie Award winners
Male actors from Melbourne
Male actors from Sydney
Members of the Order of Australia
Military personnel from New South Wales
People educated at Sydney Grammar School
People from the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney)
Radio and television announcers
Royal Australian Air Force officers
Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II