CineScope
Bill Kerr picture

Bill Kerr

Acting
Known For

92 Years Old

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   William Henry Kerr (10 June 1922 – 28 August 2014) was a British and Australian film and television actor. He was born into a performing arts family in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. He began working as a child actor in depression era Australia, taking his first major role in The Silence of Dean Maitland, one of Australia's first talking films. After serving in the Second World War, Kerr moved to England to further his acting career, and during the 1940s he was regularly featured in the BBC radio series Variety Bandbox. His trademark was his catch phrase "I'm only here for 4 minutes..." In the 1950s, he had a recurring role as an Australian lodger in the BBC radio comedy series Hancock's Half Hour. Initially sharper than Hancock's characterisation, it was developed into a more dim-witted character who became the butt of Hancock's jokes. His television appearances in Britain include a 1968 Doctor Who story called The Enemy of the World, with Patrick Troughton, and a long running part in the early 1960s BBC-TV soap, Compact. Bill Kerr had much theatrical success in Britain, playing The Devil in the original West End production of Damn Yankees, directed by Bob Fosse, and Cole. He also worked with Spike Milligan. He appeared in Milligan and John Antrobus's stage play The Bed-Sitting Room, which opened at the Mermaid Theatre on 31 January 1963. A subsequent production opened on 3 May 1967 at the Saville Theatre, and "a cast containing an unusually high proportion of Australian actors including Bill Kerr and David Nettheim." Then in 1972 he co-starred with Anthony Newley in the long running Newley/Bricusse musical, The Good Old Bad Old Days. In 1975, Kerr took the part of Bluey Notts, described as "an Australian bookie's clerk, a crude racialist", in The Melting Pot. This was a sitcom written by Spike Milligan and Neil Shand, which was cancelled by the BBC after just one episode had been broadcast. He also appeared in several British films, including The Dam Busters and The Wrong Arm of the Law, before moving back to Australia. Although probably best known as a comic actor, and especially for his appearances in Hancock's Half Hour, he has since played a number of serious roles, notably in Peter Weir's films Gallipoli (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982). He also worked on the Australian stage in the 1980s, in musicals such as My Fair Lady, where he received excellent reviews as Alfred Doolittle. In 2001, he appeared in the Australian comedy Let's Get Skase. Kerr also appeared in Glenview High and the 1998 television comedy series Minty. Kerr has also been involved in documentaries, providing the narration for No Survivor - The Mysterious Loss of HMAS Sydney Nine Network Australia (1995), Malice or Mutiny for the ABC Australia 2003 and Animal X Natural Mystery Unit series for Discovery in the US, TV2 Norway and many others. Description above from the Wikipedia article Bill Kerr, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Born

Cape Town, South Africa on 10th June 1922

Died

28th August 2014

All Credits

Doctor Who Image
Doctor Who
Giles Kent
No Hiding Place Image
No Hiding Place
Hancock's Half Hour Image
Hancock's Half Hour
Compact Image
Compact
Return to Eden Image
Return to Eden
The New Adventures of Black Beauty Image
The New Adventures of Black Beauty
Samuel Burton
Ship to Shore Image
Ship to Shore
Citizen James Image
Citizen James
Father, Dear Father Image
Father, Dear Father
Customs Man
No Image
Glenview High
No Image
Garry Halliday
A Fortunate Life Image
A Fortunate Life
Narrator (voice)
Animal X Image
Animal X
Peter Pan Image
Peter Pan
Fairy Guide
Gallipoli Image
Gallipoli
Jack
The River Kings Image
The River Kings
Captain Elijah
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Image
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Gladiator-in-Training
The Year of Living Dangerously Image
The Year of Living Dangerously
Colonel Henderson
Anzacs Image
Anzacs
General Monash
Snowy Image
Snowy
Stuart McLachlan
Changi Image
Changi
Older Eddie
No Image
The Private War of Lucinda Smith
Scotty
Razorback Image
Razorback
Jake Cullen
The Wrong Arm of the Law Image
The Wrong Arm of the Law
Jack Coombes
The Dam Busters Image
The Dam Busters
Flight Lieutenant H. B. Martin, D.S.O., D.F.C., A.F.C.
The Coca-Cola Kid Image
The Coca-Cola Kid
T. George McDowell
The Lighthorsemen Image
The Lighthorsemen
Gen. Sir Harry Chauvel
The Pirate Movie Image
The Pirate Movie
Major General
Appointment in London Image
Appointment in London
Bill Brown
Dusty Image
Dusty
Tom Lincoln
The Shiralee Image
The Shiralee
Shopkeeper (uncredited)
Doctor in Distress Image
Doctor in Distress
Australian Sailor
Great Expectations Image
Great Expectations
(Voice)
The Night My Number Came Up Image
The Night My Number Came Up
Soldier
Deadline Image
Deadline
Willliam Ashby
Rob Roy Image
Rob Roy
House of Mortal Sin Image
House of Mortal Sin
Mr. Davey
Vigil Image
Vigil
Birdie
Sweet Talker Image
Sweet Talker
'Uncle' Cec
Doctor in Clover Image
Doctor in Clover
Digger
Mortuary Academy Image
Mortuary Academy
Brody
The Captain's Table Image
The Captain's Table
Bill Coke
Ghost in the Noonday Sun Image
Ghost in the Noonday Sun
Giacomo
No Image
It's Not Me - It's Them!
Len
Save the Lady Image
Save the Lady
MacDuff
No Image
Spike Milligan: A Series of Unrelated Incidents at Current Market Value
Various
A Pair of Briefs Image
A Pair of Briefs
Victor
A Pair of Briefs Image
A Pair of Briefs
Victor - Club Owner
Girls Come First Image
Girls Come First
Hugh Jampton
Kokoda Crescent Image
Kokoda Crescent
Russ
Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World Image
Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World
Giles Kent
Port of Escape Image
Port of Escape
Dinty Missouri
Penny Points to Paradise Image
Penny Points to Paradise
Digger Graves
My Death Is a Mockery Image
My Death Is a Mockery
Hansen
The Settlement Image
The Settlement
Kearney
Running from the Guns Image
Running from the Guns
Bushfire Moon Image
Bushfire Moon
Trevor Watson
Platypus Cove Image
Platypus Cove
Mr. Anderson
Double Sculls Image
Double Sculls
Curly
Let's Get Skase Image
Let's Get Skase
Mitchell Vendieks
Over the Hill Image
Over the Hill
Maurice
Tony Hancock: From East Cheam to Earls Court Image
Tony Hancock: From East Cheam to Earls Court
Self
No Image
Harmony Row
Leonard