PASSED AWAY THIS DAY - June 21, 2004 LES FOXCROFT Les Foxcroft, Actor, 1918-2004 Les Foxcroft, who has died aged 85, never considered himself a star, just a good, reliable character actor. Before his retirement about four years ago, he had indeed been one of this countrys most in-demand character performers. Born Clement Leslie Foxcroft in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Foxcroft spent his childhood in Geelong during the Depression. His mother had died when he was six months old and his South African-born father, who was badly wounded at Gallipoli, had married a woman who had little love for the young boy. Foxcroft learnt to box at an early age and found this handy when he began selling newspapers outside the Geelong cinemas, where you had to fight for your territory. It was watching films in cinemas that seeded his passion for performing. During his career he would find himself sharing the stage and screen with many stars, including Jason Robards jnr, Sir Ralph Richardson, Barry Humphries and Russell Crowe. Leaving home at the age of 15, Foxcroft found work in Melbourne factories. Not far from one of these, he discovered Eric Reiman and the New Theatre. He once said, I wandered into this New Theatre and I was fascinated watching these people learning to act. Somebody came over to me and said, Are you interested in acting? I said, Oh, not really. I cant act. He said, Well, how do you know until you try? Foxcroft joined the New Theatre, learning the ropes in propaganda plays of the era. Under Reimans wing the aspiring actor gained an insight into the joys of acting and the two became friends. Deciding hed had enough of factory work, one nightshift Foxcroft switched the machinery off and sat reading a book, waiting for the next shift to begin. It had the desired effect of getting him the sack. So he joined the Air Force and during World War II was stationed for some time in New Guinea as a radio operator. After the war he returned to Melbourne before moving to Sydney to do a play. The play fell through, but Foxcroft stayed on. He joined Actors Equity in January 1947 and spent 10 years working in radio and the clubs as a compere, telling gags, playing his beloved harmonica, and mixing with the likes of John Meillon, John Ewart, Willie Fennell and James Condon. When television came along Foxcroft found work on the childrens program The Captain Fortune Show for a year on ATN7. A move to Brisbane in the late 1950s saw his television career continue. He started at BTQ7 where he was billed as Lester Foxcroft before heading over to QTQ9 where he continued to work for many years as the comical character Hepplezinger on the childrens show The Channel Niners, as well as regularly appearing on In Brisbane Tonight. After a marriage breakdown, Foxcroft returned to Sydney in 1967 and his career blossomed. He became a familiar face through roles in early television shows such as Riptide, Skippy, The Rovers and Boney. At a time when no other agents were interested in him, Foxcroft was signed by heavyweight Bill Shanahan, a man he grew to have a deep respect for. In 1973 he and Betty Lucas worked with Sir Ralph Richardson in Lloyd George Knew My Father for JC Williamsons. This was a highlight of Foxcrofts stage career along with roles in The Comedians for Hayes Gordons Ensemble Theatre and the STC production of Shakespeares Much Ado About Nothing in which he teamed up with Garry McDonald. Other theatre roles included Alan Hopgoods And the Big Men Fly, Harvey and A Floating World. Throughout the 70s, as a true jobbing actor, he appeared in many ABC productions including Dynasty, Rush, Ben Hall, Certain Women and Pig in a Poke. His working relationship with the ABC, which began in radio, continued with roles in Learned Friends in 1983 and Last Resort with Kris McQuade in 1988. Although based in Sydney, he was also a familiar face in many of the Crawford series from Homicide and Matlock Police to Young Ramsay, Skyways and Carsons Law. Foxcrofts longest-running television stint was in 1976 in Cash Harmons Number 96. He played Sir William Mainwaring for three months in the notorious top-rating show. Sir William preferred to be called Bill and smoked roll-your-own ciggies. This was a touch Foxcroft brought to the character. Number 96 may have brought Foxcroft the most recognition since his days on Brisbane television, but he appeared in dozens of other TV shows ranging from Lukes Kingdom to The Young Doctors, Kingswood Country, A Country Practice, Sons and Daughters, Return to Eden, The Last Frontier and The Dismissal. As well as his many television performances, a burgeoning Australian film industry kept Foxcroft in regular work as a character actor on the big screen. With his impish appearance he brought a mixture of Aussie ruggedness, cheek and charm to each role. His body of work through the 70s included Ride a Wild Pony and The Fourth Wish for director Don Chaffey, Donald Crombies Caddie starring Helen Morse, Henri Safrans Listen to the Lion and Tom Jefferys Weekend of Shadows. In the late 70s and early 80s he worked with the director Terry Bourke in Little Boy Lost. Foxcroft and Bourke would continue their collaboration in the early 80s with Lady Stay Dead and Brothers. In Phillip Noyces AFI-award-winning film Newsfront, Foxcroft is comically teamed with lanky Bruce Spence and shares a wonderful dance scene with Lorna Leslie and Chris Haywood. Throughout the 1980s and into the 90s he continued working with a host of talented directors and actors. Among his film credits are Maybe This Time, Phar Lap, Bliss, The Crossing, which starred a young Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer, and Daydream Believer. One of Foxcrofts favourite acting experiences came when working on Bill Youngs Roly Poly Man with Susan Lyons and the late Paul Chubb. Foxcroft played Chubbs loveable sidekick, Mickey, displaying wonderful comic timing and a strong rapport with his co-star. It was opposite his old mate Chubby that Foxcroft performed his last screen role in an episode of All Saints in which they played father and son. In a career spanning more than 50 years, other personal highlights came in two award-winning films. In the Lawrence Johnston-directed documentary Eternity he appeared as Arthur Stace, and he played opposite Betty Lucas in the short film Sunday, by Amos Szeps. Foxcroft lived in Sydneys Darlinghurst for many years. Most mornings he could be found at Fellinis coffee shop on Victoria Street talking about the places hed been and the people hed met and lamenting that he was no longer working. Other times he would go up to his apartment blocks rooftop garden and lose himself playing harmonica. He is survived by daughters Susan Foxcroft and Brenda Chow, son-in-law Bill, and grandchildren Emma, Natasha and Gareth.
Posted on: Sat, 21 Jun 2014 00:30:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015