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Bill Kerr

Bill Kerr

​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.

Personal information

Birthday

1922-06-10

Birth Place

Cape Town, South Africa

Movies and TV shows :

poster

A Fortunate Life

1986

4.0

TV
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

1966

6.0

Movie
A Pair of Briefs

A Pair of Briefs

1962

5.7

Movie
poster

Animal X

1997

0.0

TV
poster

Anzacs

1985

6.5

TV
Appointment in London

Appointment in London

1953

6.2

Movie
Bushfire Moon

Bushfire Moon

1987

6.0

Movie
poster

Changi

2001

6.5

TV
poster

Citizen James

1960

7.6

TV
poster

Compact

1962

3.0

TV
Deadline

Deadline

1982

6.0

Movie
Doctor in Clover

Doctor in Clover

1966

6.0

Movie
Doctor in Distress

Doctor in Distress

1963

6.2

Movie
poster

Doctor Who

1963

7.9

TV
Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World

Doctor Who: The Enemy of the World

1968

7.4

Movie
Double Sculls

Double Sculls

1986

0.0

Movie
Dusty

Dusty

1983

6.0

Movie
poster

Father, Dear Father

1978

5.0

TV
Gallipoli

Gallipoli

1981

7.1

Movie
poster

Garry Halliday

1959

0.0

TV
Ghost in the Noonday Sun

Ghost in the Noonday Sun

1973

4.2

Movie
Girls Come First

Girls Come First

1975

2.8

Movie
poster

Glenview High

1977

0.0

TV
Great Expectations

Great Expectations

1983

2.0

Movie
poster

Hancock's Half Hour

1956

7.5

TV
Harmony Row

Harmony Row

1933

0.0

Movie
Kokoda Crescent

Kokoda Crescent

1989

0.0

Movie
Let's Get Skase

Let's Get Skase

2001

6.0

Movie
Mortuary Academy

Mortuary Academy

1988

3.3

Movie
My Death Is a Mockery

My Death Is a Mockery

1952

5.0

Movie
poster

No Hiding Place

1959

3.7

TV
Over the Hill

Over the Hill

1992

4.2

Movie
Penny Points to Paradise

Penny Points to Paradise

1951

4.1

Movie
Peter Pan

Peter Pan

2003

7.2

Movie
Platypus Cove

Platypus Cove

1986

0.0

Movie
Port of Escape

Port of Escape

1956

5.4

Movie
Razorback

Razorback

1984

5.9

Movie
poster

Return to Eden

1983

6.9

TV
Rob Roy

Rob Roy

1987

6.0

Movie
Running from the Guns

Running from the Guns

1987

4.5

Movie
Save the Lady

Save the Lady

1981

7.0

Movie
poster

Ship to Shore

1993

2.0

TV
poster

Snowy

1993

6.0

TV
Spike Milligan: A Series of Unrelated Incidents at Current Market Value

Spike Milligan: A Series of Unrelated Incidents at Current Market Value

1961

0.0

Movie
Sweet Talker

Sweet Talker

1991

4.6

Movie
The Captain's Table

The Captain's Table

1959

5.8

Movie
The Coca-Cola Kid

The Coca-Cola Kid

1985

5.5

Movie
The Confessional

The Confessional

1976

6.6

Movie
The Dam Busters

The Dam Busters

1955

6.9

Movie
The Lighthorsemen

The Lighthorsemen

1987

6.1

Movie
poster

The New Adventures of Black Beauty

1990

8.0

TV
The Night My Number Came Up

The Night My Number Came Up

1955

6.8

Movie
The Pirate Movie

The Pirate Movie

1982

4.9

Movie
poster

The Private War of Lucinda Smith

1991

0.0

TV
poster

The River Kings

1991

8.0

TV
The Settlement

The Settlement

1984

0.0

Movie
The Shiralee

The Shiralee

1957

5.1

Movie
The Wrong Arm of the Law

The Wrong Arm of the Law

1963

6.4

Movie
The Year of Living Dangerously

The Year of Living Dangerously

1982

6.7

Movie
Tony Hancock: From East Cheam to Earls Court

Tony Hancock: From East Cheam to Earls Court

1985

0.0

Movie
Vigil

Vigil

1984

6.7

Movie