Ernie Dingo AM
Dingo was a top presenter onThe Great Outdoors
Born	(1956-07-31)31 July 1956 (age 68) Bullardoo Station,Western Australia, Australia
Occupation(s)	Actor, television presenter, comedian
Years active	1976–present
Spouse	Sally Ashton-Dingo (nee Butler) (1989–2011)
Children	5

Ernest Ashley DingoAM (born 31 July 1956) is anIndigenous Australian actor, television presenter and comedian, originating from theYamatji people of theMurchison region of Western Australia. He is a designatedAustralian National Living Treasure.

Born Ernest Ashley Dingo on 31 July 1956, at Bullardoo Station,^[1] Dingo was the second child of nine, with three brothers and five sisters. He grew up inMullewa, Western Australia with his family.^[2] Ernie's younger brother Murray died in a car accident in August 2007.^[2][3]

He attended both Prospect Primary School andGeraldton High School in his hometown in Western Australia.^{[citation needed]}

Dingo got his first big break in acting after moving toPerth and meetingRichard Walley, with whom he played basketball in a local team. He then went on to play state league first division for the East Perth Hawks.^[4] He completed an apprenticeship in sign writing.^[5]

Dingo rose to fame when he collaborated with Richard Walley to create a public performance of the "Welcome to Country" ceremony in Perth in 1976, after dancers from the Pacific islands would not perform without one.^[6][7] As an AustralianNational Living Treasure,^[8] he promoted the Generation One "Hand Across Australia", which was a promotion for Indigenous Recognition and Equal Rights.^{[citation needed]}

Dingo's film career began in the early 1980s and he appeared regularly on screen through the 1990s. He starred in the title role in the 1987 docu-drama biopicTudawali and appeared inBruce Beresford's 1987 dramaThe Fringe Dwellers. He had a major supporting role in the international comedy blockbusterCrocodile Dundee II in 1988. He appeared as himself in the 1989 comedyCappuccino and had a major role in the 1991Wim Wenders filmUntil the End of the World. In 1993 he starred inBlackfellas and had a lead role in 1996'sDead Heart. In 1998 he starred inSomewhere in the Darkness. In 2010 he returned to the silver screen with a role in the Aboriginal musicalBran Nue Dae along withJessica Mauboy andGeoffrey Rush.^[9]

Dingo's first minor big break in television was in 1989 in the first season ofChannel 7 sketch comedy TV showFast Forward (1989–1992).

As an actor, he has also appeared in many Australian television series such asBlue Heelers,The Flying Doctors,Heartbreak High andRafferty's Rules. He appeared in the TV mini-seriesThe Cowra Breakout (1984),A Waltz Through the Hills (1987), (for which he won anAFI Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama) andKings in Grass Castles (1997),^[10] as well as co-starring withCate Blanchett in the Australian television drama seriesHeartland (known asBurned Bridges in the United States).

He hosted the television programThe Great Outdoors for 16 years from its beginning in 1993 to its end in 2009.^[11]

Dingo narrated the Indigenous segment of the2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Sydney, New South Wales.

In May 2007, Dingo appeared as one of the celebrity performers on the celebrity singing competition reality showIt Takes Two. Dingo also hosted the first series ofNo Leave, No Life, onChannel Seven.

In February 2012 Dingo and his family were featured in episode three of theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) documentary seriesFamily Confidential.^[12]

He appears in an episode ofSerangoon Road, an Australian-Singaporeantelevision drama series which premiered on 22 September 2013 on the ABC andHBO Asia. Also in 2013, Dingo plays a Vietnam veteran, a retired Army drill sergeant facing his demons in episode six of the second series ofRedfern Now ("Dogs of War").^[13] The episode was shown at theAdelaide Film Festival in October 2013.^[14] In 2018 he played Keith Groves in the TV miniseriesMystery Road.

Dingo hosted the free-to-air travel showGoing Places with Ernie Dingo.^[11]

In 2022 he performed in a celebrity tribute to Australian comedian and actorPaul Hogan, theRoast of Paul Hogan, which was broadcast on Australia's Seven Network.

Dingo's eldest daughter, Carrleen, was born when he was 18; through her, he has two grandchildren.^[15]

Ernie Dingo married Sally Butler, then a sales representative for2Day FM, in 1989.^[16] The couple struggled to conceive their own children via IVF in the early 90's and later adopted a daughter, Wilara, and also took care of one of Ernie's grandchildren.^[15] In his appearance onFamily Confidential Dingo revealed that Wilara's father was another Aboriginal actor who was actually Dingo's cousin,David Ngoombujarra.^[12][17] Dingo discovered in 2004 that he had a daughter, named Zoe, from a brief relationship before his marriage.^[15]

Sally Dingo has authored two books about her husband and family, 2000'sErnie Dingo: King of the Kids andDingo, The Story of our Mob in 1997. Their marriage broke down in 2011 and Dingo moved to Perth.^[18]

Dingo fathered twin boys, Jimmy and Stewie, in 2015.^[19]

Dingo is a prominent supporter ofAustralian rules football, and in particular theAustralian Football League'sWest Coast Eagles.

In 2020, Dingo toured regional Western Australia to speak to Indigenous groups, which had the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in WA. This led to him receiving threats.^[20]

Dingo is a fan of basketball and played at state level in 1973 for thePerth Wildcats. He will join the masters games to play the game for Australia in 2022.^[21]

Ernie Dingo was made aMember of the Order of Australia in 1990, in recognition of his service to the performing arts.^[22]

He received theAFI Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Tele feature forA Waltz Through the Hills in 1988, after being nominated the previous year forTudawali. He has also been nominated for an AFI/AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama in 1994 forHeartland and in 2013 forRedfern Now.

In 2008, Dingo and radio hostKyle Sandilands had a feud after Sandilands used the line "a dingo ate my baby" in a promo leading up to Dingo's appearance on his show. The two patched things up, andKIIS FM donated $10,000 to the Mullewa Football Club in Western Australia.^[23]

In August 2010, theWA Police Force announced they had opened an investigation into reports of child abuse by Dingo. It was alleged that Dingo slapped and verbally abused an 11-year-old boy at Carnarvon Primary School, and then made abusive comments singling out that particular boy while speaking at a school assembly shortly afterward. Dingo denied the claims, saying: "I deny it, but until there is an outcome I can't really talk about it."^[24][25] He entered a plea of not guilty by endorsement in a letter to the court and a date of 3 February 2011 was set for trial in Carnarvon.^[26] However, on 18 April 2011, following a mediation session, the assault charge was dropped and the matter formally withdrawn.^[27]

In 2010, two women from New South Wales and Victoria claimed to have engaged in affairs with Dingo. It was subsequently rumoured that Ernie and Sally were living in an open marriage for the sake of their children.^[28][29]

• Dingo, Sally.Dingo, The Story of our Mob. Random House Australia, 1997.ISBN 0-09-183634-4.
• Dingo, Sally.Ernie Dingo: King of the Kids. Random House Australia, 2000.ISBN 1-74051-710-5.

• Ernie Dingo atIMDb 

• Living people
• 1956 births
• 20th-century Australian male actors
• 21st-century Australian male actors
• AACTA Award winners
• Australian male film actors
• Australian male television actors
• Australian television presenters
• Indigenous Australian male actors
• Indigenous Australians from Western Australia
• Members of the Order of Australia
• People from Mullewa, Western Australia
• Racism in Australia
• Didgeridoo players

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