George Ogilvie | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Buchan Ogilvie (1931-03-05)5 March 1931 Goulburn,New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 5 April 2020(2020-04-05) (aged 89) Braidwood,New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1945–2014 |
George Buchan OgilvieAM (5 March 1931 – 5 April 2020) was a prolific Australiantheatre director and actor, who also worked as a director and actor in film and television. He was known for being the founding artistic director of theState Theatre Company of South Australia, and was also an educator.
George Buchan Ogilvie[1] was born on 5 March 1931[2] inGoulburn,New South Wales.[3] He had an identical twin brother, Jim, two other brothers, and three sisters. His parents were from northernScotland, his father a baker and his mother a graduate of bothAberdeen andEdinburgh universities. They migrated to Australia during theGreat Depression in 1930, whichaffected Australia as well, causing the family to move from Goulburn toCanberra when the bakery business failed.[4]
Ogilvie did not like the emphasis on sport at the state school he attended in Canberra, but enjoyed being able to participate in drama classes. He started a course in accountancy after finishing school, but did not complete the exams, realising that it did not suit him.[4]
Ogilvie began his career as an actor at the Canberra Repertory Theatre.[5] In 1952, after saving enough money, he moved to the UK, and joined a travelling theatre company inWales, and then a repertory group inAberystwyth. However, after being called up for theBritish Army, he returned to Australia and found acting work inMelbourne, including a role inBlood Wedding at theUnion Theatre in 1958.[4]
In 1960 he returned to the UK, enjoying some success as a mime,[2] as part of clowning duo with English actorJulian Chagrin[4] inChaganog at theEdinburgh Festival, and theVaudeville andSt Martin's Theatres inLondon in 1964. He also studied underJacques Lecoq inParis during this period,[2] and taught at theCentral School of Speech and Drama in London.[4]
In 1965, he returned to Australia to take up the position of associate director with theMelbourne Theatre Company, where he stayed for six years[5] and directed around 20 plays.[4] In 1972 he was appointed inauguralartistic director at theState Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA),[2] a position he held for four years.[5] While at STCSA, he had many successes, including productions ofJugglers Three,Major Barbara,A Flea in Her Ear,Equus,The Winslow Boy,As You Like It,Journey's End, andCoriolanus. During his tenure, STCA moved into theDunstan Playhouse in the newly-builtAdelaide Festival Centre in 1974. Ogilvie produced, directed, and commissioned several Australian plays, includingDavid Williamson'sThe Department, written especially for the company and later enjoying national success.[6] He was supported there by Rodney Fisher andHelmut Bakaitis.[4]
This was followed by 12 years as part of the subsidised theatre network,[5] working freelance.[2] In 1977 he staged the operaLucrezia Borgia, starringJoan Sutherland, who said that he was "the first director ever to teach her to act". In 1979 he ventured into ballet, stagingCoppélia.[4] From 1988 he worked with theAustralian Opera, theAustralian Ballet, andSydney Theatre Company, among others.[5]
In his memoir, he wrote that the best work he had performed was his production ofChekhov'sThree Sisters at theRussell Street Theatre inMelbourne in 1968.[4]
Ogilvie's television acting credits include the 1983 miniseriesThe Dismissal and the 1984 miniseriesBodyline (1984)[5] (where he was one of the writers and also directed three of the seven episodes).[citation needed] He directed the TV filmsThe Shiralee (1987);Touch the Sun: Princess Kate (1988); andThe Battlers (1994);[5] followed by two episodes of the miniseriesThe Feds (1994) and 11 episodes of the long-running police seriesBlue Heelers between 2002 and 2006.[citation needed]
His film credits includeMad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985),[2] which he directed together withGeorge Miller,[5]Short Changed (1985), the much-awardedThe Place at the Coast (1987), andThe Crossing (1990), whereRussell Crowe was first seen on the screen.[5] One of his final screen appearances was in Crowe'sThe Water Diviner (2014).[2]
Ogilvie regularly taught and directed atNIDA andActors Centre Australia.[5][2]
In 1978, he travelled to India to consult aSiddha Yoga guru, and later spent time at the Siddha Meditation Ashram inNewtown, Sydney. He felt that meditation and physical exercise helped his creativity.[4]
Ogilvie was awarded a three-year Australian Creative Artists Fellowship, and was the recipient of three Melbourne Theatre Critics Awards for Best Director.[5]
In 1983 he was appointed aMember of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 1983 Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to the theatre and the performing arts.[1]
In 1988, Ogilvie was awarded theByron Kennedy Award.[7][8]
In 2006, Ogilvie's autobiography:Simple Gifts – a life in the theatre, was published byCurrency Press.[9][10]
He spent the last three years of his life sharing a home with his sister Carol.[4]
Ogilvie died, on 5 April 2020, aged 89.[11] He was survived by sisters Carol and Jean.[4] Artists who paid tribute to him included Russell Crowe,Noni Hazelhurst,Kate Mulvany, Patrick Frost, andBruce Spence.[6]
AM QB83 Gen Div. for service to the theatre and to the performing arts.
Source: Australian Plays, Wikipedia, IMDb
