Jack Charles | |
|---|---|
 Charles holding his record in 2019 | |
| Born | (1943-09-05)5 September 1943 Carlton, Victoria, Australia |
| Died | 13 September 2022(2022-09-13) (aged 79) Parkville, Victoria, Australia |
| Other names | Uncle Jack Charles |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1970–2022 |
Jack Charles (5 September 1943 – 13 September 2022), also known asUncle Jack Charles, was an Australian stage and screen actor and activist, known for his advocacy for Aboriginal people. He was involved in establishing the first Indigenous theatre in Australia, co-foundingNindethana Theatre withBob Maza inMelbourne in 1971. His film credits include the Australian filmThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978), among others, and more recently appeared in TV seriesCleverman (2016) andPreppers (2021).
He spent many decades in and out of prison and as aheroin addict, which he ascribed largely to trauma that he experienced as a child, as one of theStolen Generations. In later life he became a mentor for Aboriginal youth in the prison system along with musicianArchie Roach, and was revered as anelder. As agay man, Charles was considered a gay icon and role model forLGBTQI+ Indigenous youth.
Among other awards and honours, he was Victorian SeniorAustralian of the Year in 2015, and Male Elder of the Year in the 2022National NAIDOC Week Awards.
Jack Charles was born on 5 September 1943 at theRoyal Women's Hospital,Carlton, inMelbourne,Victoria,[1][2] to aBunurong mother, Blanche,[3] who was 15 years old at the time,[2] and aWiradjuri father, Hilton. Charles' great-great-grandfather was aDjadjawurrung man, among the activists who resisted government policy at theCoranderrk reserve in Victoria in 1881.[4]
Charles was a victim of theAustralian Government's forcedassimilation program which took him from his mother as an infant, and which produced what is known as theStolen Generations.[5] He tells how his mother sneaked out of theRoyal Women's Hospital and took him to a "blakfella camp" nearShepparton andMooroopna (Daish's Paddock[6][7]), but the authorities came and took him when he was four months old.[8]
After being moved to theMelbourne City Mission inBrunswick,[6] Charles was raised in theSalvation Army Boys' Home atBox Hill, suburbanMelbourne, where he was the only Aboriginal child, and sufferedsexual[9] andphysical abuse "far worse than anything [he] later experienced in prison".[5] He was not told that he was Aboriginal, and thought he was anorphan until he later discovered the existence of his still living mother.[10] At the age of 14, he was taken into the care of a foster mother, Mrs Murphy, who treated him well, but was taken away again at the age of 17, after he dipped into his pay packet to pay for a trip to see his mother, whom he had heard was inSwan Hill (although he did not get to see her that time) and had an altercation with Mrs Murphy. He connected with some other siblings when still a teenager, and later learned more abouthis birth family and ancestors.[8]
In 1970, Charles started his acting career in theatre.[11] First, he was invited by members of theNew Theatre in Melbourne to audition for a production ofA Raisin in the Sun, a play written by the African-American playwrightLorraine Hansberry.[3] The director of the New Theatre, Dot Thompson, cast Charles in South African playwrightAthol Fugard'sThe Blood Knot,[12] which was performed in 1970.[13] This was followed by a non-Aboriginal role inRod Milgate'sA Refined Look at Existence.[12]: 115 He later said that the New Theatre, with whom he spent seven years, was his NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art), as well as like family to him.[14]
Charles was involved in establishingIndigenous theatre in Australia. In 1971, he co-founded, withBob Maza,Nindethana ("place for acorroboree") atThe Pram Factory in Melbourne, Australia's first Indigenous theatre group. Their first hit play, in 1972, was calledJack Charles is Up and Fighting,[15] and included music composed by him.[16]: 26 He is often referred to as "the grandfather of Indigenous theatre" because of this early work.[8][14][17][18] He also helped to develop theNational Black Theatre inRedfern,Sydney.[19]
In August 1972, Charles played a character based on his own,[3] acat burglar who was struggling to get over his drug habit, in a one-act play for four actors calledBastardy, written byJohn Romeril. The play was performed at the Pram Factory and directed byBruce Spence.[20][21][22][a] Charles has taken pains to point out that the word isbastardy, notbastardry, Romeril having chosen the title because Charles "lived a life ofbuggery and bastardy in the Box Hill Boys' Home", and also referring to the fact that he was fatherless.[23]
In 1974, Charles playedBennelong in theOld Tote Theatre production ofMichael Boddy'sCradle of Hercules, which was presented at theSydney Opera House as part of its opening season. Also in the cast was a youngDavid Gulpilil.[12]: 116
His stage work includesJack Davis' playNo Sugar for theBlack Swan Theatre Company in Perth, Western Australia.[24]
In 2010,Ilbijerri Theatre staged Charles' one-man show calledJack Charles v The Crown at theMelbourne Festival.[25] Bob Maza's daughter,Rachael Maza, as artistic director of Ilbijerri, was involved in the production, and playwrightJohn Romeril co-wrote the script.[26] The show was produced byJohn Harvey.[27] In the show, Charles talks about his life, including his removal from his family and its consequences, his addiction to and recovery from heroin, and his crimes.[26] It also charts his attempts to navigate red tape to work in prisons as a mentor for Aboriginal inmates.[28] Charles was nominated for aHelpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play for his performance in the play,[29] which toured across Australia and internationally, including Japan, Canada, Britain and the United States, for ten years.[26] In 2014, Ilbijerri Theatre, toured byPerforming Lines, won theHelpmann Award for Best Regional Touring Production,[30] and in the same year Ilbijerri was joint winner of aDrover Award fromAPACA.[31]
In 2012, Charles performed in theSydney Festival productionI am Eora.[32]
In August 2014, Charles performed in Ilbijerri Theatre andBelvoir Theatre'sCoranderrk atNorthcote Town Hall.[14]
In 1972, Charles auditioned for the role of theAustralian Indigenous title character in the television showBoney but was declined. The job went to New Zealand-born white actorJames Laurenson, who wore brown face make-up for the role.[33] It was partly due to this disappointment, that the white establishment was not yet ready to accept Aboriginal actors in major roles, that led to his co-founding of Nindethana and the development of black theatre for Indigenous people.[19]
Charles was the subject ofAmiel Courtin-Wilson's documentary film,Bastardy[34] (its title taken fromJohn Romeril's 1972 play based on Charles' character[3]), which followed him for seven years. The film's tagline described him as: "Addict. Homosexual. Cat burglar. Actor. Aboriginal.".[5] The film was in the official selection forSingapore,Melbourne (MIFF),Sydney,Sheffield Doc/Fest,[35] and others, and was nominated for numerous awards. The film won theFilm Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Documentary in 2009; Best Documentary Human Story at the 2009ATOM Awards; and the Grand Jury Prize at theFIFO International Documentary Film Festival in 2010.[36] The film was re-screened at MIFF in 2017, with Charles on the night crediting the film with having saved his life. The film brought affection from strangers who had seen the film, and it resuscitated his career as an actor.[3][28]
He played Chief Great Little Panther inJoe Wright's 2015 fantasy filmPan.[37]
Charles appeared in several episodes of the sketch comedy show,Black Comedy, between 2014 and 2020, his final role being that of a judge.[38]
In 2016, Charles appeared in two episodes of the television horror drama seriesWolf Creek. Also in 2016, he appeared in the television drama seriesCleverman. Charles appeared in the 2021 television comedy seriesPreppers.[10]
Charles was interviewed onABC Radio many times over the years, byLarissa Behrendt,Daniel Browning,[3] andRichard Fidler onConversations,[39] among others.
For a large part of his life, Charles was a petty thief andheroin addict. He was jailed 22 times,[40] saying later that he gave up heroin at the age of 60, and had not been in jail since 2009. He saw his robberies as "rent collection" for stolen Aboriginal land, and attributes his and many other Aboriginal people's substance abuse to the trauma of dispossession and being removed from his family.[5] He gave up heroin after two years onmethadone as part of the Marumali prison program, which was delivered by Aunty Lorraine Peeters and her daughter Shaan. He wanted to become completely clean by the end of a documentary film that was being made about him (Bastardy), which took longer than expected because of being on methadone for two years, eventually being released in 2008.[26]
He developed an interest inpottery in prison inCastlemaine in the 1970s, and after developing his skills he taught other prisoners in what was a successful program. He enjoyed creating works through his lifetime, finding the practicemeditative.[41]
Charles received a Christian education from the Salvation Army, and continued to observe Christian values into his 70s, when he toldGeraldine Doogue in 2017:
I've employed my Aboriginality as my religion now ... instead of God, I've found that the Godhead is within me ... I'm solely directed towards making an accommodation between Black and White.[40]
He toldBenjamin Law in 2020 that his experience with Christianity and the Salvos had "proper buggered me up" because of the abuse he suffered, but he had never wanted to sue the Salvation Army, as they do much good. He liked to believe thatBundjil, the greatwedge-tailed eagle, theancestor spirit and creator of theKulin land and its people, that had kept him alive through his darkest and riskiest moments in his life. He said that he had technically been dead medically before, and had also attempted suicide once.[19]
Charles gave evidence at theRoyal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse inAdelaide and Melbourne (2013–2017).[19]
In later life he became somewhat of a role model for young Indigenous men fighting institutionalised racism, and lacking aconnection to culture,[14] and, after being eventually allowed into the prison system, mentored Aboriginal prison inmates in Victorian prisons andyouth detention centres.[42] He also advocated for more Indigenouscommunity centres in regional centres such asHorsham orShepparton, for young people to gather in "a sanctuary for Aboriginal people where the community can get together and talk about our personal issues with each other...".[43] He said that he had petitioned local councils and later the VictorianMinister for Aboriginal Affairs to create a community centre for people after their release from prison, but had not been listened to. However he found it gratifying that in later life young Indigenous men would come up to him in the street and excitedly tell him that they had come off heroin and methadone.[26] He lobbied theVictorian Government toexpunge criminal records after a period time, which brought about a change in the law enabling him to work in the state's prisons. The story of his efforts was told in the showJack Charles v The Crown (2010).[3]
As agay man, Charles was an icon and role model for youngLGBTQI people.[2][44] In his work with youth in youth detention centres and in speaking about other young queer Indigenous people, he encouraged everyone to be true to themselves.[43]
In October 2016, shortly after being named Victorian Senior Australian of the Year, he was refused a taxi unless he paid the fare in advance.[42] This was not the first time he had been met with this type of refusal, which he put down toracism, as the taxi driver had been prepared to take his [white] friend in the front seat until he saw Charles getting in the back. The incident made headlines in Australia[45] When he had been refused twice in three days in 2015, it was reported in the international press[46][47] as well as in Australia.[48]
In 2017, Charles gave a talk about his passion for prison mentoring atTEDx inSydney, and his work withUncle Archie Roach at the Archie Roach Foundation, followed by a performance of Roach's song "We Won't Cry" by the two of them.[42] The two men worked in prisons mentoring Aboriginal prisoners through Roach's foundation.[28]
In 2019, Charles embarked on a speaking tour in a series of events calledA Night with Jack Charles, in which he talked about his life as a gay Indigenous man,[43] describing it later as "the story of a reformed and rehabilitated old coot that [the audience] feel they know so well. They've seen me at my worst, read about me at my worst, and now they see me at my best."[26]
Charles' memoir, authored byNamila Benson,Jack Charles: Born-Again Blakfella,[49] was published on 18 August 2020 by Penguin.[50] The memoir was shortlisted by theAustralian Book Industry Awards for the 2020 Biography Book of the Year.[51]
In April 2021, Charles was the first Aboriginal elder to speak at the Victorian truth-telling commission, theYoorrook Justice Commission, which aims to establish an official public record of the experience ofAboriginal Victorians since thestart of British colonisation in Victoria. Its findings, scheduled to be reported by June 2024, will inform Victoria'sTreaty negotiations.[6]
In later life, Charles was often referred to as Uncle Jack or Uncle Jack Charles, amark of respect that often goes with the status of anAboriginal Australian elder.[52][5][53] He is remembered as "the grandfather of Indigenous theatre" because of this early work.[17]
Charles died from a stroke on 13 September 2022 at theRoyal Melbourne Hospital,Parkville, eight days after his 79th birthday, and was given a farewell by his family with asmoking ceremony. His death was widely reported in the Australian[1][2][10][52][54][55] and international press,[56][57] with prime minister of AustraliaAnthony Albanese, musician and comicAdam Briggs, actorMeyne Wyatt, and Aboriginal senatorLidia Thorpe tweeting their respects,[55] and Albanese giving an oral tribute, saying that he left a "joyous legacy" and that Australia had "lost a legend of Australian theatre, film and creative arts".[52][58]
There was astate memorial for Charles, provided by the Victorian government atHamer Hall in Melbourne, held on 18 October 2022.[59] It waslive-streamed into prisons,remand centres and youth justice centres across Victoria.[60] Hundreds of mourners attended, and crowds gathered outside. Many speakers described Charles' legacy as giving back to the community, after enduring an extraordinarily hard life. PremierDaniel Andrews was unable to attend owing to theflood emergency, with Acting Aboriginal Affairs MinisterColin Brooks addressing the funeral instead. Others to address the funeral included theatre directorRachael Maza and film directorAmiel Courtin-Wilson, both friends of Charles. There were stage performances inside and dancers outside.[59]
Charles was the subject ofAmiel Courtin-Wilson's 2008 documentaryBastardy.[34]
A photograph of Charles taken by inRod McNicol in 2011 hangs in theNational Portrait Gallery of Australia.[61] It won theNational Photographic Portrait Prize in 2012. McNicol had met Charles in the early 1970s and created several portraits of him over the years.[62]
A portrait of Charles byAnh Do was thePeople's Choice Award winner in the2017 Archibald Prize.[63]
Awards and honours include:
Charles' fifth great-grandfather wasMannalargenna, who was a highly respectedAboriginal Tasmanian elder and leader, acting as emissary to surrounding clans inTasmania.[2][6] His fourth great-grandmother,Woretemoeteyenner (1797–1847), was a strong Aboriginal Tasmanian woman who stood up to thesealers who decimated the population of seals that they relied on for food. His grandmother, Annie Johnson, was an important person in the history of theMurray River region of Victoria. She was known for using her horse anddray for taking food to families whenflu epidemics hit the local Aboriginal communities.[8]
Charles met his sisters, Esmae and Eva Jo Charles, as a teenager, when he was living with his foster mother, and they visited him in prison in the 1980s. They managed to find another sister, Christine Zenip Charles, whose foster mother was one of the few who let her keep her Aboriginal name on her birth certificate. He met his mother in Swan Hill when he was 19. By August 2021, Esmae and Eva Jo had died, and there were six siblings still missing.[8]
He only found out who his father was in 2021, when participating in an episode of theSBS Television programWho Do You Think You Are? Hilton Hamilton Walsh was aWiradjuri man, also known as an Indigenous mentor.[6]
Charles had a relationship with Jack Huston, a "De La Salle College boy", whom he met at the New Theatre in the 1970s, for five years.[26] He credits Jack, who also helped him and Maza and John Smythe establish Nindethana, with helping him to develop an appreciation for ballet, opera and musicals. However, Charles said later:[8]
Our relationship was doomed because I never knew what love was. I'd never been held as a child and it felt strange to be held by a man. Shortly after, I got into drugs. I see Jack occasionally and always regret that it didn't work out.
Since that early relationship, he chose to remain single (in his words "a loner").[8]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith | Harry Edwards | [10] |
| 1993 | Bedevil | Rick | [10] |
| 1993 | Blackfellas | Carey | [10] |
| 2004 | Tom White | Harry | [10] |
| 2008 | Bastardy | Self | Documentary; filmed over 6 years of his life[28][34] |
| 2013 | Mystery Road | "Old Boy" | [67] |
| 2014 | The Gods of Wheat Street | Old Uncle | TV series; 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Pan | Chief | [10] |
| 2016 | Wolf Creek | Uncle Paddy | TV series; 2 episodes[10] |
| 2016– 2017 | Cleverman | Uncle Jimmy | TV series; 3 episodes[10] |
| 2017 | Fancy Boy | TV series | |
| 2018 | Grace Beside Me | Uncle Lefty | TV series; 1 episode ("Catch Your Death") |
| 2019 | True History of the Kelly Gang | Waiter | [68] |
| 2021 | Back to the Outback | Frilled-Neck Lizard | Voice |
| 2021 | Preppers | Monty | TV series; 6 episodes[10] |
| 2022 | The Lake of Scars | Host[69] and co-writer |
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)| International | |
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