Tom E. Lewis (25 August 1958 – 10 May 2018), also known by his traditional nameBalang Lewis, and sometimes credited asTommy Lewis was anAboriginal Australian actor, musician, andartistic director. His first major role was the title role in the 1978Fred Schepisi filmThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, and in 2006 he was the recipient of aRed Ochre Award from theAustralia Council for the Arts. He released two albums:Sunshine After Rain (2005) andBeneath the Sun (2013), and was the founding director of Djilpin Arts inBeswick, Northern Territory.

Balang Lewis, also known as Balang T.E. Lewis^[1][2] or Tom E. Lewis, was born on 25 August 1958 on the banks of the Roper River inNgukurr,Arnhem Land,Northern Territory.^[2][3] His father was aWelsh stockman called Hurtle Lewis,^[2] who managed the cattle station his mother worked at.^[4] His mother, artist Angelina George, was of theMurrungun,Wandarrang, andMara peoples.^[2] After Lewis' mother fell pregnant, his father left, and his mother fled to a mission to give birth and raise Lewis for the first seven years of his life.^[4] He was brought up in traditional culture in Arnhem Land.^[5]

When his mother remarried, the three of them relocated to a cattle station and his mother had four other children. At the age of 12, Lewis met his birth father for the first time in Borroloola. That same year, his stepfather passed away, and Lewis was forced to leave school, in order to support the family.^[4] He worked as a bricklayer andstockman,^[5] and then went to Belyuen inDarwin to work as an assistant motor mechanic.^[1][4] At the age of 17, with his boss's encouragement, Lewis applied to study motor mechanics at Melbourne’sSwinburne College, but his skills proved too advanced for the course.^[4]

Lewis was eventually talent-spotted atMelbourne Airport byFred and Rhonda Schepisi, and was subsequently cast in the 1978 filmThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.^[4]

On 3 May 1985, Lewis appeared alongsideErnie Dingo,Richard Walley,Justine Saunders, and others inBullie's House atLong Wharf Theatre,New Haven, Connecticut, United States.^[6]

From around 1989,^[7] he spent many years working in theMelbourne theatre scene, having worked withPlaybox (laterMalthouse),Melbourne Theatre Company,Melbourne Workers Theatre, andHandspan Theatres.^[8]

In 1997, Lewis acted inUp the Ladder, written byRoger Bennett and directed byWesley Enoch, which toured Victoria andNew South Wales.^[9][7]

With Handspan, he devised the internationally successfulLift 'Em Up Socks, a semi-autobiographical multi-media work that premiered in April 2000.^[8][7][10] He performed on stage with amarionette operated by Rod Primrose.^[11]

In May 2006, he playedOthello at the Amphitheatre of theMuseum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, in theDarwin Theatre Company's production ofShakespeare's classic directed by John du Feu.^[12]

In 2012, he starred alongsideHelen Morse inTim Winton'sSigns of Life, aBlack Swan Theatre /Sydney Theatre Company co-production,^[13] which touredWestern Australia before a final performance in theSydney Opera House.^[7]

In 2013, Lewis co-created, with Michael Kantor for Malthouse Theatre, a play titledThe Shadow King,^[14][15] described as "an Indigenous version ofKing Lear".^[16][3] The play premiered at the Melbourne Festival in October 2013,^[14] before touring around the country, playing atCarriageworks for theSydney Festival,^[15]Her Majesty's Theatre for theAdelaide Festival,^[17] and also inPerth,Katherine,Brisbane, andDarwin, all in 2014.^[7] In June 2016, the Malthouse Theatre production, directed by Kantor and with most of the original cast, was performed in theBarbican Theatre inLondon.^{[18][19][20][21]}

The lead role in theFred Schepisi's 1978 filmThe Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith was Lewis' first film role,^[3] after he had been spotted by casting directorRhonda Schepisi, wife of the director.^[22]

In 2007 he co-directed, withJulia Morris, amusic video,Warrk Warrk (Black Crow), and in 2008 directed a short film,One River, All Rivers. Both were screened at theimagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival inToronto, Canada.^[23]

He co-wrote (with his wife Fleur Parry) a 25-minute documentary film,Yellow Fella, about his experience of coming from a mixed race heritage,^[24][25] for which he was awarded the 2005Bob Maza Fellowship by theAustralian Film Commission.^[26] Directed byIvan Sen, it was selected to screen at theCannes Film Festival, the first Australian Indigenous documentary ever chosen for Official Selection.^[27]

He had roles inWe of the Never Never (1982),The Proposition (2005), andCrocodile Dreaming (2006),^[8] and played one of the leading roles in the psychological thrillerRed Hill (2010).^[28] He was also inGoldstone, directed by Ivan Sen (2016).^[3] One of his last major acting roles was inBoori Monty Pryor's 2018 four-part comedy drama miniseriesWrong Kind of Black.^[29]

In 2014 the hour-long documentary film about the life ofdidgeridoo playerDavid Blanasi,Kundirri: The Life and Legacy of David Blanasi was released byDjilpin Arts.^[30][31][32] The film was co-written by Lewis and his wife Fleur Parry, co-directed by Lewis and Julia Morris, and co-produced by Parry and Morris.^[33]

Finding Maawirrangga (2017) is a documentary short written by Lewis and co-directed byDylan River Glynn McDonald. It was produced by Julia Morris, and executive produced by Fleur Parry, and screened at the 2017Sydney Film Festival^[34] and 2018Flickerfest.^[35] After his death in May 2018, it screened at the inauguralNorthern Territory Travelling Film Festival in June of that year. The film tells of Lewis' return to his grandmother's country to learn hissonglines, and in it he also relates how he contravened some cultural norms on stage.^[36]

His final movie role was in the documentary-dramaThe Skin of Others directed by Tom Murray, released posthumously in 2020 after Lewis had died during the making of the film. He played the lead role of Indigenous WW1 heroDouglas Grant, while also commenting on the state of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations from his own personal perspective. A reviewer inThe Guardian wrote: "...one leaves the film with a powerful impression of Lewis as an artist and an intellect; as a person fascinated by stories and compelled towards the process of artistic creation".^[37]

Lewis played thedidgeridu, flute,clarinet, and guitar.^[38][39][40] In the 1990s he toured in acclaimed jazz duo,Lewis & Young, through Europe, Asia, and Australia.^[39][40] He has played withJane Rutter, Eve Duncan, Uli Klein, and composerGeorge Dreyfus.^[38]

In 2005, he released the albumSunshine After Rain through labelSkinnyfish Music.^[41] In 2013, he releasedBeneath the Sun, also through the Skinnyfish label.^[42]

He plays didgeridu on the albumsRecorded Messages: Violin (2000), played by violinist Eve Duncan,^[43] andAmbient Voice (2001), with vocals by Dean Frenkel.^[44]

Lewis participated in the promotion of Melbourne's bid for the1996 Olympic Games.^[39] In 2000 he ran with theOlympic torch in Melbourne.^[11]

Lewis was married to Fleur Parry,^[36] a theatre manager.^[39] They first met in the mid-1990s when both were involved in theMelbourne Fringe Festival. In 2000, when Parry was managingHandspan Theatre, Lewis walked in with an idea for a show. Before long, Parry was running the production, which toured Australia. A couple of years later, they became romantically involved.^[45] They were married and had a daughter together. Lewis also had other children.^[39]

In a 2007 interview, Lewis said that Northern Territory senatorBob Collins, who died a few days before he was due to face court onchild sex abuse, had abused him as a child.^[39] He went through a period ofalcohol abuse and estrangement from his family and community.^[10]

Lewis, helped by his wife,^[39] reclaimed his life and cultural traditions,^[10] moving toWugularr (Beswick) in South Arnhem Land, in 2001.^[46]

Together with his wife, Lewis founded a cultural foundation, theDjilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation,^[46][36] which hosts theWalking with Spirits festival at Beswick Falls each year.^[47][39][48] JournalistJeff McMullen, who was a long-time friend of Lewis,^[22] was patron of the Walking with Spirits festival.^[49] The organisation has been described "as one of his largest legacies".^[22]

Lewis died of aheart attack on 10 May 2018, at age 59, inKatherine, Northern Territory.^[5]

In 2000 Lewis was chosen to run with theOlympic torch in Melbourne.^[11]

A photographic portrait of Lewis byJuno Gemes was purchased by theNational Portrait Gallery inCanberra in 2021. The description says: "The magnetic and charming personality which made Lewis such a compelling and successful actor is captured in Juno Gemes' portrait. With his leather jacket, white shirt andaviator sunglasses, Lewis invokes the feeling ofJames Dean as he poses against a wall papered with posters announcing upcoming gigs at the Sydney Trade Union Club inSurry Hills".^[50] Also held by the gallery is a photograph of an older Lewis, pulling a boat behind him, after "return[ing] to his grandmother's country to learn the songs of his ancestors". The photograph, taken by Philip Myers, was a finalist in the 2017National Photographic Portrait Prize.^[51]

He was described in aGuardian article following his death as "a giant in the remote Arnhem Land community".^[36]

^[56]

• Tom E. Lewis atIMDb
• Tom E Lewis on AusStage
• Djilpin Arts

• 1958 births
• 2018 deaths
• Australian composers
• Australian male composers
• Indigenous Australian male actors
• Indigenous Australian musicians
• People from the Northern Territory

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2015
• Articles with hCards
• Official website not in Wikidata