37-657: Brian Thomas Wenzel (24 May 1929 – 6 May 2024) was an Australian actor, comedian, director and singer. He was in the entertainment business itinerantly for some 60 years, including circus, stage, television and film. After numerous character roles in Crawford Productions serials and films, and after appearing in the ABC serial Certain Women and The Young Doctors , he was cast in the permanent role of Frank Gilroy, an old-fashioned and upright police sergeant (later chef and barman) of
74-868: A Salesman , The Crucible , The Imaginary Invalid and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll . He also worked with the Adelaide Festival of Arts and the South Australian Theatre Company . After many years in the entertainment industry, primarily in live comedy and theatre, Wenzel appeared on the small screen starting from the late 1960s, including the Crawford Production drama series Division 4 , Matlock Police and Homicide , as well as The Young Doctors , Cop Shop and Certain Women . In 1972, he and his wife Linda moved to Sydney in order for Wenzel to do full-time acting. It
111-565: A barmaid in a pub she struggles to survive. A brief affair with Ted (Jack Thompson) ends badly when his involvement with another woman comes to light, but she falls in love with a Greek immigrant, Peter (Takis Emmanuel). Peter has to return to Greece to face family obligations–he is already married to another woman. Caddie runs out of money and goes to work as a barmaid. Peter sends letters from Greece and Caddie has to evade police as she works for an SP bookie. Peter asks her to come to Athens but she decides to stay. The original autobiography
148-526: A diversified entertainment group, Ariadne Australia, and there would going to be a link between Crawford Productions and De Laurentiis Entertainment Limited, a subsidiary of the De Laurentiis Entertainment Group in which Ariadne is the second-largest stockholder in the group, and Crawfords' series wanted to be a cash flow underpinning the then-under construction DEL studios to produce their own projects, each of these were filmed. The company
185-578: A guest role playing a NSW Police officer in the series Home Sweet Home with John Bluthal . Wenzel became very popular with the NSW Police due to his role as Sgt Gilroy. He was once presented with a leather police jacket from former commissioner John Avery as the fictional country town of Wandin Valley was located in New South Wales . Wenzel did not reprise his role as Frank Gilroy when A Country Practice
222-485: A highly popular police drama on each commercial network, the production company was booming. However, in 1975 and 1976, Homicide , Division 4 , and Matlock Police were all abruptly cancelled. It has been suggested that this was because Hector Crawford and several of the actors who featured in his shows figured prominently in the contemporary TV: Make It Australian campaign, agitating for stronger local content regulations to promote and protect local TV production. Though
259-509: A major ratings success and compete effectively with imported American programming. As video technology was still in its infancy in Australia at that time, Crawford Productions developed a highly efficient integrated production schedule to combine studio scenes recorded on videotape with location footage captured on film for each weekly episode. Encouraged by the success of Homicide (which continued in production until 1975) their next drama project
296-537: A meld of soap opera with the Crawfords staple of police drama, and the series emerged as a popular success. Cop Shop featured George Mallaby and former Bellbird star Terry Norris . Skyways (1979–81) replicated the soap opera-meets-weekly adult drama hybrid of Cop Shop in an airport setting, with less success. Later programmes included legal drama Carson's Law (1983–84), a vehicle for former The Sullivans star Lorraine Bayly , children's series Halfway Across
333-530: A prominent figure in the ongoing campaign for local content regulations on Australian television. During the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, Crawford Productions dominated Australian drama series. They gained an early foothold with their first major TV series, Consider Your Verdict (1961–64), which presented dramatizations of court cases. Like other local producers, they faced heightened competition from imported overseas programming, as there were no local content regulations governing Australian television at
370-419: A return to police drama but with a new spin; however, the series was not a major success. Greater success came with The Sullivans (1976–83), a critically acclaimed and highly popular World War II family serial co-starring Lorraine Bayly and former Matlock lead Paul Cronin. Continuing the trend at that time for evening soap opera type shows on Australian television they later launched Cop Shop (1977–84),
407-401: A skill-base that grew out of Hollywood. The competitive advantage enjoyed by imported content was exacerbated by the fact that the once-thriving Australian film industry had been decimated by competition from the major American studios. Since the beginning of the 1960s, film production in Australia had come to a standstill. Only one locally produced and funded feature film was made in Australia in
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#1733086218262444-483: A television advertisement for the Advance Medical Institute in a role about sexual dysfunction therapy. His Sgt Gilroy character (now 80 years old) arrives to save the day when a newlywed wife complains about her husband "speeding" in bed and then prosecutes him in court. The advertisement created much controversy and Wenzel was featured on A Current Affair , defending the advertisement and stating that he
481-614: The Export Action documentary series, The Flying Dogtor cartoon series, and a local adaptation of the US game show Video Village (HSV-7, 1962–66). The company's production quality was known to be higher quality than that of their closest rival, the Reg Grundy Organisation , who specialized in quiz and game shows before transitioning to drama serials. Company co-founder Hector Crawford was well known as an orchestral conductor and as
518-716: The RAAF , and Kathleen Wenzel. Wenzel grew up in Western suburbs of Adelaide including Mile End , Thebarton . Torrensville . and then some time in Mt. Gambier , before moving to Geelong, Victoria and had an unsettled early life and spent much of his childhood in remand homes run by various organisation's including the Christian Brothers and the Salvation Army . Wenzel ran away several times. At age 14, he left school and to stay out of trouble
555-510: The United States , and Crawford decided to co-finance with American network HBO in order to develop a second series of the long-running All the Rivers Run , which premiered on HBO in 1983. That year, Nick McMahon and Mike Lake, had ankle from the company to serve as consultant executive producers for the programs that were produced by Crawfords. In 1987, Crawfords themselves was sold off to
592-659: The 1920s and 1930s, including the Great Depression , it portrays the life of a young middle class woman struggling to raise two children after her marriage breaks up. Based on Caddie, the Story of a Barmaid , a partly fictitious autobiography of Catherine Beatrice "Caddie" Edmonds, it made Helen Morse a local star and earned Jacki Weaver and Melissa Jaffer each an Australian Film Institute Award . In 1925 Sydney, Caddie leaves her adulterous and brutish husband and takes her two children, Ann and Terry, with her. Forced to work as
629-697: The Galaxy and Turn Left and the popular outback medical drama The Flying Doctors . The company started life in small premises located in Little Collins Street , Melbourne, moved to the now heritage listed Olderfleet Building in Collins Street , then in 1972 to Southampton Crescent, Abbotsford , and in 1982 to Middleborough Road, Box Hill . In the 1980s, they set up an international branch Crawford Productions International, which its main purpose that Crawfords would film series for foreign companies, namely
666-654: The age of 94. Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production . Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford , the company, also known as Crawfords Australia , is now a subsidiary of the WIN Corporation . Founded exclusively as a radio production company in 1945, Crawford Productions then specialized in drama, light entertainment, and educational programs. When broadcast television
703-557: The company's earlier dramas. Note: Nine Network , Network 10 (NRN) and WIN Television have the free-to-air broadcast rights to those shows, not the other rival networks Caddie (film) Caddie is an Australian film biopic directed by Donald Crombie and produced by Anthony Buckley . Released on 1 April 1976, it is representative of the Australian film renaissance which occurred during that decade. Set mainly in Sydney during
740-611: The decade between 1959 and 1969. One of the major impacts of the suppression of the local film industry was a rapid erosion of skills and experience among local film-makers and an exodus of local talent to Britain and the USA. Crawford experienced mainstream success with its popular and long-running police drama Homicide , which premiered in October 1964 on the Seven Network . It became the first Australian TV drama series produced locally to become
777-563: The fictional Wandin Valley in A Country Practice , opposite co-star Lorrae Desmond , which he played from 1981 to 1993. Wenzel had a small role in 1995 in Neighbours as Gordon "Flakey the Clown" Orchard. He was also briefly a cast member of Rove Live in 2009. Wenzel was born in 1929 in Adelaide, South Australia of German descent, one of eight children to Harold Wenzel, a grocer who served with
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#1733086218262814-779: The movie were filmed in and around Balmain with a number of scenes at the Kent Hotel (which later became Caddies Restaurant ) and the Sir William Wallace Hotel . Other scenes were filmed in Cameron Street, Edgecliff . Studio shots were taken at the Cinesound Studios in Rozelle . The writer and producer had both made films about early Australian cinema and were able to draw on this knowledge to help recreate Depression-era Sydney. The motion picture soundtrack by Patrick Flynn
851-459: The other stars included former game show host and newsreader Chuck Faulkner , Terry Donovan , Frank Taylor and Ted Hamilton . Unlike Homicide , which concentrated on murder plots, Division 4 was set in a suburban Melbourne police station, and covered a broad range of police work, as well as occasionally featuring more light-hearted episodes. It too became an enduring popular success and earned Kennedy two Logie Awards . Crawford's next venture
888-420: The ratings for The Box were significantly lower when compared to the figures from its first year, the show continued until 1976. The Box was cancelled in early 1977 and production ended on the series 1 April 1977. The company also created situation comedy series The Bluestone Boys (1976) which was set in a prison, and Bobby Dazzler , a vehicle for pop singer John Farnham , in 1977. Bluey (1976) saw
925-479: The realm of soap opera with its sex-comedy serial The Box , which was set in a TV station, UCV channel 12. With the top-rating 0–10 Network serial Number 96 as its lead in The Box was an instant success. Homicide , Division 4 , and Matlock Police remained highly popular through the early 1970s, and The Box was a big hit in its premiere year, ranking as Australia's second highest-rated program for 1974. With
962-690: The time. As a result of this de facto free-trade agreement, most programs shown on Australian TV content were imported from America. At the time when Homicide premiered in late 1964, more than 80% of all content broadcast on Australian TV came from America, and American productions enjoyed a virtual monopoly over the TV drama field. The report of the 1963 Vincent Commission into the Australian media found that 97% of all drama shows broadcast in Australia between 1956 and 1963 were American productions. Australian producers competed against high-quality, high-budget imported programs that drew from an international talent pool and
999-507: The unique distinction of having a successful weekly drama series running simultaneously on each of the three major commercial networks. In 1973, Crawford Productions created the action-adventure series Ryan (1973), starring Rod Mullinar as a private investigator. This was an all-film colour production (at a time when Australian TV was still in black and white and transitioning to colour) made to target overseas sales, but it only lasted one series and 39 episodes. In 1974, Crawfords moved into
1036-645: Was "an actor and this is what I do" and being thrown into the spotlight after almost 15 years out of it. In May 2009, he appeared on a spoof of the advertisement which was aired on Rove Live . Wenzel was married to his English-born wife Linda Wenzel for 70 years. He was an Australia Day ambassador for the state of Victoria and a lifelong supporter of the Carlton Football Club . Wenzel had two mini strokes in 2018. He went into an Adelaide nursing home in September 2022 with dementia, and died on 6 May 2024, at
1073-598: Was a rural police series Matlock Police (1971), which was sold to the Network Ten . Like Crawford's other ventures it enjoyed success and popularity. It starred veteran Australian actor Michael Pate , who had spent many years in Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s, and featured Paul Cronin , who was later given his own spinoff series: Solo One . With the success of Matlock Police , Crawford Productions cemented its position as Australia's leading drama production house and gained
1110-464: Was introduced to Australia in 1956, Crawford Productions was one of the few Australian radio production houses to successfully transition to the new medium. Early Crawford TV productions included Wedding Day (HSV-7, 1956), the first Australian-produced sitcom Take That! (HSV-7, 1957–59), The Peters Club (GTV-9, 1958), Raising a Husband (GTV-9, 1958) and the drama play Seagulls Over Sorrento (HSV-7, 1960). They also produced segments of
1147-642: Was offered a job, as a pony groomer and dog trainer, by a chap with the Sole Brothers' Circus , eventually he would be offered a job in the ring riding the Broncos . During World War II, he was criticised because of his German Prussian surname. Wenzel in the post-WWII years started acting professionally in 1946 when his first performance in an acting role came at the age of 17 in a comedy stage play. He subsequently appeared in numerous stage roles, musicals, pantomime and children's theatre, including productions of Death of
Brian Wenzel - Misplaced Pages Continue
1184-478: Was produced for release on CD by Philip Powers from the original analog tapes by 1M1 Records. Helen Morse's performance was awarded with the Australian Film Institute's Best Actress award in 1976. Other AFI wins went for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Drew Forsythe) and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Melissa Jaffer and Jacki Weaver). Australian Cinematographers Society awarded Peter James
1221-707: Was published in 1953. The real-life barmaid, Catherine Edmonds, got to know Dymphna Cusack while she was writing Come in Spinner and Cusack helped the book get published. The budget was raised from the Australian Film Development Corporation , the Australian Women's Weekly , the Nine Network , the Secretariat for International Woman's Year, and Roadshow. Shooting began in late 1975. Parts of
1258-460: Was revived for a single season in 1994. Wenzel appeared in many Australian films during the 1970s and 1980s, including Caddie (1976), The Odd Angry Shot (1979) and Alison's Birthday (1981). He also appeared in the 2014 crime thriller John Doe: Vigilante Wenzel was a semi-recurring presence on the Rove McManus light entertainment series Rove Live in 2009. Wenzel also appeared in
1295-630: Was sold to WIN Corporation in 1989. Subsequent Crawfords drama productions included State Coroner , The Saddle Club , and Guinevere Jones . The Crawford studios in Box Hill were demolished in March 2006 and a Bunnings opened on the site on 30 June 2006. In 2009, Crawfords Australia had an eight-acre studio complex in Melbourne. While the company is still in existence, it currently does not produce television, concentrating instead on marketing DVD releases of
1332-464: Was the ambitious espionage drama Hunter (1967), which was purchased by the Nine Network . It starred Tony Ward and also made a star out of the actor who played its villain, Gerard Kennedy . After Hunter ended in 1969, a new police drama, Division 4 (1969) was conceived as a vehicle for Kennedy's talents and he became a dual Gold Logie winner, the series also screened on the Nine Network;
1369-517: Was the role in Certain Women that won him the part of old-fashioned and affable policeman Frank Gilroy, originally a constable and later a sergeant, in A Country Practice . He appeared in the series from its inception in 1981, winning a Silver Logie for his role. Later episodes would eventually see Gilroy retire from the police force to become the local RSL club's barman and chef after the original owner, "Cookie" ( Syd Heylen ), retired. He also had
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