Veteran Australian actor John Ewart's career got off to a promising
start when he played 'Dopey' in a 3XY radio production of 'Snow White
and The Seven Dwarfs'. John was aged four. Numerous radio shows and
theatre productions later at the age of 18 he so impressed legendary
film maker Charles Chauval that he was signed to make his film debut
playing the coveted leading role of the youngest son in Rivalen im Urwald (1949). When
television came to Australia in 1956, John began a live children's show
with Channel 2 Sydney in the first week of the stations inception. John
was the host of the show which ran for eight years.
He also appeared on variety shows including The Barry Crocker Show (1966), panel games and
quizzes. Interspersed throughout his prolific film and television
career was a great success on stage. He performed in countless
productions for the Melbourne Theatre Company, the Sydney Theatre
Company, The Old Tote, The Independent Theatre, Phillip Street Theatre,
The Metropolitan Theatre and The Comedy Theatre Restaurant. Some of
these productions included 'A Cup of Tea, a Bex and a Good Lie Down',
'Entertaining Mr. Sloane', 'Don's Party', 'Behind the Curtain' and
'Tribute'.
In 1975 he featured in The Last of the Australians (1975) - Crawford Productions first sitcom and
the first Australian sitcom to be filmed before a live studio audience.
Though John performed at some point in most television shows made in
Australia, he desperately wanted to achieve movie success. He made more
than 30 films - more than Errol Flynn and most of the star names who
were, at the time, getting most of the limelight.
In 1982 John celebrated the anniversary of his 50 years as an actor at
the Hilton's Cliveden Room in the company of friends, including British
actor Robin Nedwell and a stellar group of Australian film and television
friends. At the time he was famous for an on-going role in The Restless Years (1977). He
said on the night he had done everything except circus.
In 1983 John starred in the Australian Christmas time favourite film
40 Grad im Schatten (1983) alongside a young Nicole Kidman in her first feature role and 'John
Howard' . However, the film he always remained most proud of was
Wanderkino Pym (1977) in which he co-starred alongside his friend the late John Meillon,
Rod Taylor and Judy Morris. John won the 1977 Australian Film Institute Award
for best supporting actor for his performance in. He hoped this film
would be a launching pad to an international career so he went and
tried his luck in Hollywood. He returned disappointed but not
disillusioned by the industry and over the next 3 years made a
succession of 8 movies, including the critically acclaimed Newsfront (1978), as
well as countless appearances on TV.
In 1978 while starring in the television series The Truckies (1978), John was
rushed to the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney with a serious case
of Hepatitis. Doctors gave him a 50% chance of surviving. He lost 2
stone through the illness but was back on his feet within a month.
Because of the damage to his liver, John was forced to give up his
drinking.
In 1991 at the age of 62, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. In an
interview with TV Week shortly after major surgery, he said he coped
with cancer by laughing a lot. In the last weeks of his life, doctors
insisted he leave his Sydney home and return to hospital. With doctors
warning he had only hours to live, a marriage celebrant was arranged
and he married his long time love Jane Fennell. Fennell was famous to a
generation of Australian children as Miss Jane in the children's show
Mr. Squiggle and Friends (1959). Her father, veteran actor Willie Fennell, was John's long time
closest friend. She had known John since she was 15 and he became a
close confidant after she was seriously injured in a career destroying
car accident which caused severe facial injuries. Surgery eventually
repaired most of the damage but she never returned to the industry.
Following John's death Australian actor Charles 'Bud' Tingwell
made a financial gift to John's former school in Melbourne - Scotch
College, to honour John and his contribution to the entertainment
industry. John is survived by 4 children and 4 grandchildren.
