Gordon McDougall
Gordon McDougall | |
|---|---|
 McDougall as amateur inventor Les Whittaker in Number 96 | |
| Born | Gordon Sholto McDougall 7 February 1916 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Died | 18 May 1991 (aged 75) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | Stage/radio 1936– , screen 1969-1987 |
| Spouse | Margaret Mackie |
Gordon Sholto McDougall (born 7 February 1916 – 18 May 1991) was a Scottish-born Australian actor. He trained at the Glasgow Athenaeum (now known as The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). After immigrating to Australia, he worked primarily in theatre in numerous productions as both an actor and director, but became best known in TV soap opera Number 96, firstly as amateur inventor Les Whittaker, who was a comedy character opposite Sheila Kennelly, his character perished in the infamous bomb blast storyline, after ratings of the series fell and it was decided to write out some of the long term older cast members, however producers realized that the decision was a mistake, and McDougall was subsequently brought back, albeit as the less successful character of Les's aristocratic brother Andrew Whittaker, the Lord McCraddenow.[1]
Career
[edit]Theatre and radio
[edit]McDougall started acting professionally in 1936 working in various facets of the entertainment industry, including radio and stage. He emigrated to Australia and started his career on stage over all-in a long career he appeared in more than 50 theatre productions.
These theatre roles included Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, Cat Among the Pigeons, Habeas Corpus, musicals 1776 and Promises, Promises. He played in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing for the Nimrod Theatre.[2]
Television
[edit]McDougall appeared in the ABC adaptation of Hesba Fay Brinsmead's Pastures of the Blue Crane in 1969.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s he had guest roles in Crawford Productions police procedurals Homicide and Division 4 and a regular role in 1972 comedy series A Nice Day at the Office which ran for seven episodes.
McDougall found his widest audience through his role of amateur inventor and hospital orderly Les Whittaker, husband to brassy barmaid Norma (Sheila Kennelly), in hit soap opera Number 96. Comedy characters Les and Norma joined the series early in its 1972–77 run and became very popular and along with most of the show's regular cast, McDougall reprised his role in the 1974 film version of the series.
After a fall in ratings in 1975 Les was killed off in a dramatic revamp of the series: the famous bomb storyline. It had been decided that Les's constant crazy inventions were becoming too silly, and that his death would open up the character of Norma to new romances and other storyline's. The Number 96 producers soon realized that killing Les off was a mistake, among protest from viewers and McDougall was returned to the series in late 1976 as Les's long-lost brother, the aristocratic Lord Andrew McCraddenow. The new character did not work as well as Les had, and six months later both Andrew and Norma were written out of the series during another cast revamp.
post-96 McDougall appeared in a small role in the film The Fourth Wish starring John Meillon and thriller The Killing of Angel Street and acted in other Australian television films and had guest roles in such drama television series as Chopper Squad, Prisoner and A Country Practice, and a guest part in sitcom Mother and Son.
Filmography (selected)
[edit]Film
[edit]| Title | Year | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ned Kelly | 1970 | Tarleton (uncredited) | Feature film |
| Chaser | 1973 | TV movie | |
| Is There Anybody There? | 1976 | Cookson | TV movie |
| The Fourth Wish | 1976 | Policeman | Film |
| Ride a Wild Pony (aka Born to Run) | 1977 | Horace Weaver | TV movie |
| Number 96 | 1974 | Les Whittaker | TV movie |
| The Killing of Angel Street | 1981 | Sir Arthur Wadham | Feature film |
Television
[edit]| Title | Year | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pastures of the Blue Crane | 1969 | TV miniseries | |
| Riptide | 1969 | Sgt. Paul Stranes | TV series, 1 episode |
| Homicide | 1966-70 | Max Baker / Rev. Horton / Senior Detective Vince Reilly | TV series |
| The Rovers | 1970 | Ben Ashdown | TV series |
| The Long Arm | 1970 | Stubby | TV series |
| Mrs. Finnegan | 1970 | Supt Johnson | TV series |
| Division 4 | 1969-71 | Bruce Clarke / Suttle / Bill Jenkins | TV series |
| The Group | 1971 | James McGregor | TV series, 1 episode |
| A Nice Day at the Office | 1972 | Claude Fogarty | TV series, 7 episodes |
| Number 96 | 1972-77 | Les Whittaker / Andrew Whittaker (aka Lord McCradonow) | TV series, 133 wpisodes |
| Rush | 1976 | Doctor Newton | TV series |
| Solo One | 1976 | Jack Norton | TV series |
| The Emigrants | 1976 | Hostel Manager | TV miniseries |
| Murcheson Creek | 1976 | TV pilot | |
| Chopper Squad | 1978 | Joe | TV series |
| Golden Soak | 1979 | Petersen | TV miniseries |
| The Magical World of Disney | 1979 | Horace Wever | TV series, 2 episodes |
| Love Thy Neighbour in Australia | 1979 | Vicar | TV series, 1 episode |
| The Best of Friends | 1982 | Doctor | TV series, 1 episode |
| Prisoner | 1982 | Dr. Braithwaite | TV series, 1 episode |
| Mother and Son | 1983 | Lionel | TV series, 1 episode |
| Winners | 1985 | Confessor | TV series |
| A Country Practice | 1983 / 1986 | Mr. Bradshaw / Shaun Barnes Snr. | TV series |
| Relative Merits | 1987 | TV miniseries |
Personal life and death
[edit]McDougall retired from acting in 1987.
He was married to Margaret Mackie and died in Sydney, Australia on 18 May 1991, aged 75.
References
[edit]- ^ Giles, Nigel. Number 96: Australia's Most Notorious Address. Melbourne Books.
- ^ Atterton, Margot. (Ed.) The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Australian Showbiz, Sunshine Books, 1984. ISBN 0-86777-057-0 p 143