Ernie Dingo
Ernie Dingo | |
|---|---|
 Ernie Dingo presents The Great Outdoors and see australia | |
| Born | Ernest Ashley Dingo |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Television personality, comedian, teacher |
| Spouse | Sally Dingo (1989-present) |
| Children | Willard and Jurra |
Ernie Dingo AM (born 31 July 1956 at Bullardoo Station)[1] is an indigenous Australian actor and television presenter originating from the Yamatji people of the Murchison region of Western Australia.
Background
Born Ernest Ashley Dingo on 31 July 1956, at Bullardoo Station, he was the second child of nine.[2] He grew up in Mullewa with his family.[2] He went to Mullewa Primary School and then Geraldton High School.
He came to acting after moving to Perth and meeting Richard Walley, with whom he played basketball in a local team. Ernie went on to play state league first division for the East Perth Eagles.
Career
Dingo has hosted the television program The Great Outdoors since 1993. He has also appeared in many Australian television series such as The Flying Doctors, Heartbreak High and Rafferty's Rules. He appeared in the TV mini-series' The Cowra Breakout (1984), A Waltz Through The Hills (1987), (for which he won an AFI Award for Best Actor in a Television Drama) and Kings In Grass Castles (1997), as well as co-starring with Cate Blanchett in the Australian television drama series Heartland (Heartland is known as Burned Bridges in the United States).
Ernie Dingo narrated the Indigenous segment of the 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Sydney, New South Wales. Dingo had a supporting role in the 1991 Wim Wenders film Until the End of the World, following a cameo appearance in Crocodile Dundee II (1988). In May 2007 Ernie Dingo appeared as one of the celebrity performers on the celebrity reality singing competition It Takes Two. Dingo also hosts the short-lived series No Leave, No Life, also on Channel Seven.
In 2010 he had a role in the film Bran Nue Dae along with Jessica Mauboy and Geoffrey Rush.
Personal life
Ernie Dingo married Sally Butler, then a sales representative for 2Day FM, in 1989.[3] The couple have two children, Wilara and Jurra.[3] Dingo also has a daughter from a former relationship. Sally Dingo has authored two books about her husband and family, 2000s Ernie Dingo: King of the Kids and Dingo, The Story of our Mob in 1997. They live in the small town of Warrandyte 24 kilometres North East of Melbourne.
Ernie Dingo was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1990, in recognition of his service to the performing arts.[4]
Dingo is a prominent supporter of Australian rules football, and in particular the Australian Football League's West Coast Eagles. He was on the selection committee for the Indigenous Team of the Century.
Controversy
In December 2009, Ernie made controversial comments hitting out at hypocritical "white people" who lecture Aborigines about alcohol consumption. "What you should be worrying about is who is giving them access ... who sells alcohol? Not black people," Dingo said. "We (indigenous people) don't have a problem. Our problem is to say 'no' to you blokes, to white people ... 'no' is not really part of our cultural background." "There are more white alcoholics than there are black people in this country, so don't come at us with restrictions and Aboriginal laws about alcohol." "It upsets me a lot. I'm passionate about the fact that people talk - journalists talk - about Aboriginal people with our drinking problem. We don't have a drinking problem at all." "(The) Aboriginal drinking problem is white people selling to them." [5]
References
- ^ Ernie Dingo (1956 - ). Film Reference.com.
- ^ a b Dingo's brother dies in car crash. thewest.com.au.
- ^ a b Huntington, Patty and Rachel Brown. "Dingo's secret daughter'. Sydney Morning Herald. 12 September 2004.
- ^ It's an Honour - Member of the Order of Australia
- ^ [1]News.com.au
Bibliography
- Dingo, Sally. Dingo, The Story of our Mob. Random House Australia, 1997. ISBN 0091836344.
- Dingo, Sally. Ernie Dingo: King of the Kids. Random House Australia, 2000. ISBN 1740517105.
External links
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- It Takes Two official website
- The Great Outdoors official website