Tim Eliott

Tim Eliott
Born	Timothy James Gordon Eliott (1935-03-25)25 March 1935 Eltham, New Zealand
Died	22 April 2011(2011-04-22) (aged 76) Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation	Actor

Timothy James Gordon Eliott (25 March 1935 – 22 April 2011) was a New Zealand actor.

Biography

Eliott was born in Eltham, South Taranaki, New Zealand on 25 March 1935.^[1] His mother died when he was one and he was brought up by aunts and grandparents until he joined his father in England after the war where he went to public schools in Bath and Bristol. He returned to New Zealand in 1950.

He became an actor by accident when in 1955 he accompanied a colleague to auditions for Nola Millar's production of Richard II with the Thespians company and ended up being cast as Bolingbroke in which he was very well received.^[2] He went on to appear as Worthy in Virtue in Danger for the New Zealand Players and Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger for Unity Theatre as well as appearing in radio drama and commercials.

In 1964, Eliott was one of the founders of Downstage Theatre in Wellington, and acted in, designed and directed many of the early productions.^[3]

He emigrated to Australia in 1968 where, in concurrent productions for the Old Tote Theatre Company in 1969, he played Hamlet in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Guildenstern in Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" before going on to a fruitful acting career in television and film and as a voice-over artist. (In the mid 1970s he had a continuing role as a sports reporter in the Crawford Productions series The Box

He returned briefly to New Zealand in 1983 to play Colonel Elliot in Utu directed by Geoff Murphy.

Eliott died in Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, on 22 April 2011.^[1]

Filmography

Film

Shirley Thompson vs. the Aliens (1972) – George Talbot
Avengers of the Reef (1973) – Kemp
Journey Among Women (1977) – Doctor Hargreaves
A Toast to Melba (1980, TV movie)
On the Run (1983) – Armourer
Utu (1984) – Col. Elliot
A Halo for Athuan (1984) – Father Bernard
Treasure Island (1987)
The Odyssey (1987) – Capt. Fitzwater
Great Expectations, the Untold Story (1987) – Capt. Fitzwater
The Right Hand Man (1987) – Lord Ironminster
Rob Roy (1987) – Lord Ironminster
Young Einstein (1988) – Lecturer
Moulin Rouge! (2001) – Audience Member (uncredited)
Dr Mermaid and the Abovemarine (2009) – Narrator (voice)
Auf der Suche nach der Schatzinsel (1998) – Trader Scout / Stevenson

Television

Behind the Legend (1972) - Henry Lawson
The Box (1970s)
Prisoner (1979) – Ken Roberts
The Last Outlaw (1980. miniseries) – Sregrant Steele
A Country Practice (1981) – Douglas McKenzie / Roy Roach / Laurie Walker
Runaway Island (1982, miniseries)
Sons and Daughters (1982) – Brian Ingleton / Nat Fisher
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1982) – Richard Casey
The Dismissal (1983, miniseries) – Sir Fredrick Wheeler
The Last Bastion (1984, miniseries) – Richard Casey
Five Mile Creek (1984) – Mr. Sykes
Winners (1985) – Simon
Captain James Cook (1988, miniseries) – Earl of Morton
Joe Wilson (1988, miniseries) – Jack Barnes
Mission: Impossible (1988) – Horace Selim
G.P. (1989) – Professor Mick Curnow
Police Rescue (1991) – Sir Maurice Wells
Snowy River: The McGregor Saga – Arnold Rule
Water Rats (1996) – Laurie Parsons
Murder Call (1997) – Arthur Smith

References

^ ^a ^b Kitchin, Peter (14 May 2011). "Accidental actor's resonant voice and skills charmed generations". Dominion Post. p. 28.
^ Gaitanos, Sarah, Nola Millar - A Theatrical Life, (2006), ISBN 9780864735379
^ Smythe, John, Downstage Upfront: The first 40 years of New Zealand's longest-running professional theatre, ISBN 0-86473-489-1