Wynn Roberts

Wynn Roberts (29 April 1924 – 24 August 2021) credited also as Wyn Roberts and Wynne Roberts, was an Australian character actor of stage, radio, and screen who appeared in more than 70 film and television productions between the late 1940s and 2001. He appeared in numerous TV plays and was also featured in TV miniseries for a career spanning over 50 years.

Career

Roberts was born in 1924 and started his career as an actor in the theatre in 1947, as a character actor, he was best known however for his small guest roles on television series.

He may be most recognisable to international audiences for his role in the cult Grundy Television prison drama, Prisoner (also known as Prisoner: Cell Block H. 1979-1986), in which he appeared as Stuart Gillespie, a mean-spirited prison department inspector, in episodes originally aired in 1980-81. His character's authoritarian regime led to the 1980 season cliffhanger, where a number of inmates escape in a tunnel which subsequently collapses, killing a prisoner and trapping others. Later, in 1987, he guest starred in another Grundy soap opera, Neighbours (1985-), as Frank Darcy, an artist friend of Anne Haddy's character, Helen Daniels. The character memorably wore a leather eye patch and came from the Bungle Bungles, and he and Helen almost moved there together, but in the end, Helen decided to stay in Melbourne with her family and Frank left without her.

He is also known for his prominent role as Sergeant Bumpher in the 1975 film classic, Picnic at Hanging Rock.

He was also a leading stage actor, starting in the late 1940s.

His other guest roles on television included Homicide, Special Squad, The Flying Doctors, Police Rescue, A Country Practice and Wildside. He worked for a number of years in radio.

A 1965 article called him "one of the best and most versatile actors left in Australia - probably the best in Melbourne".

Death He died in a nursing home on 24 August 2021 in Tanja, New South Wales, aged 97. 1963 Prelude to Harvest Governor Phillip TV play 1964 A Man for All Seasons Sir Thomas More TV play 1964 Corruption in the Palace of Justice Counsellor Enzi TV play 1964 Everyman Death TV play 1964 The Physicists Mobius TV play 1965 Romanoff and Juliet Vadim Romanoff TV play 1965 A Time to Speak Gilly (the Doctor) TV play 1965 Moby Dick - Rehearsed Ahab TV play 1965 Macbeth Macbeth TV play 1966 The Tape Recorder Voice of Novelist TV play 1966 Should the Woman Pay Gerald Henderson TV play 1966 Ticket to Nowhere TV play 1966 Flight into Danger TV play 1968 Cobwebs in Concrete Dan Fenner TV play 1972 The Survivor Feature film 1972 Flashpoint Foxy Feature film 1974 Essington TV film 1975 Picnic at Hanging Rock Sergeant Bumpher Feature film 1977 Listen to the Lion Hunter Feature film 1977 Born to Run (aka Harness Fever) McGinnis Feature film 1978 Weekend of Shadows Sergeant Caxton Film 1982 Fighting Back Payne Feature film 1985 Wills & Burke William Wright Feature film 1988 The Man from Snowy River II Priest Feature film

Television Year Title Role Type 1958 Killer in Close Up TV series, 1 episode 1962 Jonah Morgan TV series, 1 episode 1964 Barley Charlie Jim Fogarty TV series, 1 episode 1962-64 Consider Your Verdict Defence Counsel Robert Winter / Crown Prosector Robert Winter TV series, 19 episodes 1966 Australian Playhouse Johnson / Gerald Henderson / The Author TV series, 3 episodes 1967 Sergeant Musgrave's Dance Sergeant Musgrave TV miniseries, 1 episode 1967-68 Contrabandits Joshua Stoney / Arnell TV series, 2 episodes 1979 Adventure Island Captain James Cook TV series, 1 episode 1968-70 Delta Rand / Janosek TV series, 2 episodes 1974 Homicide Ross Bullen TV series, 1 episode 1975 Behind the Legend Christopher Brennan TV series, 1 episode 1978 Skyways Barney Waters TV series, 2 episodes 1979 Disneyland McGinnis TV series, 2 episodes 1980-81 Prisoner: Cell Block H Stuart Gillespie TV series, 9 episodes 1981 Holiday Island David Owens TV series, 2 episodes 1980-82 Cop Shop Alan MacNamara, George Payne, Jack Gren, Walter Green TV series, 8 episodes 1982 Spring and Fall Clive TV series, 1 episode 1984 Waterfront Inspector Legge TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1983-84 Carson's Law Andrew Riley KC / Andrews TV series, 4 episodes 1984 Special Squad Superintendent Kerslake TV series, 3 episodes 1985 One Summer Again James Smith TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1985 The Dunera Boys Slattery TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1986 Whose Baby? Edward Hudson KC TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1986 Sword of Honour Arthur Lawrence TV miniseries, 4 episodes 1987 The Petrov Affair Brigadier Spry TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1988 Always Afternoon Pastor Jules TV miniseries, 1 episode 1988 Neighbours Frank Darcy TV series, 5 episodes 1988 All the Way Maynard TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1988 The Last Resort Exeter Shannon TV series 1988 Spit MacPhee Judge Laker TV miniseries, 4 episodes 1989 Rafferty's Rules Matt Keegan TV series, 1 episode 1991 Police Rescue Anthony Mason TV series, 1 episode 1986-91 The Flying Doctors Dr Don McKenzie / Bill Richards / Stirling / Mal Pryor TV series, 4 episode 1991 Embassy Dave TV series, 1 episode 1992 Boys from the Bush Harry TV series, 1 episode 1992 Bony Templeman TV series, 1 episode 1992 The Adventures of Skippy Grumpy Johnston TV series, 1 episode 1993 A Country Practice Gordon Moss TV series, 2 episodes 1993 Snowy Alf Rutherford TV series, 4 episodes 1993-99 Law of the Land Hamilton Chalmers TV series, 14 episodes 1995 Snowy River: The McGregor Saga Sir Harry Garfield TV series, 1 episode 1996 Sun on the Stubble Ebeneezer Blitz Miniseries, 2 episodes 1997 Big Sky Fred Morgan TV series, 1 episode 1999 Wildside Lionel TV series, 1 episode 2001 The Farm George Cooper Miniseries, 3 episodes

Theatre Year Title Role Type 1947 Othello Brobantio (Desdemona's Father) Melbourne Repertory Theatre 1950 An Inspector Calls Eric Birling University of Melbourne 1951 Desert Highway University of Melbourne, National Theatre, Melbourne, Hobart 1952 Montserrat University of Melbourne 1953 The Giaconda Smile Henry Hutton University of Melbourne 1954 Ned Kelly Ned University of Melbourne 1954 Escape Matt Dennant University of Melbourne 1956 Death of a Salesman Uncle Ben University of Melbourne 1956 Misalliance Mr Tarleton University of Melbourne 1957 The Play's the Thing Almady University of Melbourne 1957 Our Town Dr Gibbs University of Melbourne 1957 The Matchmaker Horace Vandergelder University of Melbourne 1957 Tonight in Samarkand University of Melbourne 1957 Ring Around the Moon University of Melbourne 1957 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Brick University of Melbourne 1957 Arsenic and Old Lace Jonathan Brewster University of Melbourne 1957 A View from the Bridge Mr Alfieri University of Melbourne 1957 Speak of the Devil University of Melbourne 1958 The Making of Moo Frederick Compton University of Melbourne 1958 A Hatful of Rain John Pope Snr University of Melbourne 1958 The Threepenny Opera Peachum University of Melbourne 1958 The Ballad of Angel's Alley Nobbler New Theatre, Melbourne 1961 The Sentimental Bloke Ginger Mick Melbourne 1961 The One Day of the Year Alf Cook Russell Street Theatre, Devonport Town Hall, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Burnie, National Theatre, Launceston 1962 Summer of the Seventeenth Doll Russell Street Theatre 1966 The First Country Emerald Hill Theatre 1973 A Celebration of the Life and Vision of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin Dallas Brooks Hall 1979 Cymbeline Cymbeline ABC Radio, Melbourne 1984 The Cherry Orchard The Mill Theatre, Melbourne