Nigel Lovell

Nigel Lovell
Born
Nigel Tasman Lovell

27 January 1916
Sydney, Australia
Died13 December 2001 (aged 85)
EducationSydney University
Occupation(s)Actor, producer, director
SpousePatricia Lovell
FamilyJenny Lovell (daughter), Geoff Lovell (nephew)

Nigel Tasman Lovell (27 January 1916 – 13 December 2001) was an Australian stage, radio, film and television actor, and producer of opera and both stage and radio drama.

History

Lovell was born in Sydney, a son of H(enry) Tasman Lovell, Professor of Psychology and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Sydney University, living at Honda Road, Neutral Bay. He was educated at "Shore" (Sydney Church of England Grammar School)[1] and studied law at Sydney University, graduating BA in 1938, and was an active member of the Sydney University Dramatic Society under director May Hollinworth. While with SUDS he was spotted by the director of drama for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, Frank Clewlow, who gave him small roles in several radio plays. Handsome, well-connected and gregarious, his name frequently cropped up in Sydney's social pages.[2][3]

In 1950 he joined the Metropolitan Theatre, again under Hollinworth, and when she fell ill he took over production.

In 1951 he won a Commonwealth Jubilee Arts Scholarship in Drama, a travelling scholarship awarded by the British Council to study production in England.[4]

He continued acting for the ABC under producers Eric John and Frank Zeppel in the last decade of Australian radio drama, and in several ABC-TV historical plays.

In 1959 Lovell appeared as the main protagonist in the convict-themed Pardon Miss Westcott, which was the first Australian musical written specially for live television.

He was also a regular in Crawford Productions for commercial TV; notably as the avuncular spy chief on late 60s series Hunter. During the 1970 to 72 seasons of Crawfords' long-running Melbourne police series Homicide, he served as a line producer and television dialog director before it moved completely into being a fully-filmed program. In 1972 he returned to Sydney joining the staff of ABC Radio as a producer of education programmes.[1]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Type
1949 Eureka Stockade Captain Wise Feature film
1951 Wherever She Goes Will Joyce (father of Eileen Joyce) Feature film
1957 The Shiralee O’Hara Feature film
1957 A Fourth for Bridge Air Force Type TV movie
1959 One Bright Day TV movie
1959 The Dispossessed Feature film
1961 The Sergeant from Burralee TV movie
1965 The Big Killing Charles Barcher TV movie
1970 Strange Holiday TV movie
1970 Ned Kelly Captain Standish Feature film
1972 The Lady and the Law TV movie
1976 Let the Balloon Go Feature film

Television

Year Title Role Type
1960 Stormy Petrel Major Johnston TV series
1961 Whiplash TV series
1962 Consider Your Verdict TV series
1962 The Patriots Dr Robert Wardell TV miniseries
1963 Smugglers Beware TV miniseries
1963–64 Tribunal TV series
1965–73 Homicide TV series
1967 Divorce Court TV series
1967–69 Hunter Charles Blake TV series
1968 Skippy the Bush Kangaroo TV series
1972–73 Over There TV series
1973 Matlock Police TV series
1973 Seven Little Australians TV series
1982 A Country Practice TV series

Theatre

As actor

Year Title Role Type
As You Like It Adam (servant) Sydney University Dramatic Society
1936 Don Juan Lord Frantingham (and the statue) Sydney University Dramatic Society
Death Takes a Holiday Sydney University Dramatic Society
1938 The Merchant of Venice Bassanio Sydney University Dramatic Society
1938 Hotel Universe Sydney University Dramatic Society[5]
1938 Tuttifäntchen The Puppet Master Collegium Musicum Sydney
1940 French Without Tears Minerva Theatre[6]
1941 Mr Smart Guy Rex Albion Whitehall Productions

As producer/director

Year Title Role Type
1950 Raymond, Lord of Milan Metropolitan Theatre[7][8]
1951 A Masked Ball New South Wales Opera / National Opera Company[9]
1953 The Flying Dutchman [10]
1954 Il trovatore Empire Theatre for the National Opera of Australia / National Opera Company[11]
1954 Faust Empire Theatre[12]
1955 Winter Journey Independent Theatre[13]
1957 The Big Knife Clifford Odets Independent Theatre

Radio

As actor

Year Title Role Notes
The Wild Ass's Skin Honoré de Balzac play
1939 Hands Across the Table Viña Delmar play behind the 1935 film for Lux Theatre[14]
1939 Those We Love Agnes Ridgeway serial (not the George Abbott play) behind the 1932 film
1939 Magnificent Obsession Based on the story by Lloyd C. Douglas
1939 By Wire Mystery play by Mary Penelope Lucy (a Sydney author)[15]
1940 Smilin' Thru Adapted from the Jane Cowl & Jane Murfin play Smilin' Through
Four Daughters Adapted from the 1938 film, first of a series for Harry Dearth's "Radio Theatre" by arrangement with Warner Bros.[16]
1946 Big Sister Serial starring Thelma Scott, Peter Finch, Peter Dunstan & Bettie Dickson on 2UW
1946–47 Crossroads of Life Serial with a similar cast on 2UW
1946–48 Danger Unlimited Jeffery Blackburn Max Afford serial on 2UE[a]
1948 Perfect Strangers Clemence Dane play behind the 1945 film
1949 A Bill of Divorcement Clemence Dane play (filmed several times)
1953 The Cure for Love The Walter Greenwood play behind the 1949 film
1957 The Explorers King
1961 Cattleman Ben
1965 The Concord of Sweet Sounds Gerhmann Broadcast on the BBC & produced by Eric John

Family

Lovell was a brother of Dr. Bruce Tasman Lovell (1910 – 19 September 1986) and Guy Tasman Lovell (15 August 1919 – ). Former cricketer Geoff Lovell is a nephew.

Lovell married Sue Dalton in 1941 and had a daughter Catherine Lovell on 1 January 1947. His wife died of a heart condition later that year.

He married again, to Patricia Anna Parr (1929 – 26 January 2013) in 1956, having met through work with Sydney's Metropolitan Theatre. They had two children – Simon Lovell, a helicopter pilot, and Jenny Lovell, an actor known for her role in the television series Prisoner. Patricia Lovell had a significant career in radio and film both before and after their divorce.

References

  1. ^ a b Richard Lane (31 January 2002). "At home on radio, on stage, directing opera or Tarzan". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 38. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Glow Of Tropic Color At Cuba Ball". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Vol. IV, no. 84. New South Wales, Australia. 28 June 1939. p. 12. Retrieved 3 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Social and Personal". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 871. New South Wales, Australia. 22 February 1940. p. 19. Retrieved 3 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Jubilee Arts Awards". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Vol. XVI, no. 7. New South Wales, Australia. 31 March 1951. p. 7. Retrieved 7 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "People on Parade". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Vol. III, no. 143. New South Wales, Australia. 5 September 1938. p. 6. Retrieved 1 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Well-known Crowd Premiere At Minerva". The Sun (Sydney). No. 9481. New South Wales, Australia. 24 May 1940. p. 11. Retrieved 3 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Review". Freeman's Journal. No. 46. New South Wales, Australia. 8 May 1851. p. 11. Retrieved 7 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Mr E. Reeve, Founder of the N.S.W. Academy of Art". Illustrated Sydney News. Vol. VII, no. 89. New South Wales, Australia. 10 July 1871. p. 3. Retrieved 7 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "Fine Singing Heard In Verdi Opera". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 35, 336. New South Wales, Australia. 24 March 1951. p. 2. Retrieved 7 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Wagner opera opening". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Vol. XVIII, no. 107. New South Wales, Australia. 25 July 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 8 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "Opera's New Singers". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 36, 338. New South Wales, Australia. 9 June 1954. p. 6. Retrieved 5 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "Faust Was Not Really Well Done". The Sun (Sydney). No. 13, 855. New South Wales, Australia. 9 July 1954. p. 22. Retrieved 8 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ ""Urnmali" (?!) (30 September 1955). "At Sydney Theatres". Le Courrier Australien. No. 39. New South Wales, Australia. p. 7. Retrieved 8 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "Advertising". The Sun (Sydney). No. 1878. New South Wales, Australia. 26 March 1939. p. 7. Retrieved 1 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ ""By Wire"". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 31, 622. New South Wales, Australia. 8 May 1939. p. 13. Retrieved 3 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. ^ "Next Week's Radio Attractions". The Advertiser (Adelaide). South Australia. 16 March 1940. p. 9. Retrieved 3 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia. The film was in turn based on a play, Sister Act by Fannie Hurst
  17. ^ "Radio Roundup". The Sun (Sydney). No. 11, 358. New South Wales, Australia. 19 June 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 8 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  1. ^ The Mysterious Mr Lynch also by Afford, with the same two sleuths, but played by Finch and Dickson, was broadcast on ABC radio around the same time.[17]