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Alwyn Cecil Kurts (28 October 1915 – 4 May 2000) was an Australian drama and comedy actor of radio, television and film, best remembered for his role as gruff Inspector Colin Fox in the TV series Homicide.

Biography

Kurts' father, David Day, was a well-known radio personality in the postwar years. Kurts worked on breakfast radio on Perth station 6PR in 1942. He then became an accredited war correspondent reporting from Burma, New Guinea and the Philippines. After the war he moved to 3XY with his program Raising a Husband.

His television career started with a version of his radio show Raising a Husband (which was pushed off air by the success of Graham Kennedy), then Hutton's Family Quiz, Don't Argue and Fighting Words. He made the successful transition to drama in Homicide; after one 1968 appearance as criminal Frank Inglis, he took on the role of country-based Inspector Colin Fox for one episode the same year. Kurts then returned as a core cast member the following year, playing Fox, now with the additional back story that he had worked in Homicide twenty years earlier and was now seeking a change after the recent death of his wife. 'Colin Fox' formally assumed the Inspector role on 27 May. Kurts remained with the show for four years, after which he starred in another Crawfords production, the comedy The Last of the Australians. In 1982 he appeared in the Australian TV drama Cop Shop. For a brief time, he was the Beast in the Australian version of the television panel show Beauty and the Beast. Kurts also appeared in the 1979 movie Tim starring Mel Gibson. Late in life he had key roles in the films Spotswood and Road to Nhill.

Kurts supported the 1972 campaign for the election of Gough Whitlam and the Labor Party.

Personal life

Kurts was married twice. His first marriage, to Jean Pember, lasted four and a half years and ended in divorce in November 1939, on grounds of his adultery. His second marriage, to 'champion footrunner' Eileen O'Hehir, took place in August 1940 and sustained until his death. Kurts had three children: one from his first marriage and two, Michael and Elizabeth, from his second.

Death

Kurts died on 4 May 2000, aged 84 in Melbourne, Australia, from liver failure.

Awards

In 1979, Kurts won the Australian Film Institute Award for AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role as the father of Mel Gibson's character in the film Tim.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. R. J. Baeck 'Station policy of live artists' Melbourne Age 6 October 1969 p. 54
2. 'Inspector Fox rose from radio's ranks' Melbourne Age Radio and TV guide supplement, 8 May 1969 p. 3
3. http://74.6.146.127/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=Alwyn+Kurts&rd=r2&fr=yfp-t-501&u=www.melbourneobserver.com.au/obmag061115.pdf&w=alwyn+kurts&d=AKwO6bZfVBaa&icp=1&.intl=au&sig=HtN9E9BOQ8CSpKUmj93Piw--
4. ^ Albert Moran; Chris Keating (4 August 2009). The A to Z of Australian Radio and Television. Scarecrow Press. p. 229. ISBN 9780810870222. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
5. 'Inspector Fox rose from radio's ranks' Melbourne Age Radio and TV guide supplement, 8 May 1969 p. 3; https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0476008/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
6. "It's Time politicians burst through the bubble". Archived from the original on 10 April 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
7. '"Uncle Peter's" wife sues for a divorce' Perth Mirror 14 October 1939 p. 1
8. 'Wife divorces Alwyn Kurts' Perth Daily News 9 November 1939 p. 12
9. 'Alwyn Kurts' wedding set for August 10', Perth Mirror 6 July 1940 p. 4
10. 'Face of Homicide dies, aged 84' Melbourne Age, 5 May 2000 p. 4
11. 'Alwyn Kurts in Perth to give sister away' Perth Mirror 29 November 1947 p. 2
12. http://74.6.146.127/search/cache?ei=UTF-8&p=Alwyn+Kurts&rd=r2&fr=yfp-t-501&u=www.jocksjournal.com/vol.20.no9.pdf&w=alwyn+kurts&d=FQOuCrZfVHwp&icp=1&.intl=au&sig=y.8FlkPIBhEwlotmzvSkHA--
13. Stratton, David (1980). The last new wave: the Australian film revival. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0-207-14146-0.
14. "MILESAGO – And Millions Will Die". www.milesago.com.

External links

• Alwyn Kurts at IMDb

• 1915 births
• 2000 deaths
• Australian male television actors
• Australian male radio actors
• Male actors from Melbourne
• 20th-century Australian male actors