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Wynn Roberts (April 29, 1924 – 24 August 2021) credited also as Wyn Roberts and Wynne Roberts, was an Australian radio, stage and screen actor who appeared in more than 70 film and television productions between the early 1950s and 2001. He appeared in numerous TV plays and was also featured in TV miniseries for a career spanning 50 years.

Career

His television credits include Homicide, Special Squad, The Flying Doctors, Police Rescue, A Country Practice and Wildside. 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 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.

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 on 24 August 2021 in Tanja, New South Wales, aged 97.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

1. Tombstone
2. ^ "Obituary: Wynn Roberts".
3. "Wyn Roberts". BFI. Archived from the original on 18 May 2019.
4. "Wyn Roberts". www.aveleyman.com.
5. "Prisoner scores a double treat". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia. 24 September 1980. p. 21 (Your TV Magazine). Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
6. "On the Grapevine". The Argus (Melbourne). Victoria, Australia. 17 November 1956. p. 17. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
7. "No dents in Rogues? armour". The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 May 1965. p. 17. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
8. "'Macbeth' on camera". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia. 8 September 1965. p. 18. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
9. "What to stay home for..." The Canberra Times. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 17 May 1965. p. 17. Retrieved 25 May 2020 – via Trove.
10. Vagg, Stephen (27 August 2022). "3 Forgotten Australian Television Plays". Filmink. Retrieved 8 August 2024.
11. "AusStage".

External links

• Wynn Roberts at IMDb
• Wynn Roberts at AusStage

• 1920s births
• 2021 deaths
• Australian male film actors
• Australian male soap opera actors
• 20th-century Australian male actors
• 21st-century Australian male actors