Anthony Frederick Bonner (born 23 November 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor and singer. Bonner became famous in the 1960s children's television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', later moving on to lead roles in the dramas ''

Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. The show The show revolved aro ...

'' and ''

Skyways Skyways may refer to: * Skyway, walk bridge *Skyways (British airline), defunct British airline also known as Skyways Limited *Skyways (Swedish airline), defunct Swedish airline also known as Skyways Express * ''Skyways'' (TV series), Australian TV ...

''.

Early life

Bonner was born in Manly, a northern beach suburb of Sydney. His grandfather, James Bonner, was a former Mayor of Manly and founding President of the

Manly Life Saving Club The Manly Life Saving Club is one of Australia's oldest Surf Life Saving Clubs, founded in 1911; located in the Sydney suburb of , in the Northern Beaches Council in New South Wales. History The club was founded in 1911 to patrol Manly Beach ...

. His father, Frederick Bonner, was a musical comedy actor at

Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, Australia, refers to three theatres of the same name. One was a theatre which opened on 10 September 1887 and closed on 10 June 1933. It was located on the corner of Pitt and Market Street, Sydney, where Westfi ...

. After leaving school he started work for a company supplying

mannequin A mannequin (also called a dummy, lay figure, or dress form) is a doll, often articulated, used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others, especially to display or fit clothing and show off different fabrics and textiles ...

s and other equipment for window dressing. He also worked part-time in his father's theatre as a wardrobe attendant, fostering his interest in acting.

Career

Acting

Bonner's first professional stage acting job was in 1961, aged 18. His first major role was as helicopter pilot Jerry King on the television series ''

Skippy Skippy may refer to: People * Skippy (nickname), a list of people Arts and entertainments * ''Skippy'' (comic strip), an American strip published from 1923 to 1945. ** ''Skippy'' (film), based on the comics strip, released in 1931 and sta ...

''. Bonner went on to appear in many

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, also known as Crawfo ...

television series, including '' The Box'', ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...

'', ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success ...

'', ''

'', and ''

Carson's Law ''Carson's Law'' is an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network between 1982-1984. The series was a period piece set in the 1920s and starred Lorraine Bayly as progressive solicitor Jennifer Carson. The ep ...

''. In 1970–71, he had a guest role in one episode of the UK-based ITC television series ''

The Persuaders! ''The Persuaders!'' is an action-comedy series starring Tony Curtis and Roger Moore, produced by ITC Entertainment, and initially broadcast on ITV and ABC in 1971. The show has been called 'the last major entry in the cycle of adventure se ...

'' starring

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...

and

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 1 ...

. He featured in an advertising campaign for the Ballajura real estate development in Western Australia in the late 1970s. His notable film roles include '' Eyewitness'' (1970), '' You Can't Win 'Em All'' (1970), '' Creatures the World Forgot'' (1971), '' Inn of the Damned'' (1975), '' The Mango Tree'' (1977), ''

Money Movers ''Money Movers'' is a 1978 Australian crime action drama film directed by Bruce Beresford. The film was based on the 1972 book ''The Money Movers'' by Devon Minchin, founder of Metropolitan Security Services. The story deals loosely with two r ...

'' (1978), '' The Man from Snowy River'' (1982), '' The Highest Honor'' (1983), ''

Quigley Down Under ''Quigley Down Under'' is a 1990 western film directed by Simon Wincer and starring Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman, and Laura San Giacomo. Plot Matthew Quigley is an American cowboy with a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot accurately a ...

'' (1990), ''

Dead Sleep ''Dead Sleep'' is a 1990 Australian horror film about a series of suspicious deaths that occur in a psychiatric ward. The cast includes Linda Blair, veteran Australian actor Tony Bonner and Vassy Costiopoulos.Scott Murray, ''Australia on the S ...

'' (1990), '' Hurricane Smith'' (1992), and '' Liquid Bridge'' (2003). He has twice portrayed Australian World War I soldier

Murray Bourchier Brigadier Sir Murray William James Bourchier, CMG, DSO, VD (4 April 1881 – 16 December 1937) was an Australian soldier and politician. He was Deputy Premier of Victoria from April 1935 until June 1936. Early life Murray was the eldest so ...

, to whom he bears a remarkable likeness, in the 1987 film '' The Lighthorsemen'' and a 1993 episode of ''

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles ''The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles'' is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 4, 1992, to July 24, 1993. Filming took place in various locations around the world, with "Old Indy" bookend segments filmed in Wilmington, Nort ...

'' (which also used footage from ''The Lighthorsemen''). Bonner also starred in the 1985 TV

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

'' Anzacs'' alongside

Paul Hogan Paul Hogan (born 8 October 1939) is an Australian actor and comedian. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his performance as ...

, Jon Blake, Andrew Clarke, and Megan Williams. Bonner played

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

(later

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

) Harold Armstrong, commanding officer of the

8th Battalion (Australia) The 8th Battalion was an infantry battalion of the Australian Army. Initially raised in 1914 for the First Australian Imperial Force during the First World War the battalion was completely recruited from Victoria and formed part of the 2nd Br ...

of the

First Australian Imperial Force The First Australian Imperial Force (1st AIF) was the main expeditionary force of the Australian Army during the First World War. It was formed as the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 15 Aug ...

in 1914, from the Gallipoli in 1915 to the Western Front in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The series was a huge rating success when it aired on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television ne ...

. Bonner also does advertising work, such as playing veteran burger-naming expert Ken Thomas in a 2007

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold ...

ad campaign. In September 2008, Bonner sued Fauna Productions Pty Ltd, the production company for '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', seeking residuals from merchandising and DVD sales. In June 2013, Bonner was involved in ongoing talks of collaborating with actors Billy White and Tyler De Nawi on an Australian ''crime noir'' film titled "HUCK". More recently, he acted in the

low-budget film A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

s '' William Kelly's War'' (2014) and ''Landfall'' (2017), both filmed and produced in Australia.

Musicals

Bonner recorded a cover version of the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era i ...

song "Wine and Women" in 1968. He later appeared with

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popula ...

on an episode of ''Bandstand''. Later in his career Bonner appeared in several stage musicals including '' Annie Get Your Gun'' and ''