Leonard George Thiele AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the ...

voice. He is best remembered for his role in the long-running Australian police prodedural drama ''

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

'' as David "Mac" MacKay. As a professional actor he adopted Teale – a

homophone A homophone () is a word that is pronounced the same (to varying extent) as another word but differs in meaning. A ''homophone'' may also differ in spelling. The two words may be spelled the same, for example ''rose'' (flower) and ''rose'' (pa ...

of his birth surname, Thiele – as a

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Biography

Early life

Leonard George Thiele was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, to Maude Henrietta Thiele, née Rasmussen, and Herman Albert Thiele, a chemist. He attended Milton State Primary School and

Brisbane Grammar School , motto_translation = Nothing Without Labour , established = 1868 , type = Independent, day & boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Non-denominational , slogan = , key_people = , c ...

(1934–38) on a scholarship. However, the family's financial situation during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

forced Leonard to leave school and enter the workforce. He worked as a junior clerk for

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

's Electricity Supply Department. In his spare time, he took up amateur drama, with local repertory groups. From the age of 17, he augmented these activities with a role as a part-time radio announcer, after successfully auditioning at the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

(ABC) in Brisbane.

Military service

Following the outbreak of World War II, Thiele joined the

Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

and served as a signaller. Interested in becoming a pilot, he transferred to the

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

(RAAF) on 10 October 1942. He graduated from flying school the following year and was commissioned as officer. In 1944, Thiele was posted to the Mediterranean theatre, where he served with

No. 458 Squadron RAAF No. 458 Squadron RAAF was a Royal Australian Air Force squadron that operated during World War II. It was formed in Australia under Article XV of the Empire Air Training Scheme. The squadron flew various versions of Vickers Wellington bombers, ...

, a

maritime patrol {{Unreferenced, date=March 2008 Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities. Maritime patrol refers to ac ...

/ strike unit, flying

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

s, from bases at

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

, Italy, and

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

. He was promoted to

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior Officer (armed forces)#Commissioned officers, commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) RAF officer ranks, system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries. I ...

in September 1945 and was discharged on 16 January 1946, after returning to Australia.

Radio serials

Thiele's career as a professional actor commenced in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in radio serials; his roles included that of

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

Clark Kent Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book '' Action Comics'' #1 ( cover-dated June 1938 and pu ...

and

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

. He also made regular appearances in radio variety programs such as the ''Bonnington's Bunkhouse Show'', and voiceovers in countless commercials.

PACT

His talent was nurtured and developed at the Producers Authors Composers and Talent (PACT) Centre, which was founded in 1964.

Films

He appeared in several feature films, including ''Smiley'', ''Smiley Gets A Gun'', and ''Bungala Boys''. In the early 1950s, with Raymond Hanson, Roland Robinson and others, Thiele helped form the short-lived Australian Cultural Defence Movement, aimed at protecting local arts and crafts production from the perceived inroads being made by imported content, particularly from the US. However, the movement faltered after becoming a target of anti-communist activists, (His brother,

Neville Thiele Albert Neville Thiele, OAM (4 December 1920 – 1 October 2012), was an Australian audio engineer. Thiele was born in Brisbane, Australia. He was particularly noted for his work on electronic filters and on developing the Thiele/Small para ...

, was also targeted, for participating in left-wing theatre.)

TV presenter and actor

Thiele was a co-compère of the radio ABC Children's Session, as "Chris" from 1951 to 1954 (also playing the title role in its '' Muddle-Headed Wombat'' serial), his involvement possibly cut short by management for political reasons. At this time he was still using the surname "Thiele" professionally. Major television roles included a regular comedic role in the ''Mobil-Limb Show'', host roles in variety programs ''Singalong'' and '' Folkmoot'', and acting roles in locally produced drama series including '' Whiplash'', ''

The Hungry Ones ''The Hungry Ones'' was an Australian television mini-series. It was a period drama about a pair of husband and wife convicts trying to go straight, consisting of 10 30-minute black-and-white episodes, which aired on ABC. Unlike previous serial ...

'', '' Adventure Unlimited'', and '' Consider Your Verdict''. He is best remembered, however, for his long-running role as Senior Detective (later Detective Sergeant) David "Mac" Mackay in ''

'' from 1965 to 1973. ''Homicide'' was Australia's first-ever locally produced TV police drama. Teale won a Logie for best Australian actor in 1974. He also hosted a documentary about the series, ''The Homicide Story'', in 1970. Other leading television roles included Captain Woolcott in '' Seven Little Australians'' (1973), and headmaster Charles Ogilvy in school-based soap opera '' Class of '74'' (1974–75).

Narrator

Teale narrated for ABC audio recordings, including the

Banjo Paterson Andrew Barton "Banjo" Paterson, (17 February 18645 February 1941) was an Australian bush poet, journalist and author. He wrote many ballads and poems about Australian life, focusing particularly on the rural and outback areas, including the ...

poem '' The Man from Snowy River'', and a spoken-word version of the Led Zeppelin song "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy Page and lead singer Robert Plant for their untitled fourth studio album (often titled ''Led Zeppelin IV'') ...

" on ABC-TV's '' The Money or the Gun''. His reading of

Dorothea Mackellar Isobel Marion Dorothea Mackellar, (1 July 1885 – 14 January 1968) was an Australian poet and fiction writer. Her poem '' My Country'' is widely known in Australia, especially its second stanza, which begins: "''I love a sunburnt countr ...

's poem "

My Country "My Country" is a poem about Australia, written by Dorothea Mackellar (1885–1968) at the age of 19 while homesick in the United Kingdom. After travelling through Europe extensively with her father during her teenage years, she started ...

", which included the lines "I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains" was so widely played in Australia during the 1970s that it was also frequently parodied.

Honours

He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

(AO) in the 1992 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to the performing arts and community.

Personal life

Married three times, Leonard Teale had four children, Amanda, Juli, Jennifer and Melinda. He married his third wife, entertainer

Liz Harris Elizabeth Harris is an Australian retired stage and television actress who appeared on a number of popular television series and films from the mid-1960s up until her retirement in 1993. She is best known for her role as Liza in the 1960s chil ...

in 1968; Harris had appeared in three episodes of ''Homicide''. Leonard Teale died of a heart attack in 1994. A documentary, ''Homicide: 30 Years On'', aired later that year which included reminiscences from former ''Homicide'' castmates and footage of an appearance made by himself and ''Homicide'' actors George Mallaby and Alwyn Kurts in 1992 presenting a

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

for Most Outstanding Series partially in character (with hilarious results).

Filmography

Discography

Leonard Teale & Andy Sundstrom: Songs of the Sundowners LP CBS 1964 Leonard Teale & Andy Sundstrom: Travelling down the Castlereagh LP CBS 1965 *''Leonard Teale: Leonard Teale's Australia'' CD - Sony Australia 1994 *''Leonard Teale: Famous Australian Poems'' 2011

References

External links

*
Photo of Leonard Teale in an article about "Homicide"
at

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

Interview with Leonard Teale
at ''Classic Australian Television'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Teale, Leonard 1922 births 1994 deaths 20th-century Australian male actors Australian male radio actors Australian radio personalities Australian male television actors Australian male film actors Logie Award winners Male actors from Brisbane Officers of the Order of Australia Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Army soldiers Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Australian Air Force officers Australian World War II pilots