Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying

Alf Stewart Alfred James "Alf" Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Home and Away'', played by Ray Meagher. Alf was created as one of the show's eighteen original characters. Meagher originally auditioned for the role of Tom F ...

on ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tri ...

'', having played the role since the first episode in 1988. Meagher won a Gold Logie Award for his role in ''Home and Away'' in 2010 and currently played the role of Alf for over 35 years.

Early life

Meagher was born and raised on a sheep and cattle station in Queensland, before attending a boarding school on the Gold Coast from the age of nine. He became a keen sportsman at high school,

Marist College Ashgrove , motto_translation = Act Courageously , location = Ashgrove, Brisbane, Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , pushpin_map = Australia Queensland , pushpin_ima ...

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 ...

, representing the school at a number of sports including

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

, a sport which he ultimately played at state level.Home and Away: Ray Meagher
, ''Yahoo!7''. Meagher played at first five eighth for

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 ...

at senior level in the late 1960s, including playing against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Career

Film

His early film roles included appearances '' Breaker Morant'', ''

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith ''The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'' is a 1972 Booker Prize-nominated Australian novel by Thomas Keneally, and a 1978 Australian film of the same name directed by Fred Schepisi. The novel is based on the life of bushranger Jimmy Governor, the su ...

'', ''

Newsfront ''Newsfront'' is a 1978 Australian drama film starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown, directed by Phillip Noyce. The screenplay is written by David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, and Phillip Noyce. The original mu ...

'', ''

My Brilliant Career ''My Brilliant Career'' is a 1901 novel written by Miles Franklin. It is the first of many novels by Stella Maria Sarah Miles Franklin (1879–1954), one of the major Australian writers of her time. It was written while she was still a teenager, ...

'' and '' The Shiralee.'' He also had a cameo in the 1979 war comedy '' The Odd Angry Shot''.

Television

He first appeared on television as host of the late night ABC

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

programme ''Around Folk'' in June–August 1973. His first regular acting work on television was in the soap opera ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when turned upside down. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiperfe ...

'', briefly appearing as Fred Shrimpton in 1977. Subsequent television acting roles included three different roles as villains in ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'', including Geoff Butler between 1979 and 1980, Kurt Renner in 1984, and Ernest Craven in 1986. He also had two different guest starring roles in ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

'' and substantial roles in several 1980s

miniseries 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 ...

, including '' A Fortunate Life''. Meagher joined the cast of soap opera ''

'' in 1987 and has appeared in the role of Alf Stewart continuously since the first episode aired in January 1988. Meagher holds a Guinness World Record as the longest-serving actor in an Australian serial. In September 2009, Meagher was the third-highest paid personality on Australian television, behind

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional '' Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionai ...

and

Rove McManus John Henry Michael McManus (born 21 January 1974), better known by the stage name Rove McManus, is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the e ...

. Meagher won the

Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television The Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, commonly referred to simply as the Gold Logie, is an award presented annually at the Australian Logie Awards. The Gold Logie was first awarded at the 2nd Annual TV We ...

at the 2010

Logie Awards 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 ...

, where he was also nominated for "Most Popular Actor". Meagher subsequently won that Logie Award in 2018.

Stage

In 2007, Meagher took over the role of Bob the mechanic in '' Priscilla Queen of the Desert'' from Bill Hunter. From 30 September 2010, he took over the role of Bob in the West End production of ''Priscilla'' until March 2011. In June 2011, it was announced that Meagher would be returning to the West End production from October. He then rejoined the show for its New Zealand tour in 2016. Meagher regularly travels to the United Kingdom to take part in the traditional Christmas

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

s. In December 2008, he played Abanazar in a production of ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'' at the Anvil Theatre in

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

and in 2009 he performed as Captain Hook in ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'' at the Assembly Hall Theatre in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Profile at Home and Away site

Profile from UK TV channel Five
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meagher, Ray 1944 births Living people Australian people of Irish descent People from Roma, Queensland Australian male film actors Australian male soap opera actors Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Gold Logie winners Queensland Reds players Australian rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Male actors from Queensland 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors