Jerome Ehlers (20 December 1958 – 9 August 2014) was an Australian actor and writer.

Early life

Ehlers was born in Perth, Western Australia to Francis Charles Ehlers and his wife Berenice Margaret Franklyn Ehlers. He went to school in Perth and then lived in Floreat, Curtin, Western Australia, from 1977. He was a resident of

St. Thomas More College St. Thomas More College (STM) is a Catholic, undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, and is a federated college of the University of Saskatchewan. History St. Thomas More College (STM), named for St. Th ...

in Perth, during the mid-1970s. He graduated from

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

in 1987. He then graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) alongside his future wife, actress Emily Simpson in 1987.

Career

Ehlers made his acting debut as Captain Watkin Tench in 1987 miniseries ''Frontier'', alongside

Max Cullen Maxwell Phillip Cullen (born 29 April 1940) is an Australian stage and screen actor. He has appeared in many Australian films and television series but is best known for his role in the film '' Spider and Rose'' and the television series '' The ...

Ruth Cracknell Ruth Winifred Cracknell AM (6 July 1925 – 13 May 2002) was an Australian character and comic actress, comedian and author. Her career encompassed all genres, including radio, theatre, television, and film. She appeared in many dramatic as wel ...

, and

Robert Coleby Robert Coleby (born 1947) is a British actor who has spent most of his career in Australia. Active since the 1970s, he has over 70 film and television credits to his name. Coleby has acted on stage in numerous productions for the Queensland The ...

. Early television credits include the miniseries '' True Believers'' (1988), '' Body Surfer'' (1989), '' Darlings of the Gods'' (1989) and '' Bangkok Hilton'' (1989) – the latter alongside

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

in her breakout role. He made further television appearances in '' Shadows of the Heart'' (1990), ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 ...

'' (1992), New Zealand series '' Marlin Bay'' (1992), '' Time Trax'' (1993), ''

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

'' (1996), '' Flipper'' (1995-1996), ''

Heartbreak High ''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television programme created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with som ...

'' (1996), '' Water Rats'' (1998), '' Stingers'' (1999) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s '' The Lost World'' (1999-2002). Various roles followed in the 2000s with '' Tales of the South Seas'' (2000), British drama series '' Ballykissangel'' (2001), fantasy series '' BeastMaster'' (2001), '' Jeopardy'' (2002), miniseries '' Through My Eyes'' (2004), long-running medical drama '' All Saints'' (2006), '' Monarch Cove'' (2006), US miniseries '' The Starter Wife'' (2007), ''

Packed to the Rafters ''Packed to the Rafters'' is an Australian family-oriented comedy drama television program which premiered on the Seven Network on Tuesday 26 August 2008 at 8:30 pm. The show continued on Tuesdays in this timeslot for its entire run. The dr ...

'' (2008-2009), ''

East of Everything East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

'' (2009) and ''

Sea Patrol ''Sea Patrol'' is an Australian television drama that ran from 2007 to 2011, set on board HMAS ''Hammersley'', a fictional patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The series focused on the ship and the lives of its crew members. Despi ...

'' (2010). He played the role of Rhys Kowalski in 2011 legal series ''

Crownies ''Crownies'' is an Australian television drama series which was originally broadcast on ABC1 from 14 July until 1 December 2011. The series revolves around a group of solicitors fresh from law school, working with Crown Prosecutors, who are t ...

'' for 22 episodes. He made his later appearances in '' House Husbands'' (2012-2013) and ''

Rake Rake may refer to: Common meanings * Rake (tool), a horticultural implement, a long-handled tool with tines * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (poker), the commission taken by the house when hosting a poker game ...

'' (2014). Ehlers also appeared in numerous films including western film '' Quigley Down Under'' (1990) alongside

Tom Selleck Thomas William Selleck (; born January 29, 1945) is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series ''Magnum, P.I.'' (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations fo ...

, '' Weekend with Kate'' (1990), erotic thriller '' Fatal Bond'' (1991), US thriller '' Irresistible Force'' (1993) and cult crime drama '' Two Hands'' (1999) alongside

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, he moved to the United States in 1998 to further develop his film care ...

, Bryan Brown and

Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994) , and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She gained her first leading film role in ...

. Further film credits include adventure drama ''

The Old Man Who Read Love Stories ''The Old Man Who Read Love Stories'' is a 2001 Australian adventure drama film directed by Rolf de Heer. It is based on the book of the same name by Luis Sepulveda. Although the film premiered in 2001 it was not seen in cinemas until 2004.

'' (2001), horror film '' Cubbyhouse'' (2001), bushranger drama ''

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

'' (2003) alongside

and

Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series (2001–03). He reprised his r ...

, war film ''

The Great Raid ''The Great Raid'' is a 2005 internationally co-produced war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan on the island of Luzon, Philippines during World War II. Directed by John Dahl, the film stars Benjamin Bratt, James Franco, Connie Nielsen, Ma ...

'' (2005) opposite

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has starred in numerous films, including Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002 film series), ''Spider-Man'' trilogy (2002–2007), ''Milk (2008 American film), Milk'' (200 ...

and

Benjamin Bratt Benjamin Bratt (born December 16, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for playing Paco Aguilar in '' Blood in Blood Out''. He had supporting film roles in the 1990s in ''Demolition Man'' (1993), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (1994) and '' ...

, and US action film '' The Marine'' (2006). He also appears in many made-for-television films. Ehlers' final film before his death was '' Drive Hard'' (2014).

Personal life

Ehlers was married to actress Emily Simpson from 10 December 1988, with whom he had a son, Jackson in 1990. They were divorced in 1993. He then married actress Elly Bradbury on 30 September 2001, with whom he had a second son, Ethan in 2002. They remained married until his death. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, Media, Political Science, Politics, and History from

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. In 2019, it was ranke ...

, Lismore, in 2009.

Death

Ehlers died in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

on 9 August 2014, at age 55, ten months after being diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* 1958 births Male actors from Perth, Western Australia 2014 deaths Deaths from cancer in New South Wales {{Australia-actor-stub