John Waters (born 1948) is an English-born Australian film, theatre and television actor, singer, guitarist, songwriter, and musician. He is the son of Scottish-born British actor

Russell Waters Russell Waters (10 June 1908 – 19 August 1982) was a British film actor. Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the Old English Comedy and Shakespeare Company then app ...

. John Waters has been in the industry for over 50 years, and was part of the Australian children's television series '' Play School'' for 18 years.

Career

Music

Waters was born in 1948Waters enjoying his "Peter Pan existence".
''The Age'', 25 March 2010. Retrieved 12 April 2013] in London, England. He first faced a live audience as a singer and bass guitar player with 1960s London-based blues band The Riots before travelling to Australia, initially for an extended working holiday and then eventually settling there permanently.Profile: John Waters.
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 9 April 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2013] Since 1992 Waters has performed with a one-man show ''Looking Through a Glass Onion'' co-written with Stewart D'Arrietta, a tribute to

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

featuring Lennon's music, words and images. In addition to many Australian tours of the show he also played six months in the West End, London. In 2014 he played 120 performances at the Union Square Theatre in Manhattan. Waters has released of CDs including ''The Story of Pilliga Pete and Clarrie the Cocky'' (2010), a family story and music CD written and narrated by Waters, ''Brel'' (2010) a live album sung in French and a tribute to the Belgian singer-songwriter

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed theatrical songs. He generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, but later throughout the world ...

, the double live album, ''John Waters Looking Through A Glass Onion'' (2011) and his debut originals album ''Cloudland'' (2011).

Theatre

He was in the original Australian production of '' They're Playing Our Song'', which opened on 23 August 1980 at the Theatre Royal in Sydney. It starred Waters and

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...

, with

Rhonda Burchmore Rhonda Suzanne Burchmore Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM (born 15 May 1960) is an Australian entertainer, most notable as an actress, recording artist and singer in musical theatre, she has appeared in numerous television shows and briefly ...

as one of the Inner Voices. An Australian cast recording of the show was later released by Festival Records. In 2005, Waters starred in

David Williamson David Keith Williamson (born 1942) is an Australian playwright, who has also written screenplays and teleplays. He became known in the early 1970s with his political comic drama '' Don's Party'', and other well-known plays include '' The Clu ...

's play '' Influence'' as shock jock Ziggi Blasko. The play was performed in Sydney during March/April 2005 and in Melbourne in June/July 2005. In 2008, he played The Narrator in '' Richard O'Brien's Rocky Horror Show'' at Star City Casino, Sydney. In 2006–2007. Waters toured Australia, Hong Kong and New Zealand in a critically acclaimed role alongside Brett Tucker in ''The Woman in Black''. In 2010 he starred in the

Melbourne Theatre Company The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1953 as the Union Theatre Repertory Company at the Union Theatre at the University of Melbourne, it is the oldest professional theatre com ...

's production of ''The Swimming Club'', a play by Australian author Hannie Rayson. In 2013 Waters starred in ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

'' musical as Gomez Addams. The production premiered in Sydney on 24 March 2013 and closed on 9 June 2013. In 2017, Waters played Ulysses in Music Theatre Melbourne's concert production of ''

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

.'' He had previously played the role of Agamemnon on the musical's original concept album released in 1990. In 2024 Waters starred in a new Australian tour of The Woman in Black as Arthur Kipps.

Television

Many Australians still remember Waters best from his nearly 20-year stint on the Australian children's series '' Play School'', appearing from 1972 until 1991. During his tenure with ''Play School'', he narrated various children's video trailers for ABC-TV. Among his best known television roles is that of the brooding Sergeant Robert McKellar in the 1974–76 television series '' Rush'' (revoiced and parodied by The D-Generation as ''The Olden Days'' on their comedy program '' The Late Show''). Waters also appeared in the 1983 Australian miniseries '' All the Rivers Run'' as Brenton Edwards. In 2002, he had a role in the short-lived drama '' Young Lions''. He played Perry Luscombe in '' Fireflies'', which lasted for only one season, on ABC-TV in 2004. Waters joined the cast of '' All Saints'' in June 2006 as Mike Vlasek, the new head of surgery. He remained with the show until its cancellation in late 2009. In 2010, Waters was a guest star in ''Sea Patrol'' as Sgt. Booker. In 2010, Waters guest starred in '' City Homicide'' as William Clegg. In 2012, Waters starred in the ABC TV mini-series '' The Mystery of a Hansom Cab'', adapted from the novel by English writer Fergus Hume. He appeared on the Logie-award-winning television series ''

Offspring In biology, offspring are the young creation of living organisms, produced either by sexual reproduction, sexual or asexual reproduction. Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny. This can refer to a set of simultaneous offspring ...

'', which completed filming its third season in 2013 and was renewed for a further two seasons. From September 2015, Waters joined the cast of the fourth season of the ABC TV series ''Rake''. In 2018 Waters had a recurring role, as lawyer Travis James, on the ABC TV Series '' Mystery Road''.

Films

Waters played Capt. Alfred Taylor in the 1980 film ''

Breaker Morant Harry Harbord "Breaker" Morant (born Edwin Henry Murrant, 9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902) was an English horseman, bush balladist, military officer, and war criminal who was convicted and executed for murdering nine prisoners-of-war ...

'' which starred British actor Edward Woodward as Harry "Breaker" Morant. In 1982, Waters appeared in the World War II film '' Attack Force Z'' alongside

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

, John Phillip Law and

Sam Neill Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor. His career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he is regarded as one of the most versatile acto ...

. In 2013, Waters starred in a local regional film production created by Luis Bayonas, called ''Adios''. In 1990, film critic

David Stratton David James Stratton (born 1939) is an English-Australian film critic and historian. He has also worked as a journalist, interviewer, educator, television personality, and producer. His career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Austral ...

, referring to the films, wrote that in his opinion Waters "has been in more bad films than most other actors around".David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p. 342

Other work

He has starred in many television advertisements for various companies including

Cinzano Cinzano () is an Italian brand of vermouth, a brand owned since 1999 by Campari Group, Gruppo Campari. History Cinzano vermouths date back to 1757 and the Turin herbal shop of two brothers, Giovanni Giacomo and Carlo Stefano Cinzano, who creat ...

, Bird's Eye, Bankers Trust, MBF Health Fund, Sudafed, Uncle Tobys,

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets related products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 20 stock index, and is Australia's largest telecomm ...

, MLC, Arnotts and Toyota Hybrid Camry. He has narrated programs such as ''Mind Games: Real Life Adventures'', ''Nostradamus'' and '' Triple Zero Heroes'' and ''All Together Now''.

Awards

In 1975, Waters won the George Wallace Memorial Logie for Best New Talent at the

Logie Awards The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The event is telecast live and ...

for his role in ''

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

''. In 1988, he won the AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role as character Tom Garfield in the Frank Howson-written film '' Boulevard of Broken Dreams''. He has been nominated for several other awards, including Best Lead Actor (in 1978 for '' Weekend of Shadows'') and Best Supporting Actor in a Drama (in 2006 for '' All Saints'') at the AFI Awards, and for Most Popular Actor in a Telemovie or Mini-Series (in 1992 for ''

Which Way Home ''Which Way Home'' is a 2009 documentary film directed by Rebecca Cammisa. The film follows several children who are attempting to get from Mexico and Central America to the United States, on top of a Rail freight transport, freight train that cro ...

'') at the

ARIA Music Awards

The

ARIA Music Awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

is an annual awards ceremony held by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival Records (Australia), Festival, Sony Music ...

. They commenced in 1987. ! , - ,

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, ''Looking Through a Glass Onion'' , Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album , , ARIA Award previous winners. , -

Personal life

Waters' first marriage was to actress Jenny Cullen; they had two children. His second marriage was to actress Sally Conabere. His third marriage, to Zoe Burton, was in January 2002; they live in the Southern Highlands, NSW, with their three children.

Children's music

Waters supports DUETS 2012, a concert to assist The Australian Children's Music Foundation (ACMF) (founded by fellow '' Play School'' presenter

Don Spencer Donald Richard Spencer (born 22 March 1937) is an Australian singer-songwriter, musician, and former children's television presenter. He had a long tenure as a host on ''Play School'' on both the Play School (Australian TV series), Australian ...

) and Carols in the Domain 2012. He is an ambassador for The Australian Children's Music Foundation. ''Get Shot Magazine''. Retrieved 13 April 2013]

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
John Waters fan site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waters, John 1948 births 20th-century English male actors 20th-century English musicians 21st-century English singers 21st-century English male actors 21st-century English musicians Australian male singers Australian male stage actors Australian male film actors Australian male television actors Australian male songwriters Best Actor AACTA Award winners Australian children's television presenters Living people Logie Award winners Male actors from London English emigrants to Australia Australian acoustic guitarists Australian male guitarists