Lance Charles Curtis, was an Australian actor, writer and comedian who became well known in Australia in the early 1980s through his many radio, TV and film appearances. He was best known for his work on

Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...

's ''Off The Record'' and The J-Team with comedians

Angela Webber Angela Webber (12 January 1955 – 10 March 2007) was an Australian author, TV writer, producer and comedian. Early life Webber was born in 1955 to Bruce Webber, the head of light entertainment for ABC radio, and Nan, a journalist. She grew ...

and

Adam Bowen Adam Bowen (born 1974/1975) is an American businessman, and the co-founder (with James Monsees) and currently advisor at Juul Labs, an electronic cigarette company. Bowen earned a BA in physics from Pomona College, followed by an MS in product d ...

and presenters Jonathan Coleman,

Ian Rogerson The ''Jono & Dano'' Show was a radio and later television show hosted by Jonathan Coleman (Jono) and Ian Rogerson (Dano). Original radio programming The original ''Jono & Dano'' show was broadcast on Triple J as a Saturday night show, before mov ...

and Rusty Nails. Curtis was also well-known for his comic partnership with satirist Geoff Kelso, which included their collaboration on Double J's ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' sendup ''

Doctor Poo ''Dr Poo'' was a radio serial which aired for over 400 episodes on Australian youth station Triple J. It aired as a two-minute segment of Doug Mulray's morning show, at around 7:20am and 8:20am weekdays, from May 1979 to January 1981. It was a ' ...

'', which ran from 1979-81There is only one Doctor: Poo
''Sydney Morning Herald'', 12 August 2005. (not to be confused with the 1996 '' Viz'' comic strip of the same name). The team released an LP record, ''Dr Poo: Knees Ahoy!'' An EP, The Universe is Big by "Dr Poo and the Psychic Koalas" was recorded in 1981 but not released. It included five songs based around the major characters of the series. It was eventually released in 1985, as a tribute after the sudden death of Lance Curtis. Curtis' regular ''Off The Record'' and J-Team characters included nervous teenage Double J work-experience intern Wayne Simpson - who nursed a deep unrequited passion for

Bananarama Bananarama is an English pop group formed in London in 1980. The group, originally a trio, consisted of friends Sara Dallin, Siobhan Fahey, and Keren Woodward. Fahey left the group in 1988 and was replaced by Jacquie O'Sullivan until 1991, when ...

singer

Siobhan Fahey Siobhan Maire Deirdre Fahey (; born 10 September 1958) is an Irish singer whose vocal range is a light contralto. She was a founding member of the British girl group Bananarama, who have had ten top-10 hits including the List of Billboard Hot ...

- and doddering pensioner Harold Davenport, the foil for Angela Webber's "punk grannie" character Lillian Pascoe. In one famous segment broadcast after the federal election of 1983, Curtis and his colleagues lampooned the defeat of the then Liberal government led by

Malcolm Fraser John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, and is the fourth List of ...

(who famously broke down and cried on camera when conceding defeat) by portraying Davenport's deep distress at being deposed as president of his local bowls club. In the early 1980s, Curtis made numerous appearances on the

Donnie Sutherland Donald Sutherland OAM (born 22 December 1946) is an Australian radio and television presenter. He was the host of TV pop music show '' Sounds'' between 1975 and 1987. Sutherland has also worked as a TV producer and music journalist, and is ass ...

-hosted music programmes '' Sounds'' and '' After Dark''. He had a regular segment on ''Sounds'' (as Wayne Simpson), called ''Wayne at Work'', and he also made several memorable appearances in character on ''After Dark'', including the humourless Det. Sgt. Frank Masarati of the NSW Police Entertainment Squad (whose job was to carry out "random laughter tests"), and as Harold Davenport, who appeared in a parody of contemporary pop duo Haysi Fantayzee with his "deeply platonic" friend Lillian Pascoe (Webber). Excerpts from several of Curtis' appearances on ''After Dark'' were compiled as a tribute to him and included in the final episode of the series, which went to air the week after Curtis died.YouTube - ''After Dark'' final episode, Part 2
/ref> One of Curtis' final screen performances was a minor role as a nosy neighbour in the 1985 movie ''Rebel'', which starred

Matt Dillon Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and two Independent Spirit Awards alongside nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, ...

and

Debra Byrne Debra Anne Byrne (born 30 March 1957), formerly billed as Debbie Byrne, is an Australian pop singer, variety entertainer, theatre and TV actress and writer, director and choreographer of cabaret. From April 1971 to March 1975 she was a founding ...

Death

Lance Curtis died on 9 June 1985 as the result of an accidental fall from a balcony, whilst hosting a party at his Sydney home. His J-Team colleague Angela Webber died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

in 2007.

References

External links

* Year of birth unknown 1985 deaths Australian male actors Australian satirists Australian male comedians Accidental deaths from falls {{Australia-actor-stub