Maurice Fields (born Maurice Sheil, 4 August 1926 – 18 December 1995) was an Australian

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

performer, actor and

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

Career

Fields became a well-known face on television first thanks to his comic sketches on live programs like '' Sunnyside Up'' and later dramatic roles as the conniving John Quinney in ABC TV's ''Bellbird''. He also featured in many soap operas on commercial television, including ''

Cop Shop ''Cop Shop'' is a long-running Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that ran for seven seasons between 28 November 1977 and 23 July 1984. It comprised 582 one-hour episodes. Synopsis The show revolved arou ...

'', '' The Box'', ''

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 or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'' (a small part playing crooked

screw A screw is an externally helical threaded fastener capable of being tightened or released by a twisting force (torque) to the screw head, head. The most common uses of screws are to hold objects together and there are many forms for a variety ...

Leonard "Len" Murphy, and he had previously played two smaller parts in the show) and

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

lican Vic Buckley in '' The Flying Doctors''. He was also a regular as Fred Farrell in situation comedy series '' Bobby Dazzler'' (1977) and did regular comedy segments on ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' is a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

'' alongside

Shane Bourne Shane Jerome Bourne (born 24 November 1949) is an Australian stand-up comedian, actor, musician, and television host. Early life and education Shane Jerome Bourne was born on 24 November 1949 in Melbourne, Victoria. He was raised by his mot ...

where in turn they would read jokes sent in by viewers. During the 1980s, Fields also became known as the voice of Wally Walpamur (

Chimpanzee The chimpanzee (; ''Pan troglodytes''), also simply known as the chimp, is a species of Hominidae, great ape native to the forests and savannahs of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed one. When its close rel ...

's dressed as humans painting houses) in Australian television ads promoting the Walpamur brand of house paints. He was also the editor of the jokes pages of the ''Australasian Post'' magazine for many years, a role continued by his son Marty after Maurie's passing. He appeared in retro-capture with his son Marty, in the ''Hey Hey'' reunions.

Personal life

Fields was the son of an accountant and married twice. His first wife was Dorothy, and they had three children: Lorraine, Eileen and Alan. He then married the comedian and actress Val Jellay, who also portrayed his screen wife in '' The Flying Doctors''. They played publicans Vic and Nancy Buckley. He was the father of comedian Marty Fields.

Death

Fields died on 18 December 1995, from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

, and became the first actor to be posthumously inducted into the '' Logie Hall of Fame.'' That honour was accepted at the awards ceremony in his name by his widow and long-time acting partner, Val Jellay.McColl Jones, Mike (1999), ''And Now Here’s...'', Aerospace Publications, Canberra, pp. 102 & 103.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Albums

Charting singles

References

External links

* 1926 births 1995 deaths Australian male comedians Australian male television actors Logie Award winners Australian vaudeville performers 20th-century Australian male actors 20th-century Australian comedians People from Manly, New South Wales {{Australia-actor-stub