Michael Laurence (24 November 1935 – 23 March 2015) was an Australian actor, producer, director and screenwriter. He will be best remembered for creating and writing the original TV mini series '' Return to Eden''.

Biography

He began his career as a child actor on Sydney radio, before winning a scholarship at 18 to the

London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

, before appearing in theatre productions, including everything from Shakespearean roles to musicals. He created, directed and starred in the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

production ''

The Godfathers The Godfathers are an English rock band from London, England, with strong influences from R&B and punk. Career The Godfathers were formed by Peter and Chris Coyne (vocals and bass, respectively) after the demise of The Sid Presley Experience ...

'', which won the

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

for Best Comedy in 1971. He worked on the popular serial ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when rotated by 180 degrees. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiper ...

'', and other successful miniseries including the children's series

The Lost Islands ''The Lost Islands'' is an Australian television series which first aired in Australia on Network Ten. It later screened around the world, including the United Kingdom, France, West Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Greece (and various other p ...

, a 22-part story on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

, ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Last Frontier The Last Frontier may refer to: Film * ''The Last Frontier'' (1926 film), a Western by George B. Seitz * ''The Last Frontier'' (serial), a 1932 American film serial starring Lon Chaney, Jr * ''The Last Frontier'' (1955 film), a Western by Anth ...

'' and ''

Shadow of the Cobra A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensional ...

''. His work, including more than 200-hour of commercial television, was sold to numerous countries.

Select credits

*''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'' (1966) - episode "The Black Book" - actor *'' On the Hop'' (1967) - TV play *''

Color Me Dead ''Color Me Dead'' is a 1969 Australian thriller directed by Eddie Davis, starring American actors Tom Tryon, Carolyn Jones and Rick Jason. It is a remake of the 1950 film '' D.O.A.''. Due to the failure on renewing copyright of ''D.O.A.'', t ...

'' (1969) - actor *''

Squeeze a Flower Squeeze or squeezing may refer to: Film and television * ''Squeeze'' (1980 film), a New Zealand drama * ''Squeeze'' (1997 film), an American crime film * "Squeeze" (''The X-Files''), a TV episode * "Squeeze" (''The Walking Dead''), a TV epis ...

'' (1970) - actor *'' The Long Arm'' (1970) - episode "Only a Wave Away" - actor *''The Phallic Forest'' (1970) (short)-actor *''

'' (1971–72) - TV series - writer (all episodes) *'' The Spoiler'' (1972) - episode "Bye Bye Baby" - actor *''

Crisis A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...

'' (1972) (TV movie) - writer *'' The People Next Door'' (1973) - creator, writer *'' The Love Epidemic'' (1975) - co-writer, actor *''

'' (1976) - writer, creator, producer *''

'' - various episodes as writer *''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday 8 November 1976 until Wednesday 30 March 1983. The series is primarily s ...

'' - writer *'' People Like Us'' (1980) - writer, producer *'' Return to Eden'' (1983) - mini series - writer, co-producer *''

'' (1986) - mini series *''

'' (1989) - writer *''

'' (1991) - TV movie - writer

References

External links

*
Michael Laurence
at HLA

at Sydney Morning Herald {{DEFAULTSORT:Laurence, Michael 1935 births 2015 deaths Australian autobiographers Australian male child actors Australian soap opera writers Australian television producers Australian male television writers