Sandy Harbutt (1941 – 21 November 2020) was an Australian actor, writer and director, best known for the bikie film, ''
Stone
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...
'' (1974). Although it was very successful at the box office, it was the only feature he ever directed. He was once married to actress
Helen Morse
Helen Morse (born 24 January 1947) is an English-born Australian actress who has appeared in films, on television and on stage. She won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the 1976 film ''Caddie'', and starred in the 198 ...
.
[Andrew Pike and Ross Cooper, ''Australian Film 1900–1977: A Guide to Feature Film Production'', Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1998 p278]
Biography
Harbutt was born in
Randwick, New South Wales
Randwick is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Randwick is located 6 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Ra ...
and studied law before turning to advertising and then acting. He worked extensively in theatre, particularly at Sydney's Ensemble Theatre, and appeared in the TV series ''
The Long Arm''. He died 21 November 2020 at Wollongong Hospital, aged 79.
Unmade Projects
Harbutt only made one feature film. Among the projects he tried to make included:
*''Strike'' about the
Builders Labourers Federation
The Builders Labourers Federation (BLF) was an Australian trade union that existed from 1911 until 1972, and from 1976 until 1986, when it was permanently deregistered in various Australian states by the federal Hawke Labor government and some ...
*a film adaptation of ''
Drums of Mer'' by
Ion Idriess
Ion Llewellyn Idriess (20 September 18896 June 1979) was a prolific and influential Australian author. He wrote more than 50 books over 43 years between 1927 and 1969 – an average of one book every 10 months, and twice published three books i ...
.
[David Stratton, ''The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival'', Angus & Robertson, 1980 p263]
*''The Reaper'' about a Nazi war criminal in West Australia;
*''Action'' a look at the film industry through the eyes of a stuntman.
In 2009 it was reported he was working on a bikie musical.
Producer
David Hannay who worked with Harbutt on ''Stone'' said the most "negative experience" he had as a filmmaker in a career of over three decades was not being able to get finance for Harbutt to make another film:
Why have I failed? What is wrong with me? I have failed this person who is such an important part of my life, this person with enormous talent, this extraordinary human being, and I have failed him totally and absolutely. It really is the major low point in my life; if I really dwell on it, I get very angry.... I should have made a difference. Because I should have been able to make it happen. He is far more talented than 999 of the 1000 other people I know... You understand, of course, that he is his own producer. It is not a question of whether he would go to another producer. If he felt so inclined, he would. But, apart from anything else, Sandy needs somebody who is prepared to fold themselves into what he wants to do and be committed to that. That is something you would have to talk to him about.
Filmography
* 1970 Squeeze a Flower - Grape picker.
* 1974 Stone - Undertaker.
[ ]
References
External links
Sandy Harbutt theatre creditsat
AusStage
AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up un ...
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbutt, Sandy
Australian film directors
1941 births
2020 deaths