John Shane Porteous (born 17 August 1942) (known as Shane Porteous) is an Australian actor, screenwriter, animation layout artist and animation voice artist. As a screenwriter, he is sometimes credited as "John Hanlon". He remains best known for his role as in the TV serial ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

'', as Dr. Terence Elliot and original character and his ongoing role in TV series ''

Pizza Pizza (, ) is a dish of Italian origin consisting of a usually round, flat base of leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomatoes, cheese, and often various other ingredients (such as various types of sausage, anchovies, mushrooms, ...

'' from 2000 until 2007. He has done numerous animation layouts and provided voice roles for feature film and shorts.

Biography

Early life

Shane Porteous was born John Shane Porteous in

Coleraine, Victoria Coleraine is a town in Victoria, Australia on the Glenelg Highway, west of the state capital, Melbourne and north-west of Hamilton in the Shire of Southern Grampians local government area. It was named after the town in County Londonderry ...

in 1942, to pilot Stanley Porteous and his wife Pat. He was raised in Queensland and attended the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

, graduating with a B.A. He was a member of the UQ Dramatic Society and performed with actors such as

Jack Thompson Jack Thompson may refer to: Sports * Jack Thompson (footballer, born 1892) (1892–1969), English footballer who played for Sheffield United and Bristol City * Jack Thompson (1920s footballer), English footballer who played for Aston Villa and Brig ...

and

Michael Caton Michael Caton (born 21 July 1943) is an Australian television, film and stage actor, comedian and television host, best known for playing Uncle Harry in the Australian television series '' The Sullivans'', Darryl Kerrigan in 1997's low-budget h ...

at the Avalon Theatre in 1965. Porteous moved to Sydney in 1967. Porteous‘ grandfather Gladstone Porteous, served as an Australian missionary to China. His wife Jenny died in 2019 and he has three grown children Fiona, Polly and Ben.

Acting and screenwriting

Porteous is best known the television drama series ''A Country Practice'' as Dr. Elliot during its twelve-year run on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

(1981–93), a role for which he won the Silver Logie award in 1992. He has also won

AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previo ...

for his various scriptwriting projects. In the series he had various romances including Matron Curtis ( Helen Scott), Dr. Alex Fraser (Diane Smith) and Rosemary Prior ( Maureen Edwards) who he married in the final episode. Other TV credits include ''

Catch Kandy ''Catch Kandy'' was an Australian children's drama television series produced by Australian Film Productions. It was shot on film in colour on location in Sydney, Australia, premiering on the Seven Network in Australia on 12 May 1973 and ran ...

'', ''

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

'', ''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network (now known as the 10 Network) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town o ...

'', '' Certain Women'' 1973-76, '' The Box'' in 1974, ''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when turned upside down. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiperfect ...

'' in 1977, ''

Glenview High ''Glenview High'' is an Australian television drama series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network between 1977 and 1978. Story English teacher Greg Walker ( Grigor Taylor) transfers from the country to Glenview High, ...

'', ''

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. The show The show revolved aro ...

'', ''

The Restless Years ''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...

'', '' Neighbours'', ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a tr ...

'', ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the e ...

'' and ''

Heartbreak High ''Heartbreak High'' is an Australian television program created by Michael Jenkins and Ben Gannon that ran from 1994 to 1996 on Network Ten and 1997 to 1999 on the ABC, for seven series. It was also partially funded from 1996 by BBC2, with s ...

''. Porteous has performed in many stage plays, among them ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

'', ''

Death of a Salesman ''Death of a Salesman'' is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a monta ...

'' (1970), the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

's production of ''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' and ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

''. In June 2010 he completed a touring performance of ''Codgers'' with

Ron Haddrick Ronald Norman Haddrick (9 April 1929 – 11 February 2020) was an Australian actor, cricketer, narrator and presenter. In 2012, he received the Actors Equity Lifetime Achievement Award for his long and distinguished career in media, spanning s ...

among others. He was a regular at the Q Theatre in Penrith, New South Wales, and was also the ambassador for "The Q", which was demolished in August 2005 and moved to the

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s. She possessed ...

Performing Arts Centre. As a television screenwriter he has written scripts for series including ''Neighbours'' and ''Home and Away'', sometimes under the pseudonym of John Hanlon.

Animation

Porteous has also provided animation services to

Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer t ...

, and has created layouts for the film versions of '' The Magic Pudding'' and '' Blinky Bill''.

Popular culture

He is referenced in the popular Australian song "

I'm So Post Modern I Am or I'm may refer to: Language and literature * "I Am that I Am", a common English translation of the response God used in the Hebrew Bible when Moses asked for His name ** I am (biblical term), a Christian term used in the Bible * "I Am" (p ...

" by the Bedroom Philosopher.

Awards

Filmography

Scriptwriter

Animation

Appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Porteous, Shane 1942 births 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors Australian male soap opera actors Australian soap opera writers Living people Logie Award winners People from Coleraine, Victoria Recipients of the Centenary Medal Australian male television writers