Walter Pym (7 April 1905– 22 January 1980) was an Australian actor and producer best known for his extensive experience in radio, during the 1940s and 1950s.

Early life

Pym was born on 7 April 1905, in the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

suburb of Petersham.

Career

In 1938, Pym became the studio and production manager at

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

radio station 3UZ. He acted in, as well as produced and directed numerous radio serials and plays during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s for Australasian Radio Productions, Artransa,

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian Media (communication), media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, a ...

and Grace Gibson Productions. He also featured in film and television, making his screen debut in 1943 propaganda short film ''

South West Pacific Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

'' as Bill, the Sailor. His other film credits include war film ''

The Rats of Tobruk The Rats of Tobruk were soldiers of the Australian-led Allied garrison, as well as the Polish Independent Carpathian Rifle Brigade that held the Libyan port of Tobruk against the Afrika Corps, during the Siege of Tobruk in World War II. The si ...

'' (1944), sport comedy '' The Great Macarthy'' (1975) with

John Jarratt John Jarratt (born 5 August 1952) is an Australian television film actor, producer and director and TV presenter who rose to fame through his work in the Australian New Wave. He has appeared in a number of film roles including '' Picnic at Han ...

, thriller ''

End Play ''End Play'' is a 1975 Australian thriller film directed by Tim Burstall and starring George Mallaby, John Waters and Ken Goodlet. It was an adaptation of the 1972 novel ''End Play'' by Russell Braddon. It was made by Hexagon Productions.Moran ...

'' (1976) alongside

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...

and George Mallaby,

John Duigan John Duigan (born 19 June 1949) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He is mostly known for his two autobiographical fiction, autobiographical films ''The Year My Voice Broke'' and ''Flirting (film), Flirting'', and the 1994 film ' ...

award-winning film '' Mouth to Mouth'' (1978),

Ozploitation Ozploitation films are exploitation films – a category of low-budget horror, comedy, sexploitation and action films – made in Australia after the introduction of the R rating in 1971. The year also marked the beginnings of the Australia ...

horror films ''

Patrick Patrick may refer to: *Patrick (given name), list of people and fictional characters with this name * Patrick (surname), list of people with this name People *Saint Patrick (c. 385–c. 461), Christian saint * Gilla Pátraic (died 1084), Patrick ...

'' (1978) and ''

Thirst Thirst is the craving for potable fluids, resulting in the basic instinct of animals to drink. It is an essential mechanism involved in fluid balance. It arises from a lack of fluids or an increase in the concentration of certain osmolites, suc ...

'' (1979), and adventure film ''

The Earthling ''The Earthling'' is a 1980 American-Australian adventure film directed by Peter Collinson, and starring William Holden and Ricky Schroder. It was filmed in Australia in 1979, and was the last to be directed by Collinson before his death the fo ...

'' (1980) opposite child actor

Ricky Schroder Richard Bartlett Schroder (born April 13, 1970) is an American actor and filmmaker. As a child actor billed as Ricky Schroder he debuted in the film '' The Champ'' (1979), for which he became the youngest Golden Globe award recipient, and went o ...

. He also appeared in the TV plays ''Miss Mabel'' (1958), ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' () is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 in literature, 1895 and first produced in 1896 in literature#Drama, 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramati ...

'' (1959) and ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (1963). Pym had a recurring role in television soap opera '' The Box'' (1974) as Sid Merrymore for 27 episodes, and a main role in soap opera '' The Unisexers'' (1975) as Angus Melody for all 16 episodes. He also featured in numerous miniseries, including period drama '' Stormy Petrel'' (1960) about

William Bligh William Bligh (9 September 1754 – 7 December 1817) was a Vice-admiral (Royal Navy), Royal Navy vice-admiral and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New South Wales from 1806 to 1808. He is best known for his role in the Muti ...

, country period drama '' Serpent in the Rainbow'' (1973), colonial series '' Luke's Kingdom'' (1976), historical drama '' Against the Wind'' (1978) and '' Ride on Stranger'' (1979). Additionally, he made numerous guest appearances in series such as '' Whiplash'', ''

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

'', '' Consider Your Verdict'', '' Pukemanu'', '' Ryan'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Young Ramsay ''Young Ramsay'' was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1977 to 1980 on the Seven Network. It was produced by Crawford Productions as two series of 13 episodes each. Plot Veterinarian Peter Ramsay ( John Hargreaves) relocates ...

''. His final screen appearance was in television short ''The Cliffhanger'' in 1981.

Personal life and death

Pym was married to Ivy Ray from 1928 until 1963, and had one son. He died in

Prahran Prahran ( , also colloquially or ), is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 5 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Prahran recorded a population ...

, on 22 January 1980, aged 74.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

As actor

As director

Radio

As actor

As director / producer

References

External links

Walter Pym
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pym, Walter Australian male radio actors 1905 births 1980 deaths 20th-century Australian male actors Male actors from Sydney