Tommy Dysart
Encyclopedia
Tommy Dysart is a Scottish-born actor, currently resident in Australia. Dysart has been a regular fixture on Australian television for several decades, frequently appearing in guest-starring roles in drama series and comedies, and in character roles in films and miniseries.
High-profile early roles included appearances in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
, Phoenix Five
, and several roles in the Crawford Productions
police drama series Homicide, Division 4
and Matlock Police
.
In the early 1980s he played what is perhaps his best-known acting role, that of vicious and corrupt prison officer Jock Stewart in Prisoner
. In the storyline, after being fired from the prison service Stewart admitted to prisoner Judy Bryant that he was the one responsible for murdering her lesbian lover, fellow prisoner Sharon Gilmour. This revelation brought to a close a murder-mystery storyline in the series but launched a long-running story-arc where Bryant repeatedly escaped from prison in a succession of attempts to exact her revenge on Stewart.
After this Dysart continued in guest-starring television roles in drama series and situation comedies, and appeared in many feature films. His films included The Man from Snowy River (1982), Bliss
(1985), Garbo (1992), and Flynn (1996). Television roles of the 1990s included appearances in All Together Now, The Games
, State Coroner
, Blue Heelers
, Something in the Air and Neighbours
. He also provided the voice for Captain Griswald in Anthony Lucas' animated short film The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005).
Starting in the 1990s he appeared in a series of well remembered advertisements for the Yellow Pages
where he calls a series of mechanics about his problematic Goggomobil
. He was also known for playing a recurring character of a Mafia-boss like butcher in advertisements for Don's Smallgoods.
In the early 2000s he continued his Goggomobil
persona advertising Shannons Insurance. The concept played on the role of a person searching for the car parts as any car enthusiast would. Telstra challenged this in the Supreme Court and Shannons withdrew the advertisements, but continued with Dysart and the accent (which Dysart insisted was his own and could not change). The adverts continue and Shannons Insurance also owns several of the Goggomobil
cars which feature regularly in their shows.
Tommy has enjoyed a long friendship and working relationship with director/writer Frank Howson
in the movies Backstage
, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, What The Moon Saw, Flynn
, Crime Time
, The Final Stage, The Lucky Country, and their most recent collaboration is the award winning film Remembering Nigel, which also stars Tommy's wife Joan and son Kole.
He is married to actress Joan Brockenshire.
High-profile early roles included appearances in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo is an Australian television series for children created by John McCallum, produced from 1966–1968, telling the adventures of a young boy and his intelligent pet kangaroo, in the Waratah National Park in Duffys Forest, near Sydney, New South Wales.Ninety-one 30-minute...
, Phoenix Five
Phoenix Five
Phoenix Five is a low-budget Australian science fiction television series produced in 1970 by Artransa Park in association with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation....
, and several roles in the Crawford Productions
Crawford Productions
Crawford Productions is an Australian television production company founded by Hector Crawford; the present incarnation of the company, Crawfords Australia, is now a subsidiary of the WIN television corporation.-History:...
police drama series Homicide, Division 4
Division 4
Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
and Matlock Police
Matlock Police
Matlock Police was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the 0-10 Network between 1971 and 1975....
.
In the early 1980s he played what is perhaps his best-known acting role, that of vicious and corrupt prison officer Jock Stewart in Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
. In the storyline, after being fired from the prison service Stewart admitted to prisoner Judy Bryant that he was the one responsible for murdering her lesbian lover, fellow prisoner Sharon Gilmour. This revelation brought to a close a murder-mystery storyline in the series but launched a long-running story-arc where Bryant repeatedly escaped from prison in a succession of attempts to exact her revenge on Stewart.
After this Dysart continued in guest-starring television roles in drama series and situation comedies, and appeared in many feature films. His films included The Man from Snowy River (1982), Bliss
Bliss (1985 film)
Bliss is a 1985 Australian film directed by Ray Lawrence, co-adapted by Lawrence and Peter Carey, author of the original novel Bliss from which it is adapted....
(1985), Garbo (1992), and Flynn (1996). Television roles of the 1990s included appearances in All Together Now, The Games
The Games (Australian TV)
The Games was an Australian mockumentary television series about the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The series was originally broadcast on the ABC and had two seasons of 13 episodes each, the first in 1998 and the second in 2000....
, State Coroner
State Coroner (TV series)
State Coroner was an Australian television series screened on Network Ten in 1997 and 1998. There were two series produced with a total of 29 episodes. The series was set in the State Coroner's office complex and featured investigations into deaths, murders, suicides, accidents and natural causes...
, Blue Heelers
Blue Heelers
Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :...
, Something in the Air and Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
. He also provided the voice for Captain Griswald in Anthony Lucas' animated short film The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005).
Starting in the 1990s he appeared in a series of well remembered advertisements for the Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages refers to a telephone directory of businesses, organized by category, rather than alphabetically by business name and in which advertising is sold. As the name suggests, such directories were originally printed on yellow paper, as opposed to white pages for non-commercial listings...
where he calls a series of mechanics about his problematic Goggomobil
Goggomobil
Goggomobil was a series of microcars produced in the Bavarian town Dingolfing after World War II by Glas.Glas produced three models on the Goggomobil platform: the Goggomobil T sedan, the Goggomobil TS coupé, and the Goggomobil TL van...
. He was also known for playing a recurring character of a Mafia-boss like butcher in advertisements for Don's Smallgoods.
In the early 2000s he continued his Goggomobil
Goggomobil
Goggomobil was a series of microcars produced in the Bavarian town Dingolfing after World War II by Glas.Glas produced three models on the Goggomobil platform: the Goggomobil T sedan, the Goggomobil TS coupé, and the Goggomobil TL van...
persona advertising Shannons Insurance. The concept played on the role of a person searching for the car parts as any car enthusiast would. Telstra challenged this in the Supreme Court and Shannons withdrew the advertisements, but continued with Dysart and the accent (which Dysart insisted was his own and could not change). The adverts continue and Shannons Insurance also owns several of the Goggomobil
Goggomobil
Goggomobil was a series of microcars produced in the Bavarian town Dingolfing after World War II by Glas.Glas produced three models on the Goggomobil platform: the Goggomobil T sedan, the Goggomobil TS coupé, and the Goggomobil TL van...
cars which feature regularly in their shows.
Tommy has enjoyed a long friendship and working relationship with director/writer Frank Howson
Frank Howson
Frank Howson has had a career in entertainment. He directed Flynn on the early life of Errol Flynn and Hunting...
in the movies Backstage
Backstage (1988 film)
Backstage is a 1988 Australian film starring American singer Laura Branigan. The film was written and directed by Academy Award nominee Jonathan Hardy, who had also written Breaker Morant....
, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, What The Moon Saw, Flynn
Flynn
Flynn is a surname of Irish origin it is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó Floinn "descendant of Flann", a byname meaning "red", "ruddy". The name originated in the landlocked county of Laois in the mid-1300s by a large farming family. The name was almost wiped out from both plague and famine,...
, Crime Time
Crime Time
Crime Time is a series of animated shorts produced by Future Thought Productions, produced by Jay Zaveri and Steven Kasper, directed by Nassos Vakalis.- Premise :...
, The Final Stage, The Lucky Country, and their most recent collaboration is the award winning film Remembering Nigel, which also stars Tommy's wife Joan and son Kole.
He is married to actress Joan Brockenshire.