Lloyd Berrell

Lloyd Berrell (13 February 1926 – 30 December 1957) was a New Zealand actor who played Reuben "Roo" Webber in the original Sydney production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll. He worked extensively in Australian radio and theatre, and appeared in a large portion of the few films being shot locally at the time. He also starred in the original stage production of Sumner Locke Elliott's Rusty Bugles as well as a number of productions for the Mercury Theatre.

Biography

Berrell was born in Wellington, the only son of a doctor and his wife who moved to Australia when Berrell was a boy. He began acting on radio as a child, including appearing on The Youth Show.[1] [2][3] He did a variety of roles and often worked as a compare.[4]

Berrell received acclaim for playing the title role in the radio play Ned Kelly in 1942.

In 1944 Berrell was questioned by police for his role in disturbances in a strike by Actors Equity.[5]

During World War II he served in Australian Broadcast Control Unit from 1944 to 1946.[6] In 1945 he was in Sons of the Morning on stage at the New Theatre.

In 1948 Berrell had a key role in the play Rusty Bugles which had a long run. That year he performed in A Pickwick Story for Mercury Mobile Players, a company originally established by Peter Finch.[7]

By 1948 he was earned over ₤1,000 a year, mostly in radio.[8]

In 1950 he was in a production of Julius Caesar at the Independend Theatre alongside Rod Taylor. The following year he did Anna Christie for John alden.

Berrell did voice over for the documentary Fighting Blood (1951).

Berrell was in several plays at the Mercury Theatre in Sydney in 1952, including The Twins, Point of Departure, and The Happy Time.[9]

In 1953 he won a Macquarie Award for best actor in a radio drama.[10] He also took the lead in the Australian radio version of "Tom Corbett Space Cadet" for Artransa in 1953, originally a US Tv & Radio series between 1950-55

Films

Few films were made in Australia in the 1950s, however Byron Haskin used some Australian actors in His Majesty O'Keefe (1954), shot in Fiji, including Berrell.

Berrell was cast as the villain in King of the Coral Sea (1954), a rare Australian financed feature of the time, then Haskin used him again in Long John Silver (1954), filmed in Australia.

He did the narration for Antarctic Voyage (1956).

Summer of the Seventeenth Doll

Berrell achieved his greatest success to date when cast as Roo in the Sydney production of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll in 1956. He toured this around the country for the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust.

Also for the Trust, Berrell was in The Relapse (1957) and Hamlet (1957, as Claudius), which both toured.[11]

Berrell's last appearance was as a truck driver in The Shiralee (1957).

Personal life

Berrell was married in 1946 and separated in 1948. Berrell sued to have her return but lost the case when he admitted he spanked his wife twice. They had one child.[12][13][14][15] The divorce came through in 1951.[16]

He married happily a second time to Betty, a fellow actor.[17]

Death

He died of a heart attack on board ship while travelling to London.[18][19]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1952	I Found Joe Barton		[20]
1954	His Majesty O'Keefe	Inifel
1954	Return to Treasure Island	Minor Role	Uncredited
1954	King of the Coral Sea	Yusep
1954	Long John Silver	Capt. Mendoza, 'El Toro'
1957	The Shiralee	Slipery, Truck Driver	(final film role)

Theatre credits

Rusty Bugles by Sumner Locke Elliott – Independent Theatre, Sydney, 1948
A Pickwick Story adapted by Creswick Jenkinson – Sydney Town Hall, 1948
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare – Independent Theatre, Sydney, 1950 – with Rod Taylor
Anna Christie by Eugene O'Neill – John Alden Company, 1951 – with Lyndall Barbour, Lou Vernon
The Twins by Plautus – Mercury Theatre, Sydney, 1952 – with Rod Taylor and Ruth Cracknell
Point of Departure by Jean Anouilh – Mercury Theatre, Sydney, 1952 – with Alan White
The Happy Time by Samuel A. Taylor – Mercury Theatre, Sydney, 1952 – with Rod Taylor
Summer of the Seventeenth Doll by Ray Lawler – Elizabethan Theatre, Sydney, 1956
Hamlet by William Shakespeare – Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Sydney, 1957
The Relapse by John Vanbrugh – Elizabethan Theatre, Sydney, 1957 – with Zoe Caldwell

gollark: In the UK you can choose from several ISPs using the same terrible VDSL/ADSL lines!

gollark: That probably comes under consent, unless you ask to be murdered?

gollark: Which everyone can easily do on their own, of course.

gollark: I'm saying this because if you happen to be annoyed at your provider charging more money for Netflix or something you may not be able to change to a better one.

gollark: Yes, I know.

References

"CHILD TALENT". The Sun (9001). New South Wales, Australia. 10 November 1938. p. 27 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"YOUTH SALUTES THE BRAVE". The Cumberland Argus And Fruitgrowers Advocate (4587). New South Wales, Australia. 6 August 1941. p. 12. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"A PIONEER'S WIFE". The Cumberland Argus And Fruitgrowers Advocate (4605). New South Wales, Australia. 10 December 1941. p. 12. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"THE AUSTRALIA". Barrier Miner. LV (16, 598). New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"CONSTABLES DISPERSE THEATRE PICKETS". The Daily Telegraph. V (29). New South Wales, Australia. 28 May 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
Lloyd Berrell war record
"Australian Play Is Fine Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 582). New South Wales, Australia. 22 October 1948. p. 5. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"Radio actor quizzed on income tax return". The Sun (12, 119). New South Wales, Australia. 29 November 1948. p. 2 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
Finch, Fry and Factories: A Brief History of Mercury Theatre Vagg, Stephen. Australasian Drama Studies; St. Lucia Iss. 50, (Apr 2007): 18-0_3.
"Macquarie Awards For 1953". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 March 1954. p. 14. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
"Leave it to Shakespeare Mr Hunt". Tribune (997). New South Wales, Australia. 8 May 1957. p. 8. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"Husband Spanked Wife and Lost Case for Divorce". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 19 May 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
"Radio Man To Pay Alimony". Truth (3073). New South Wales, Australia. 12 December 1948. p. 30. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"DRAMAS OF THE COURTS". The Daily Telegraph. X (27). New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1949. p. 37. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"BATTLING BERRELLS IN DIVORCE DRAMA". Truth (3096). New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1949. p. 14. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"THE PASHA FROZE OUT HIS WIFE". Truth (3189). New South Wales, Australia. 11 March 1951. p. 35. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
"Husband, Wife Are Radio Team". The Newcastle Sun (11, 329). New South Wales, Australia. 1 November 1954. p. 13. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
Richard Lane, The Golden Age of Radio Drama, Melbourne University Press 1994 p 214
Obituary at Sydney Morning Herald 1958 accessed 16 July 2013
"Australian T.V.Film". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 9 October 1952. p. 7 Section: Women's section. Retrieved 5 February 2012.

External links

Lloyd Berrell on IMDb
Lloyd Berrell at AusStage
Lloyd Berrell at the National Film and Sound Archive

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[1] "CHILD TALENT". The Sun (9001). New South Wales, Australia. 10 November 1938. p. 27 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[2] "YOUTH SALUTES THE BRAVE". The Cumberland Argus And Fruitgrowers Advocate (4587). New South Wales, Australia. 6 August 1941. p. 12. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[3] "A PIONEER'S WIFE". The Cumberland Argus And Fruitgrowers Advocate (4605). New South Wales, Australia. 10 December 1941. p. 12. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[4] "THE AUSTRALIA". Barrier Miner. LV (16, 598). New South Wales, Australia. 11 December 1942. p. 2. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[5] "CONSTABLES DISPERSE THEATRE PICKETS". The Daily Telegraph. V (29). New South Wales, Australia. 28 May 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[6] Lloyd Berrell war record

[7] "Australian Play Is Fine Theatre". The Sydney Morning Herald (34, 582). New South Wales, Australia. 22 October 1948. p. 5. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[8] "Radio actor quizzed on income tax return". The Sun (12, 119). New South Wales, Australia. 29 November 1948. p. 2 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[9] Finch, Fry and Factories: A Brief History of Mercury Theatre Vagg, Stephen. Australasian Drama Studies; St. Lucia Iss. 50, (Apr 2007): 18-0_3.

[10] "Macquarie Awards For 1953". The Advertiser. Adelaide: National Library of Australia. 1 March 1954. p. 14. Retrieved 5 February 2012.

[11] "Leave it to Shakespeare Mr Hunt". Tribune (997). New South Wales, Australia. 8 May 1957. p. 8. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[12] "Husband Spanked Wife and Lost Case for Divorce". The Canberra Times. National Library of Australia. 19 May 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2012.

[13] "Radio Man To Pay Alimony". Truth (3073). New South Wales, Australia. 12 December 1948. p. 30. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[14] "DRAMAS OF THE COURTS". The Daily Telegraph. X (27). New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1949. p. 37. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[15] "BATTLING BERRELLS IN DIVORCE DRAMA". Truth (3096). New South Wales, Australia. 22 May 1949. p. 14. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[16] "THE PASHA FROZE OUT HIS WIFE". Truth (3189). New South Wales, Australia. 11 March 1951. p. 35. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[17] "Husband, Wife Are Radio Team". The Newcastle Sun (11, 329). New South Wales, Australia. 1 November 1954. p. 13. Retrieved 13 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.

[18] Richard Lane, The Golden Age of Radio Drama, Melbourne University Press 1994 p 214

[19] Obituary at Sydney Morning Herald 1958 accessed 16 July 2013

[20] "Australian T.V.Film". The Sydney Morning Herald. National Library of Australia. 9 October 1952. p. 7 Section: Women's section. Retrieved 5 February 2012.