Bill Flynn

FLYNN, William "Bill" (13 December 1948 – 11 July 2007) was a South African actor and comedian. [1]

Actor, comedian, dramatist, director and rock band member

Biography

Born in Ysterplaat, Cape Town and attended Plumstead primary and high schools. Studied drama at the University of Cape Town and Born in Cape Town and matriculated from Plumstead High School.

He was married twice, first to Anne Power and later to Jana Cilliers. Died in Johannesburg of an apparent heart attack in July 2007 at the age of 58.

Training

Studied at the University of Cape Town Drama Department under Robert Mohr and Mavis Taylor (BA in English and Drama).

Career

His highly successful career included leading roles in over 140 stage plays, musicals, 42 films, dozens of TV shows and thousands of radio and TV commercials.

Working as a professional actor all his life he began his career as a founder member of the Space Theatre in the early 1970s and, as a very serious and excellent young actor, he worked on 47 productions in three years. In this period he worked with Athol Fugard and Yvonne Bryceland.

He joined the Market Theatre's The Company in 1975.

Besides working regularly with Slabolepszy, the 1980s saw Flynn also working for Pieter Toerien. As he gained weight and lost hair, he endeared himself to the public as a comedian and worked widely on stage, film and TV. However, in 2000/1 Flynn made a resounding comeback as a serious actor in what must be the finest theatre production of the year, playing “Willy Loman” in Miller’s Death of a Salesman at the Grahamstown Festival, then touring the country.

He was also a talented singer and sang everything from comedy opera to rock ’n roll. After his years with Vinnie and the Viscounts, his next band, The Rock Rebels, developed a committed group of followers.

Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance

1975 Hello and Goodbye and The Glass Menagerie. 1979 for Play it again, Sam in Johannesburg. Also performed in Enemy - An Anti-War Collage, People are Living There, Long Day's Journey into Night, Don't Drink the Water, Play it again, Sam (at the Market Theatre), The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and in Tsafendas; Waiting for Godot; Skelms; Magic is Alive; Grinders War; Kill and Kill Again; Playland.

In addition he did Popcorn (Pieter-Dirk Uys, 1973), Ruffian on the Stair, School Play, Skyvers/Jollers, Superman, 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, A Touch of 1900s, We Bombed in New Haven, What the Butler Saw, Workplay, You’ll Come (chuckle) to Love Your ????? (snigger) Test, After Liverpool, Ashes, Don't Walk About with Nothing On, Drivers, The Four Seasons, Fragments, The Glass Menagerie, Going to Pot, The Happy Prince, I'll Ring for more Toast, The Indian wants the Bronx, Madly in Love, Muzeeka and Outcry.

As director: Also directed Picnic on the Battlefield, Post Mortem and Don't Walk About with Nothing On.

Marico Moonshine and Mampoer, The Four Seasons, and a number of collaborative works with his friend and colleague Paul Slabolepszy.

"Biff" in PACT's Death of a Salesman (1975), The Duchess of Malfi (PACT, 1975), The Tempest (PACT 1975), Fortune and Men's Eyes (1975), Fangs(PACT 1977), The Norman Conquests (1979), The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1981), Saturday Night at the Palace (1982), Glengarry Glen Ross (1985), Black Coffee (1985) , The Foreigner (1986), Doubles (1986-7), Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (1988).

The superb Saturday Night at the Palace premiéred at the Market Theatre in 1983, as did Pale Natives later. Keen sports-lovers, they then moved into pure farce with such successes as Under the Okes, Over the Hill, Heel Against the Head (the latter filmed as well).

In the one-man piece Colossus of Brooklyn (1989-90) he portrayed 42 characters.

He starred in Richard Harris’s The Maintenance Man at the Leonard Rayne in 1990.

Sinbad’s African Adventures (1992). (Tucker, 1997)

Slabolepszy and Flynn collaborated in several successful productions over the years including Heel Against the Head in 1996.

FLYNN, Bill. People are Living There, Mila Miglia with Bill Curry. Took Hello and Goodbye to Dublin and won the Dublin Critic Circle Award. d Hello and Goodbye & The Glass Menagerie , 1974. Saturday Night at the Palace1981. Death of a Salesman with Joe Stewardson & Richard Haines, (dir: Ken Leach), Outcry with Michelle Maxwell; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with Victor Melleney. Hallo en Koebaai with Yvonne Bryceland.

One of his most well-loved characters was Tjokkie in the hit comedies Heel Against the Head and Running Riot.

Television: His TV credits include Hello and Goodbye, People are Living There, Senor **, The Toasty Show, The Carruthers Brothers, Jozi Streets. Whites; City Lovers.

Film credits include Saturday Night at the Palace, Heel Against the Head, Aw Schucks it's UNTAG?*, The Sunflower, Oh Schucks..I'm Gatvol?*, **.

Awards, etc

The Glass Menagerie , Three Leaf Award, 1974

Won a 1975 Three Leaf Award for best actor for Hello and Goodbye and The Glass Menagerie. Was Dublin Critics Awards Best Actor for 1976 for Hello and Goodbye. Won a Sammy Award in 1979 for Play it again, Sam in Johannesburg.

He won best actor at the DALRO Awards for his role in Play it again, Sam. Won a Sammy in 1979 for Play it again, Sam in Johannesburg, Market Theatre.

Saturday Night at the Palace, won The Amstel Award as the Best Play of the Year, 1981.

In all, Bill won 13 Best Actor Awards. He also won the Dublin Critics Award as well as a Golden Entertainer Award. Bill won a Best Screenplay Award for writing Saturday Night at the Palace.

Winner of 12 Best Actor awards by 2003, with 35 more nominations. Also numerous awards as supporting actor, e.g. the (Fleur du Cap Theatre Award, for Best Supporting Actor for Doubles (1987),

His role as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman garnered him every available Best Actor Award for that year.

Death of a Salesman at the Grahamstown Festival, then touring the country (Fleur du Cap Theatre Award, Best Actor 2001).

In 2000/1 Flynn made a resounding comeback as a serious actor in what must be the finest theatre production of the year, playing “Willy Loman” in Miller’s Death of a Salesman at the Grahamstown Festival, then touring the country

Played “Willy Loman” in Miller’s Death of a Salesman at the Grahamstown Festival, then touring the country, 2000/1.

Sources

SACD 1975/76; 1977/78; 1979/80; 1981/82; Limelight1983/84.

Playland programme notes, 1992.

Tucker, 1997.

Die Burger 14 July 2007.

Wikipedia [2]

Go to ESAT Bibliography

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