Philip Mortimer

Alfred Philip Mortimer (born 1925) is an Australian concert violinist.

Mortimer started playing violin at the age of four and started working in Australian Vaudeville as a child performer. At the age of fifteen he was awarded the Clarke Scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London. He served in the Australian Army in World War II before being honourably discharged in 1945. Philip initially wanted to follow his father's footsteps in becoming a doctor, but decided to continue his career as a violinist.

He joined J.C. Williamsons Theatre company in 1948 and continued to play in over fifty musical theatre productions around the world. In his time with Williamsons, Mortimer also toured with both the Leningrad, Bolshoi, New York City, and Convent Garden ballet companies on many occasions. He also worked with opera greats such as Maria Callas, Luciano Pavarotti, and Dame Joan Sutherland. In the 1950s with the premiere of television in Australia, Philip became one of the first musicians to be employed on Australian television. Philip was contracted to GTV-9 as a regular musician on variety shows, and was noted as one of Australias best music arrangers.

Mortimer married cellist Marie Mahon 1954, and they had two children, Jennie (born 1967) and Simon (born 1968).