Gerard Maguire

Infobox actor
name = Gerard Maguire


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birthname =
birthdate = 1945
birthplace = Australia
deathdate =
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othername = Gerard MacGuire Gerard Matte
occupation = Stage, voice and television actor
yearsactive = 1969-present
spouse = Jane Alsobrook (mid 1980s-present)
domesticpartner =
children =
website =
awards =

Gerard Maguire (born 1945) is an Australian stage, voice and television actor, best known for his role as Deputy Governor Jim Fletcher in "Prisoner". Often appearing on Australian television police dramas and soap operas throughout the 1970s and 80s, he is also one of Australia's top voice actors voicing numerous commercial and narrations during the 1990s and early 2000s.

Biography

Maguire began acting during the late 1960s, shortly after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art with a bachelor of arts. Out of 3,000 applicants, he was one of 15 students to complete the program. cite web |url=http://www.redrockreview.com/mar02/2story.html |title=Star from “Down Under” rises on Canyon Moon stage |accessdate= |accessmonthday= |accessdaymonth= |accessyear= |author=Gorman, Ben |last= |first= |authorlink= |coauthors= |date=2002-04-03 |year= |month= |format= |work= |publisher=Red Rock Review |pages= |language= |doi= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote= ]

After minor one-time roles on the television series "Riptide" and "The Link Men", Maguire made his feature film debut in "The Demonstrator" with Joe James and Irene Inescort. In the film, he portrayed university student Steve Slater whose political differences with his father Joe Slater, a Federal cabinet minister, result in his leading a series of protests disrupting his father's activities in organizing an international conference. Although the film was considered a commercial failure, he again starred in "Country Town" co-starring Terry McDermott, Gary Gray and Lynette Curran. [Reade, Eric. "History and Heartburn: The Saga of Australian Film, 1896-1978". Rutherford, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1979. (pg. 171, 174) ISBN 0-8386-3082-0] "Country Town" was a feature film spin-off from Australian Broadcasting Corporation soap opera "Bellbird".

He briefly appeared on soap operas "Dynasty" and "Ryan" during the early 1970s, although he found more lasting success in police dramas such as "Matlock Police", "Homicide" and "Division 4". Joining the Melbourne Theatre Company, he also performed in "Going Home" at St. Martin's Theatre on March 11, 1976. That same year, he starred with Tom Oliver and Kate Sheil in David Williamson's "A Handful of Friends" at the Russell Street Theatre in Melbourne. [Perkins, Elizabeth. "The Plays of Alma de Groen". Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V., 1994. ISBN 90-5183-764-X] [Williamson, David and Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt. "Australian Playrights: David Williamson". Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V., 1988. ISBN 90-5183-029-7]

He was set to appear in the South Pacific Films-produced television series "Secret Doors" with former "Number 96" stars Rebecca Gilling, Norman Yemm and Candy Raymond. However, due to its heavy adult content, the Nine Network passed on the series after a telecast of the pilot on June 19, 1976 and the project fell through. [Mercado, Andrew. "Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows". Melbourne: Pluto Press Australia, 2004. (pg. 88) ISBN 1-86403-191-3] He would, however, have supporting roles in the television miniseries "Luke's Kingdom" and the film "Mad Dog Morgan".

A late arrival during the first season of "Prisoner", Maguire joined the cast early 1979 as Deputy Governor Jim Fletcher and remained the only main male character during his three years on the series. He was one of the longtime cast members to leave, along with Fiona Spence, making his final appearance before the beginning of the third season. During his last year with the series, he appeared with "Prisoner" co-stars Colette Mann and Val Lehman in "Kitty and the Bagman".

During 1983, Maguire starred as Dr. John Rivers in the television series "Starting Out". As one of the school's tutors and the father of the disfigured Michelle (Rowena Mohr), his time on the series dealt with his guilt over his daughter's accident while dealing with his unhappily married wife Yvonne (Suzy Gashler). [Mercado, Andrew. "Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows". Melbourne: Pluto Press Australia, 2004. (pg. 199) ISBN 1-86403-191-3]

After the series cancellation, Maguire made a guest appearance on "Special Squad" and had supporting roles in "The Surfer" and "Alice to Nowhere" before returning to the stage in 1986 to perform in David Williamson's "Sons of Cain" which ran for five-months in London's West End. In 1987, was a television presenter for "Ground Zero" and twice appeared on "The Flying Doctors" during the next two years. Maguire also appeared during the final season of the soap opera "The Power, The Passion" as a police investigator who had once been an ex-boyfriend of one of the central characters, Ellen Byrne Edmonds (Olivia Hamnett). [Mercado, Andrew. "Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows". Melbourne: Pluto Press Australia, 2004. (pg. 284) ISBN 1-86403-191-3]

While producing a film adaptation of a novel during the mid-1980s, he replaced the screenwriter originally working on the screenplay. Contacted by Columbia Pictures, he flew to California to discuss the project, he met producer and then Senior Vice President Jane Alsobrook. He soon began a romantic relationship and Maguire ended up staying in Los Angeles for the next several years. In 1993, he and Lance Peters co-wrote "Gross Misconduct" later directed by George T. Miller and, the following year, wrote "" and was the script supervisor for "Tunnel Vision". He was also involved in acting workshops with actors such as Jon Voight among others.

In 1995, he moved back to Australia with Alsobrook when she accepted a position as president of Australia's largest independent film production and distribution company, REP. During the mid-to-late 1990s, Maguire appeared in the television movies "Heart of Fire", "The Fury Within" and "The Finder" as well as the guest appearances on the television series "Water Rats", "Murder Call" and "All Saints".

Maguire also became involved in voice acting eventually narrating hundreds of commercials and, in 1995, was the voice of Titanium Man in the cartoon "Iron Man". During the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he was the announcer during the diving events.

Following the September 11 attacks, he moved to the United States allowing his wife to be closer to her family in Sedona, Arizona. Although continuing to be involved in a number of film projects with his wife, he also became involved in local theatre agreeing to appear in theatrical performances with the Canyon Moon Theatre Company and, in April 2002, appeared as the narrator in "Side By Side By Sondheim" at the Old Marketplace in West Sedona.

Maguire continued working as a voice actor during the next several years via the internet. After a five-year absence, Maguire made an appearance in the 2007 independent film "Brothel".

References

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