John Bell (actor)

John Anthony Bell OBE AM (born 1 November 1940) is an acclaimed Australian actor and theatre personality.

In a career of acting in, directing, and managing theatres, John Bell has been instrumental in shaping the Australian theatre industry.

Early life

Bell was born 1 November 1940 in the town of Maitland, in New South Wales. He was educated at Marist Brothers at Maitland.

Career Moves

*While at High School, he developed and performed one-man shows.
*Old Tote Theatre Company
*He spent five years with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Great Britain
*1970s - Taught at National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA)
*Major state theatre companies as actor and/or director
*Co-founder of the Nimrod Theatre Company in Sydney
**Producer/presenter for David Williamson's "Travelling North", "The Club", "The Removalists" and Peter Kenna's "A Hard God"
**Productions of "Measure For Measure", "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Macbeth", etc

The Bell Shakespeare Company

In 1990, Bell founded The Bell Shakespeare Company and has produced, among others, "Hamlet", "Romeo And Juliet", "The Taming Of The Shrew", "Richard III", "Pericles", "Henry 4", "Henry 5", "Julius Caesar", "Antony And Cleopatra", "The Comedy Of Errors", "The Merchant of Venice", "The Tempest" and "The Servant of Two Masters".

His roles for the Company include "Shylock", "Richard III", "Macbeth", "Malvolio", "Coriolanus", "Leontes", "Prospero", "King Lear" and "Ulysses".

Contemporaries / friends

*Attended University of Sydney with Clive James and Germaine Greer.
*Contemporary and friend of Bruce Beresford (film director, with whom he shared a house and for whom he did some film acting), Ken Horler, Mungo McCallum, Bob Ellis, Richard Wherrett, John Gaden, Laurie Oakes (journalist), and Les Murray (poet).
*His brother is the artist Michael Bell.
*He is married to actress Anna Volska
*His daughters are Grass Roots actress Lucy Bell and playwright Hilary Bell.

Awards

In the New Years Day Honours of 1978 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1987, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

His achievements in theatre have been acknowledged by the Universities of Newcastle (1994) and Sydney (1996) who have both awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Letters.

In 2001 a painting of John Bell by artist Nicholas Harding won the Archibald Prize.

In 2002, John Bell's performance of "Richard, Duke of Gloucester" earned him a "Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor".

In 2003 the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, presented Bell with the Cultural Leader of the Year Award.

He has been named an Australian Living Treasure.

References

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