Jump to content

Brian Moll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Brian Moll
Born
Brian Percy Moll

(1925-05-19)19 May 1925
Wanstead, London, England
Died9 August 2013(2013-08-09) (aged 88)[1]
Occupations
  • Actor
  • comedian
Years active1953–1994 (retired)
Known forThe Young Doctors (TV series) as Dr Vincent Snape
A Country Practice (TV series) as Alfred Muldoon

Brian Percy Moll (19 May 1925 – 9 August 2013) was a British-born Australian comedian character actor of stage, television and film and director and producer who emigrated to Australia from his native England in 1950. Quitting his job as a publicity officer, he became a professional actor in 1953. He was best known for his soap opera television roles, but also appeared in film and numerous theatre productions.

Early life

[edit]

He was born in Chaucer Road, Wanstead, North East London on 19 May 1925 to Hedges Percy Moll and Dorethy Dot Alice Sarah (née Mitchell)?? Brother Peter James Moll

During World War II, he was conscripted to the Royal Navy in 1943 at the age of eighteen and spent the later years of World War II serving on a minesweeper. His ship was involved in the D-Day operation and he watched the action from just off the Arromanches beach.

In October 1950, he immigrated from England and arrived in Melbourne, Australia under the £10 assisted passage emigration scheme. In December 1975, he took Australian Citizenship.

Career

[edit]

Theatre

[edit]

Moll started taking on leading parts with the Melbourne Little Theatre starting from 1953 and as well as acting he was producing and directing difficult plays by playwrights including as Chekov and Ibsen. In 1963 he moved to Brisbane and he joined the Queensland Arts Theatre. He continued his acting career in his spare time. In the 1960s he was campaigning in Brisbane for a new permanent arts centre and was involved in these plans which resulted in the Arts Complex being built.

In 1970 he was in It's a Rum Do and had the role of Samuel Marsden, the priest who was partly responsible for bringing merino sheep to Australia which started the wool industry. The play was chosen to be given a Royal Command Performance in the Brisbane Arts Centre. He was presented to the Queen and he told her that over the past two years he had played eight priests. She asked him "Why" and she smiled when he answered "It was my purity of spirit and a bald head". After this, his acting career took off.

Television and film

[edit]

Moll was known for his villainous roles, once remarking that this was due to his bald head (he had been completely bald since the age of 25). As a jobbing actor, like many of the era he had numerous character roles on the Crawford Productions TV serials including Matlock Police, Homicide and Division 4, as well as many guest roles on other television series; mini-series, telemovies; and films.

In 1975, he became better known however for playing the recurring role of slimy Town Clerk Eddie Buchanan in soap opera Number 96, Dr. Vincent Snape in The Young Doctors in 1977–1978, and briefly as Mr. Spencer in Prisoner in 1980.

He was most likely however best known for his long running itinerant role in serial A Country Practice, as devious and pompous town councillor Alfred Muldoon a role he played as the script permitted from 1982 to 1992, through 120 episodes.

He had a small cameo role in the film Street Fighter in 1994

In 1990, he appeared as Mr. Gordian in Bloodmoon, a horror film.[2]

Later years and death

[edit]

Moll retired in 1994 and resided in Sippy Downs, Queensland in a nursing home, where he died in August 2013, aged 88, His ashes were scattered near his home on the Sunshine Coast.

Filmography

[edit]

Film

[edit]
Year Title Role Type
1959 Press Gang TV movie
1971 Exit Geeles Short film
1971 Stork Priest Feature film
1975 That Lady from Peking Father Leonard Feature film
1976 McManus MPB Carl Day TV movie
1981 Maybe This Time Older Salesman Feature film
1984 Queen of the Road Al "Herpie" Graves TV movie
1984 Fantasy Man Lofty Feature film
1985 Hector's Bunyip Ernest Sister TV movie
1987 Great Expectations: The Untold Story Uncle Pumblechook TV movie
1990 Bloodmoon Mr. Gordian Feature film
1990 Dead Sleep Dr. Shamberg Feature film
1992 Something Wicked Lecturer Short film
1994 Street Fighter Bison's Scientist Feature film

Television

[edit]
Year Title Role Type
1958 Killer in Close-Up: The Rattenbury Case TV series
1968–69 Hunter Hinksman / Fishta TV series
1969 The Rovers Dr. Wright TV series
1973 Boney Bill Bulford TV series
1971–73 Matlock Police 7 roles: Forbes / Tojo / Brown / School Principal / Ray Smith / Gaye / Fred Jackson TV series
1973 Ryan Warburton / Topley TV series
1973 Alvin Purple Clerk of the Court TV series
1968–74 Homicide 11 roles: Frank Adams / Ted Sands / John Lee / Richard Evans / Clerk / Stan Preston / Gustav / Arthur Reid / Phillips /,Grant / Hotel Manager TV series
1969–74 Division 4 5 roles: Jack Doyle / Eddie Bailey / Herbie Pike / Wilson Snr / Ralph Morris TV series
1974 Silent Number Prison Doctor TV series
1975 The Unisexers TV series
1975 Number 96 TC Ian Buchanan TV series
1975 King's Men Drake TV series
1975 Luke's Kingdom Settler TV series
1976 Rush Thomas TV series
1977 The Outsiders Mertz TV series
1978 The Young Doctors Dr. Vincent Snape TV series
1978 Case for the Defence The Judge TV series
1980 Arcade Mr. Sponge TV series
1980 Prisoner Mr. Spencer TV series
1984 Bellamy Wilkes TV series
1984 The Cowra Breakout Doctor TV miniseries
1984 Special Squad Charlie Everett TV series, episode 14: "Slow Attack"
1987 The Petrov Affair Billy Wentworth TV miniseries
1982–92 A Country Practice Alfred Muldoon TV series, 120 episodes

Theatre

[edit]

As performer

[edit]
Year Title Role Type
1957 Little by Little Melbourne Little Theatre
1959 An Italian Straw Hat Melbourne Little Theatre
1960 The Long and the Short and the Tall Melbourne Little Theatre
1961 Anastasia Albert Hall, Brisbane with Brisbane Repertory Theatre[3]
The Caretaker Davies Brisbane Arts Theatre
Luther Luther Brisbane Arts Theatre
1968 The Judge Dr Waggon St Martins Theatre, Melbourne
1968 The Living Room Father James Browne St Martins Theatre, Melbourne[4]
1969 Hadrian VII Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne
1970 A Rum Do! The Rev. Samuel Marsden SGIO Theatre, Brisbane
1970 Philadelphia, Here I Come! SGIO Theatre, Brisbane
1972 Richard II Sir John Bushy / Head Gardener Theatre Royal, Hobart
1975 Semi-Detached Marian Street Theatre
1975 The Touch of Silk Independent Theatre, Sydney
1980 Shut Your Eyes and Think of England Mr Rubinstein Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne
1991 The Cherry Orchard Faers Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane with Queensland Theatre Company
1991 The Crucible Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane
1992 The Marriage of Figaro Antonio Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane[5]

As crew

[edit]
Year Title Role Type
1961 The Multi-Coloured Umbrella Designer Brisbane Arts Theatre
1964 Summer Solstice Producer Brisbane Arts Theatre
1965 Private Ear & Public Eye Director Brisbane Arts Theatre[6]
1967 Breakfast with Julia Director Brisbane Arts Theatre

[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Probate notice, Brian Percy Moll, Sunshine Coast Daily, 23 August 2013
  2. ^ Shelley, Peter (2012). Australian Horror Films, 1973–2010. McFarland. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-7864-8993-0.
  3. ^ "Anastasia".
  4. ^ "The Living Rood".
  5. ^ https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableoffice/tabledpapers/1993/4793T2319.pdf [bare URL]
  6. ^ "Performance Archive".
  7. ^ "AusStage".
[edit]