Charles "Bud" Tingwell 1923 - 2009
Sadly on the 15th May 2009 one of the true gentlemen of the Australian Entertainment industry passed away. Bud`s career spanned 70 years, in all facets of film, theatre and of course radio.
I have waited a while to write this, it has been a tough one for me personally. When the TV announced that Bud Tingwell had passed away from Prostate Cancer, I was in hospital having just had Radical prostate removal after having been diagnosed with an aggressive version of the disease. In fact I was released on the day of his funeral. My wife had given my kids strict instructions not to tell me, but hospitals have television. Australia's favourite Grandfather had passed away. Much has been said about the passing of Bud Tingwell, but we will be a bit different from the rest, we will discuss his radio work.
My partner in crime with documenting Australian Radio Production, Moris Sztajer, had spoken to Bud late last year and he was trying to organise a time to sit down with him to compare notes with what we had on Bud's radio career and what Bud remembered of those Golden years of radio in Australia. We left it too late. Whilst we have hundreds of Series/serials/plays that Bud appeared in, pinpointing the exact role can often be difficult. Australian Radio Actors were great at 'voices' and it can make it hard to pick them at times. I had sent Bud a list of radio shows we knew he was in and the roles we had confirmed for him, as well as the blanks for the roles where we hadn't identified his part in the cast. Unfortunately we never got to finish filling in the blanks.
Bud's own website http://www.budtingwell.com.au/archive_radio.php listing his radio career, also misses important self-cotained series that he appeared in, Grace Gibson Productions The Clock in 1955 is a good example. It is missing from Bud's list, however Bud is named in the cast at the end of episodes in lead roles and you can pick his voice in the parts.
We are fortunate in that a surprising amount of Bud's radio work has survived. Whilst more than 90% of Australian Radio Production from the period of Bud's radio career no longer exists, we do have surviving shows right from his first radio work "Billy Bunter" (What role?) in 1939, just after we first started recording in Australia. I have already mentioned "The Clock" which was a 52 episode series of self-contained episodes with a mixture of drama styles. Bud appeared in 5 of the episodes along with the absolute cream of Australian radio actors of the time and the series remains one of my favourites. In fact most of the cast of The Clock were also cast in the movie 'On The Beach'.
Bud also appeared in serials which remain part of Australian remembered history, Smokey Dawson, Blue Hills, Dr Paul and When A Girl Marries.
Radio plays which were movies with the listener providing the pictures, were very popular, the cream of Radio play
production were Lux Radio Theatre, Caltex Theatre, General Motors Hour, Harry Dearth Theatre, Harry Dearth
playhouse, Kool Mint Playhouse, as well as many others. Bud appeared under all of those banners and quite a few of
their individual plays.
Bud was also in episode 01 'Remember Me', of 'Tension' (Suspense), another missed on his listing. Also being a pulp fan, I enjoyed his roles in favourite series like Larry kent - I Hate Crime and the Rola Show. Also serials like 'Wings off the Sea' and 'Gimme the Boats' by talented author J.E. MacDonnell, who specialised in Australian WWII Naval stories.
Of all the series/serials and plays where Bud featured, it is sad to note that one particular serial of 208 episodes, where he played the lead, 'Phantom Ranger' stands out as having no surviving audio examples. Perhaps an episode or two will show up in the future.
I have listened to and watched, interviews of Bud Tingwell on various programs, television and radio, but I always end up shouting at the interviewer, asking why they didn't ask any questions about his radio career. Sadly, the answer was probably because they didn't know he had one. Well, I am here to tell YOU that Charles 'Bud' Tingwell had a mighty radio career and very few Australian Actors would have appeared in a larger variety of roles, the list is awesome and I for one still look forward to listening to Bud for many more years to come. My condolances to his Children, you have a right to be proud of your Dad.
Bud's Series
| To Marry For Love | Actor | 1954 |
| Thirty Minutes to Go | Actor | 1953 |
| Theatrette | Actor | 1954 |
| Teller of Tales | Actor | 1953 |
| Tarzan | Actor | 1954 |
| Sunset Sings on with Frank Ifield | Announcer | |
| Strike it Rich | Announcer | 1952 |
| Strange Stories of the Sea | Actor | 1954 |
| Silver Ridge | Actor | 1954 |
| Short Story | Actor | 1956 |
| Sherlock Holmes | Actor | 1952 |
| Services Hospital Hour | Actor | 1946 |
| Sally Fletcher | Actor | 1951 |
| Pick A Box | Announcer | |
| Philip Marlow Investigates | Actor | 1953 |
| Phantom Ranger, The | Actor | 1952 |
| Our Mutual Friend | Actor | 1950 |
| Man Trap | Actor | |
| Lady in Distress | Actor | 1951 |
| Joker, The | Actor | 1954 |
| January's Daughter | Actor | |
| Invisible Circle | Actor | 1950 |
| Invincible Kate | Narrator | 1952 |
| Hart Of The Territory | Actor | 1951 |
| Hagen's Circus | Actor | 1948 |
| Golden Fool, The | Actor | 1955 |
| Gimme the Boats | Actor | 1955 |
| Family Fortune | Actor | 1952 |
| Dick Tracy | Actor | 1954 |
| Danger Unlimited | Actor | 1945 |
| Dambusters, The | Actor | 1954 |
| Counterfeit | Narrator | 1953 |
| Come Away Pearler | Actor | 1954 |
| Chips | Actor | |
| Brat Farrar | Actor | 1955 |
| Black Arrow, The | Actor | 1952 |
| Amazing Mr Malone | Producer | 1953 |
| Adventures Of Ellery Queen | Actor | 1954 |
Bud's One Off Appearances
| Two Stars and a Story | Meeting in the Rain |
| Thirty Minutes to Go | Aeroplane Adventure |
| Thirty Minutes to Go | The Laughing Spider |
| Thirty Minutes to Go | Radio Deadline |
| Theatre of Thrills | Dream Girl |
| Tension | Rember Me |
| Strange Wills | The Will Of Sebastian Morgan |
| Strange Wills | Hell Bent For Leather |
| Story to Remember, A | Marion de la Bruere |
| Rola Show, The | Morning Calm |
| Rola Show, The | Elephas Indicus |
| Rola Show, The | No Logic Before breakfast |
| Rola Show, The | I Was Here Before |
| Rola Show, The | The Destroyer |
| Rola Show, The | The Twin Serpents |
| Rola Show, The | The Pay Off |
| Rola Show, The | The Personal Element |
| Rola Show, The | The Man Who Fought Alone |
| Moment of Peril | Disaster At Hebble Creek |
| Lux Radio Theatre | All Over the Town |
| Lux Radio Theatre | Drakes Drum |
| Lux Radio Theatre | The Earth Remains |
| Lux Radio Theatre | Bell Buong |
| Lux Radio Theatre | The Silent Witness |
| Kool Mint Playhouse | Men Without wires |
| Kool Mint Playhouse | The Man from the Ministry |
| General Motors Hour | Dead Of Night |
| General Motors Hour | Night Was Our Friend |
| General Motors Hour | The Valley And The Peak |
| General Motors Hour | Walk East On Beacon |
| General Motors Hour | Night without Stars |
| General Motors Hour | Remains To Be Seen |
| General Motors Hour | Sounds Of Thunder |
| General Motors Hour | Henry V |
| Famous Trials | The Disappearing Houseboat |
| Famous Trials | The Widow Of The Palm Beach |
| Famous Trials | Crossroads |
| Famous Trials | The Rosenberg Case |
| Famous Trials | The Empty Cabin |
| Famous Trials | Poison Pen |
| Famous Trials | Blue Orchid Girl |
| Famous Trials | The Real McCoy |
| Famous Trials | The Doctor's Dilemma |
| Dramas of the Courts | The Hastings case |
| Dramas of the Courts | Roger Bedford |
| Clock, The | The Helping Hand |
| Caltex Theatre | Crispin's Day |
| Caltex Theatre | Sweathearts and Wives |
| Caltex Theatre | Operation Heartbreak |
| Caltex Theatre | The Winslow Boy |
| Caltex Theatre | Queen Anne Slept Here |
| Caltex Theatre | Appointment In London |
| Caltex Theatre | The Lost Generation |
| Caltex Theatre | The Blackmarket Legacy |
| Caltex Theatre | Ten Little Niggers |
| Big City | Treble Alibi - Munich |
| Big City | The Mushroom Cloud - Hiroshima |
| 3LO Tuesday Play | Misalliance |
| 3LO Monday Play | Ned Kelly |
| 3LO Monday Play | Dream Girl |
| 3LO Monday Play | The High and the Mighty |
| 3LO Monday Play | This Happy Breed |
| 3LO Monday Play | Red Letter Day |
| 3AR Sunday Matinee | Flight To Innamincka |
| 3AR Sunday Matinee | Sleep Of The Rocks/The Seahawk |
| 3AR Sunday Matinee | Relative Values |
| 3AR Sunday Matinee | Dream Time/Telling Mrs Baker |
| 3AR Sunday Matinee | The High and the Mighty |
| 3AR Sunday Matinee | Who Killed Rikhjovic |
| 3AR Saturday Play | Comedienne |
| 3AR Saturday Play | The Orchard Walls |