Garry McDonald

Garry George McDonald AO (born 30 October 1948) is an Australian actor, satirist and comedian. In a career spanning five decades he has had many theatre, television and film roles, and has been listed as a National Living Treasure. He is best known as the seemingly naive celebrity interviewer Norman Gunston, through whom he pioneered the "ambush interviewer" technique since followed by many others. He received a Gold Logie award for the television Norman Gunston Show in which he developed the character. He is also famed for his role of the hapless Arthur Beare in the television sitcom Mother and Son. Appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2003 for service to the community in the mental health field and to the arts as an entertainer, he has also been a board member of the Australian mental health organisation Beyond Blue.

Early life[edit]

McDonald was born in Bondi, a beachside suburb of Sydney.^[1] He was educated at Cranbrook School. During his time at Cranbrook, McDonald developed an interest in acting and, despite family objections, went on to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), where he obtained a Diploma in Acting (misspelled "Actinig")^[2] in 1967.^[3][4]

Career[edit]

Norman Gunston[edit]

It was while working on The Aunty Jack Show in 1973, that McDonald first performed the character for which he became best-known, the gauche and inept TV personality Norman Gunston. Gunston's first appearance was in a series of brief sketches which saw him reporting uncomfortably on a "sex-scandal drought" in Wollongong; a drought he eventually breaks by appearing naked on camera.^[5]

McDonald further developed the character in the Norman Gunston Show, for which he won a Gold Logie. Gunston's trademark look included a comb over, makeup to make his face deathbed white and bits of tissue drying on shaving nicks.^[6] The series, which satirised many aspects of Australian culture and show business, was a mixture of live and pre-recorded interviews, awkward musical segments – excruciatingly sung by Gunston himself in the broadest "strine" accent – and continuing comedy sketches such as "Norman's Dreamtime" (in which Norman read stories to a group of children, such as "Why Underpants Ride Up").^[5]

Using Gunston's gormless personality as a cover to break down the defences of his "victims", McDonald pioneered the satirically provocative ’ambush interview’ technique which was used to great effect in interviews with Paul McCartney, Muhammad Ali, Keith Moon, Leif Garrett, Sally Struthers and Elton John.^[6]

As Norman Gunston, McDonald also had a recording career, releasing a string of satirical pop parody records. Gunston's Top 40 hits included his interpretation of the Tom Jones classic "Delilah", the punk rock send-up "I Might Be A Punk But I Love You, Baby" and "KISS Army", a parody of the KISS single "I Was Made For Loving You".^[5] He also appeared onstage with Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney on 20 January 1976, playing harmonica on "The Torture Never Stops" - this performance was later released on the 2002 live album FZ:OZ.^[7]

Mother and Son[edit]

McDonald played Arthur Beare in the television series Mother and Son, starring alongside Ruth Cracknell^[8] over six seasons from 1984 until 1994. He won several Logie Awards for his role in the show.

Offspring[edit]

McDonald joined the cast of the drama series Offspring in 2012 (Season 3) and was a series regular. He played Doctor Philip Noonan.^[9]

Personal[edit]

Early in his career he met his wife, the actress Diane Craig, during a production of Let's Get A Divorce. They married in 1971^[10] They have two grown children and live in Berry on the New South Wales south coast.^[11][12]

Suffering from both depression and anxiety, McDonald talks openly about his condition. He is an ambassador and former board director of Beyond Blue, an Australian national depression initiative. He also serves as patron of the New South Wales branch of the Anxiety Disorders Foundation of Australia.^[13][14] McDonald is quoted in the press discussing a link between his own anxiety and that of his grandfather and mother.^[15]

McDonald's condition first came to the public's attention when he reached a crisis point after a short-lived attempt to revive the Gunston character in 1993. Then again in 1997, McDonald suffered a severe episode during the launch of a new series, Rip Snorters.^[16] McDonald's condition also caused him to withdraw from the 2003 production of Patrick Marber's Howard Katz.^[17]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Theatre[edit]

Awards and honours[edit]

In 2003, McDonald was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia for service to the community by raising awareness of mental health issues and the effects of anxiety disorders and depression on sufferers and carers, and to the arts as an entertainer.^[31]

His popularity among Australians is reflected his being listed, after public nomination and vote, as a National Living Treasure, someone who has made an outstanding contribution to Australian society in any field of human endeavour.^[32]

In 2015, he was a featured subject on the ABC documentary series Australian Story.^[33]

In 2020, he appeared on a stamp in the Australia Post Legends of Comedy series.^[34]

Mo Awards[edit]

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Garry McDonald won one award in that time.^[35]

Art portraits[edit]

Two portraits of McDonald have won awards at the Archibald Prize. In 1999 a portrait by artist Deny Christian won the Packing Room Prize and, in 2006, Paul Jackson's All the world's a stage won the Peoples Choice Award.^[18] In 2016, yet another painting of McDonald was a finalist in the Archibald Prize by Kirsty Neilson entitled There's No Humour in Darkness.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 2002 interview for Australian Story
• Garry McDonald at IMDb
• Garry McDonald at the National Film and Sound Archive
• Garry McDonald at Screen Australia