Australian actor who appeared in A Country Practice and Cop Shop dies aged 80: ‘An incredible man’
Ron Challinor, beloved star of Australian stage and screen, has died aged 80.
During his long career, Ron has appeared in some of Australia’s best-loved television series, including Division Four, Cop Shop and A Country Practice.
Ron’s friend and fellow actor Sally-Anne Upton shared the news on Friday that he had passed away after a short illness
Sally-Anne, who is best known for her role as Lucy Gambaro in Wentworth, took to social media to remember Ron as an ‘incredible man’.
“With permission from his friend Peter Quinn, I share the very sad news of the sudden passing of our dear Ron Challinor,” Sally-Anne wrote.
‘After a short period of ill health, Ron passed away peacefully yesterday.’
Ron Challinor, beloved star of Australian stage and screen, has died aged 80. Pictured
Sally-Anne continued her heartfelt tribute, recalling first meeting Ron after being introduced by the late Australian actress Anne Phelan.
“I had the pleasure of meeting Ron and his late partner, David, in Romsey through our mutual friend Anne Phelan,” she wrote.
“Anne, a wonderful friend and colleague, humorously referred to her as the ‘Ron Challinor Memorial Ramps.’
In addition to enjoying a long and storied stage and film career, Ron was also a gifted choreographer, something that was not forgotten in Sally-Anne’s role.
“Ron was a talented actor, writer and choreographer, and I heard he was still line dancing at Christmas,” she wrote.
Sally-Anne then encouraged friends and colleagues to share their memories of the actor.
“Let’s celebrate Ron’s life by sharing stories about this incredible man,” Sally-Anne said.
“Take comfort in knowing that Heaven’s Green Room is now buzzing with laughter, Jamison’s is surely flowing and amazing stories are being told.
“Rest in peace, dear hilarious, loyal, humble Ron.”
Ron’s friend and fellow actor Sally-Anne Upton, who played Lucy Gambaro in Wentworth, shared on social media on Friday that he had died
During his long career, Ron has appeared in some of Australia’s best-loved television series, including Division Four, Cop Shop and A Country Practice.
Sally-Anne’s sweet post was met with an outpouring of condolences and memories of the late actor.
Fellow stage and screen veteran Collette Mann paid her own tribute, praising Ron’s sense of comic timing.
“He taught me so much about comedy and was such a great support to me in my early career. xxx sad to hear,” the Prisoner star wrote.
Another friend added: ‘Vale Darling Ron, we had so much fun together. I have wonderful memories of those fantastic times. Sweet dreams, old friend.”
Ron began his stage career in the late 1960s, appearing in a series of productions staged by NIDA, Melbourne Theater Co, National Theater and Playbox Theater, among others.
Ron began his small screen career with a one-episode stint in the iconic Australian crime drama Division Four.
He went on to appear in another iconic Australian cop series in Cop Shop, as well as classic dramas like A Country Practice, Homicide and the 1983 Kennedy-Miller Gough Whitlam miniseries The Dismissal.
Ron is perhaps best known for his role in the 1980s teen drama The Henderson Kids, where he played Rutt Jones, the right-hand man to series “bad guy” Ashley Wheeler.
The multi-talented also wrote for the 1993 sitcom Newlyweds and the 1984 Heaven and Hell comedy Second Time Lucky, in which Sir Robert Helpmann played the devil.