Tributes flood in for iconic Aussie actor who starred in Storm Boy as he dies aged 93

Respected Australian actor Peter Cummins died in Melbourne earlier this year at the age of 93.

The veteran artist died on October 4, and reports of his death only recently became public.

No cause of death was given, but it is believed that Peter was in poor health for some time after retiring in 2003.

The iconic actor starred in the beloved 1976 Australian film Storm Boy opposite David Gulpilil, which is based on Colin Thiele’s 1964 novel.

He played the father of the title character, in the world-famous film about a young boy who befriends a pelican.

Peter also starred alongside American actor Dennis Hopper and Jack Thompson in the 1976 film Mad Dog Morgan.

Respected Australian actor Peter Cummins (left) died in Melbourne earlier this year at the age of 93. Pictured with David Gulpilil in Storm Boy

Throughout his career in film and TV spanning over thirty years, Peter has appeared in some of Australia’s best-loved productions including A Country Practice, GP and Return to Snowy River.

His last role was in a 2003 TV movie called The Forest, directed by Red Dog star Jo Kennedy.

The fun-loving entertainer was also a popular stage actor in Melbourne in the 1960s and 1970s, appearing in productions of Oklahoma!, Waiting for Godot, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and many more.

Peter’s heartbroken fans took to social media to pay tribute to him.

Melbourne’s Cinema Reborn confirmed the heartbreaking news of Peter’s death: ‘Long friend Peter Cummins has passed away. He was in his nineties and when I saw him about a year ago on a visit to Melbourne he was in very good spirits.

‘He had long since stopped drinking and, as he had done all his life, he enjoyed the solitude of his home in Fitzroy.

‘I remember him mainly for his two separate and divergent productions of A Stretch of the Imagination, still in my opinion the best play ever written in these parts.

“Peter made an enormous contribution and his death takes away one of the key figures in the revival of Australian film and theater in the 1960s and 1970s.”

The veteran artist died on October 4, and reports of his death only recently became public

No cause of death was given, but it is believed that Peter was in poor health for some time after retiring in 2003.

Meanwhile, another fan was left speechless by the tragic news: “I don’t know what to say yet.”

“Goodbye Peter,” a third person wrote.

He is survived by his nieces Juliet and Jane.

His death came almost three years after the tragic passing of his Storm Boy co-star David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu in November 2021.

The beloved actor died at his home in South Australia at the age of 68, after a long battle with lung cancer.

The versatile performer was immortalized in an Archibald Prize-winning portrait in 2004 and once danced for The Queen.

His daughter Phoebe Marson announced two years ago that her father had been diagnosed with aggressive cancer and that he would soon go ‘to the Dreamtime’.

As an actor he appeared in iconic Australian films such as Storm Boy, Crocodile Dundee, Charlie’s Country, Ten Canoes, Rabbit-Proof Fence and The Tracker.

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