John Derum
Encyclopedia
John Derum is an Australian actor for stage, film and television. He has also directed and produced for theatre companies throughout Australia
and for television. 'Born 9 January 1946, in Melbourne
, Victoria
, Australia
, he is the son of Scottish
immigrants.
(Adelaide Festival 1970), Peer Gynt
(Sydney Opera House
1975), Mr Mantelini and others in Nicholas Nickleby
(Sydney Theatre Company
1983-85), Reverend Parris in The Crucible
(Sydney Theatre Company 1991-93) and numerous revues, musicals and variety performances.
John was Artistic Director of the Canberra Company, Theatre ACT in 1985-86. He was awarded a Literary Fellowship at the Australian Defence Force Academy
(University of NSW) in 1990 which enabled the publication of the expanded script of More Than A Sentimental Bloke.
Between 1996 and 1999 John was the General Manager of the Independent Theatre
in North Sydney, charged with overseeing the completion of the restoration and the successful re-opening of that historic theatre.
Since his return from the Blue Mountains to Sydney in 2007, John has resumed his career as actor and director. He has directed more than a dozen rehearsed readings of new scripts and directed Waiting For Gotterson by Sam Atwell for original and return seasons at Newtown Theatre in 2008, and Housebound (Crime Scenes 2009). He played Lord Augustus in Oscar Wilde’s
Lady Windermere's Fan
(Darlinghurst Theatre
, 2009), Aidan Turner and David Marsh in David Hare’s The Power Of Yes
(Belvoir 2010), and he continues to record a wide range of voice tracks and readings for radio.
. He became famous for his appearances as Narrator Neville in the first season of the then Australian Broadcasting Commission
's irreverent satire/comedy The Aunty Jack Show
. Derum appeared in a number of comedy and revue series including The Thursday Creek Mob (1969–70), The True Blue Show (1975), Doctor Down Under
(1979) as "Doctor Maurice Griffin", and Ratbags (1982). He appeared in the final edition of the The Mavis Bramston Show
in 1975.
He played B. A. Santamaria
in the ABC mini-series True Believers
(1987) and Francis James
in The Gadfly
(1990) and appeared in G.P. and Mother and Son
in the 1990s.
For ABC Television
, John hosted more than 200 editions of the national quiz The Oz Game and more than 50 episodes of the Australian music and folklore program That’s Australia.
(Phillipe Mora), The Trespassers
(John Duigan), Kazzam International (Bruce Petty), The Night The Prowler
(Patrick White/Jim Sharman).
Derum played "Richard" in John Duigan
's 1976 film The Trespassers.
Derum played "John" in the 1978 film The Night the Prowler
.
John has become widely identified with his interpretation of the work of Australian writers, particularly C. J. Dennis
. John performed More Than A Sentimental Bloke, his tribute to Dennis, more than 500 times around Australia between 1979 and 1994. He has also recorded and performed The Songs Of A Sentimental Bloke and the Dennis masterpiece The Glugs Of Gosh.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and for television. 'Born 9 January 1946, in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, he is the son of Scottish
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
immigrants.
Theatre
In the theatre his major roles have included Kostya in The SeagullThe Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
(Adelaide Festival 1970), Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
(Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
1975), Mr Mantelini and others in Nicholas Nickleby
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play)
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is an eight-hour stage play, presented over two performances, adapted from the Charles Dickens novel of the same name by David Edgar. Directed by John Caird and Trevor Nunn, it opened on 5 June 1980 at the Aldwych Theatre in London. The music and lyrics...
(Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
1983-85), Reverend Parris in The Crucible
The Crucible
The Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
(Sydney Theatre Company 1991-93) and numerous revues, musicals and variety performances.
John was Artistic Director of the Canberra Company, Theatre ACT in 1985-86. He was awarded a Literary Fellowship at the Australian Defence Force Academy
Australian Defence Force Academy
The Australian Defence Force Academy is a tri-service military Academy that provides military and tertiary academic education for junior officers of the Australian Defence Force in the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force .Tertiary education is provided by the...
(University of NSW) in 1990 which enabled the publication of the expanded script of More Than A Sentimental Bloke.
Between 1996 and 1999 John was the General Manager of the Independent Theatre
Independent Theatre
The Independent Theatre was a dramatic society founded in 1930 by Doris Fitton , and was also the name given to the building it occupied from 1938. It was named for London's Independent Theatre Society founded by J. T...
in North Sydney, charged with overseeing the completion of the restoration and the successful re-opening of that historic theatre.
Since his return from the Blue Mountains to Sydney in 2007, John has resumed his career as actor and director. He has directed more than a dozen rehearsed readings of new scripts and directed Waiting For Gotterson by Sam Atwell for original and return seasons at Newtown Theatre in 2008, and Housebound (Crime Scenes 2009). He played Lord Augustus in Oscar Wilde’s
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman is a four act comedy by Oscar Wilde, first produced 22 February 1892 at the St James's Theatre in London. The play was first published in 1893...
(Darlinghurst Theatre
Darlinghurst Theatre
Darlinghurst Theatre is an independent company situated in Potts Point, Sydney. Current CEO and artistic director Glenn Terry established the company in 1993 initially as an inner-city drama school. Darlinghurst Theatre productions were originally based at the Wayside Theatre in Kings Cross. A...
, 2009), Aidan Turner and David Marsh in David Hare’s The Power Of Yes
The Power of Yes
The Power of Yes is a 2009 play by English playwright David Hare. It is the story of a dramatist seeking to understand the financial crisis of 2007.-External links:*...
(Belvoir 2010), and he continues to record a wide range of voice tracks and readings for radio.
Television
Derum first appeared on Australian television in the first aired episode of Homicide in 1964, a serious role as the delinquent son of a bank security guard. Later he appeared in another Australian police drama Division 4Division 4
Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
. He became famous for his appearances as Narrator Neville in the first season of the then Australian Broadcasting Commission
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
's irreverent satire/comedy The Aunty Jack Show
The Aunty Jack Show
The Aunty Jack Show was a Logie Award–winning Australian television comedy series that ran from 1972 to 1973. Produced by and broadcast on ABC-TV, the series attained an instant cult status that persists to the present day....
. Derum appeared in a number of comedy and revue series including The Thursday Creek Mob (1969–70), The True Blue Show (1975), Doctor Down Under
Doctor Down Under
Doctor Down Under is a Australian television comedy series based on a set of books by Richard Gordon about the misadventures of a group of Doctors. The series follows directly from its predecessor Doctor on the Go, and was produced by the Seven Network in association with the Paul Dainty...
(1979) as "Doctor Maurice Griffin", and Ratbags (1982). He appeared in the final edition of the The Mavis Bramston Show
The Mavis Bramston Show
The Mavis Bramston Show was a popular and award-winning Australian TV satirical sketch comedy series of the mid-1960s.-Introduction:The tremendous impact that The Mavis Bramston Show had in Australia in the mid-1960s was heightened because of its unique place in the history of the Australian TV...
in 1975.
He played B. A. Santamaria
B. A. Santamaria
Bartholomew Augustine "B. A." Santamaria, otherwise 'Bob' , was an Australian political activist and journalist and one of the most influential political figures in 20th century Australian history...
in the ABC mini-series True Believers
True Believers
True Believers is second English album by Romanian boy group Akcent released across the Europe on 18, September 2009.-Track listing:# Stay With Me# That’s My Name # Happy People# Lovers Cry# Tears# I Turn Around The World# Runaway...
(1987) and Francis James
Francis James
Alfred Francis James was an eccentric Australian publisher known for being imprisoned in China as a spy.-Early life:...
in The Gadfly
The Gadfly
The Gadfly is a novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich, published in 1897 , set in 1840s Italy under the dominance of Austria, a time of tumultuous revolt and uprisings. The story centers on the life of the protagonist, Arthur Burton, as a member of the Youth movement, and his antagonist, Padre Montanelli...
(1990) and appeared in G.P. and Mother and Son
Mother and Son
Mother and Son is a Logie Award-winning Australian television sitcom produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris...
in the 1990s.
For ABC Television
ABC Television
ABC Television is a service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation launched in 1956. As a public broadcasting broadcaster, the ABC provides four non-commercial channels within Australia, and a partially advertising-funded satellite channel overseas....
, John hosted more than 200 editions of the national quiz The Oz Game and more than 50 episodes of the Australian music and folklore program That’s Australia.
Film
His film appearances include Mad Dog MorganMad Dog Morgan
Mad Dog Morgan is a 1976 Australian bushranger film directed by Philippe Mora and starring Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson and David Gulpilil. It is based upon the life of Dan Morgan...
(Phillipe Mora), The Trespassers
The Trespassers
The Trespassers is a 1976 film directed by John Duigan. It stars Judy Morris and Briony Behets.-Cast:*Judy Morris as Dee*Briony Behets as Penny*John Derum as Richard*Hugh Keays-Byrne as Frank*Peter Carmody as Ted...
(John Duigan), Kazzam International (Bruce Petty), The Night The Prowler
The Night the Prowler
The Night the Prowler is a 1978 Australian film directed by Jim Sharman and written by Patrick White...
(Patrick White/Jim Sharman).
Derum played "Richard" in John Duigan
John Duigan
John Duigan, is an Australian film director.Duigan emigrated to Australia in 1961, having been born to an Australian father...
's 1976 film The Trespassers.
Derum played "John" in the 1978 film The Night the Prowler
The Night the Prowler
The Night the Prowler is a 1978 Australian film directed by Jim Sharman and written by Patrick White...
.
John has become widely identified with his interpretation of the work of Australian writers, particularly C. J. Dennis
C. J. Dennis
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis, better known as C. J. Dennis, was an Australian poet known for his humorous poems, especially "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke", published in the early 20th century...
. John performed More Than A Sentimental Bloke, his tribute to Dennis, more than 500 times around Australia between 1979 and 1994. He has also recorded and performed The Songs Of A Sentimental Bloke and the Dennis masterpiece The Glugs Of Gosh.