Mark Gottlieb (Neighbours)
Encyclopedia
Mark Gottlieb is a fictional character
from the Australian soap opera Neighbours
, played by Bruce Samazan
. He made his first on-screen appearance on 13 August 1993 and he departed on 29 November 1995.
. In an interview with TV Soap, Samazan explained that his role on Neighbours was a great opportunity to play a "tough guy" rather than a pushover as his previous role had been. He said "After three-and-a-half years Max was starting to, er, well, not get boring, but, well, there were going to have to be some drastic changes to keep him interesting!."
) and rejected their parents' ways. One night at a party Mark spiked Stephen's drink, leaving him unable to drive his fiance Libby home. Mark was also too drunk to drive and Libby had no choice but to take a cab which crashed, killing her instantly. Stephen blamed Mark for the accident and relations were frosty between the brothers. Mark fled to France to train as a chef and began working in many top hotels around the world.
(Kimberley Davies
) soon uncovers the ruse and Mark asks her to keep quiet. It soon emerges that Mark is there to find Stephen to reconcile their differences. When Mark visits Stephen at his home in Ramsay Street, he is shocked to find him in a wheelchair following the explosion of the local pub The Waterhole. Stephen suffers a relapse triggered by Mark's arrival. Mark wants to make amends, but Stephen's wife, Phoebe
(Simone Robertson
) and friend Wayne Duncan
(Jonathon Sammy-Lee) want him to stay away from Stephen, Mark is undeterred and eventually makes a breakthrough and Stephen forgives him. After Stephen and Phoebe leave the area to manage a record store in Ansons Corner, Mark moves into the house with Beth Brennan
(Natalie Imbruglia
).
Mark later finds himself the object centre of attraction to local women including Annalise, Gaby Willis
(Rachel Blakely
) and Lucy Robinson
(Melissa Bell
). In the end Mark decides that it is Annalise he wants and proceeds to woo her with grand gestures. Mark and Annalise soon become a couple and their relationship is fraught with many arguments. Soon Mark receives a letter from his mother who is dying of cancer and he finds this hard to take as he has not seen her or his father in a number of years. Mark visits the commune and clashes with his father, but soon relents and makes his peace with Sally on her deathbed. Annalise also attends and things between her and Mark are strengthened.
Mark later proposes to Annalise and she accepts, but on the day of the wedding, he jilts her and decides he wants to become a priest. This decision hurts Annalise and soon Mark begins alienating his friends when he becomes serious about his new life path and becomes sanctimonious. Things comes to a head when Mark slips and falls while cleaning Lou Carpenter
's (Tom Oliver
)
gutters. Mark is left comatose for several weeks, but eventually regains consciousness, much to the relief of his sister, Serendipity
(Raelee Hill
) who has been by his bedside. After a brief memory loss, Mark begins having flashbacks to his pious behaviour prior to the fall and realises he had become an unlikeable person. Shortly after being released from hospital, Mark begins seeing Annalise's half-sister Joanna (Emma Harrison
), but he ends things with her as he feels things are too weird as he was engaged to Annalise the previous year.
After realising being a chef is what he wants to do with his life, Mark is offered a job on hit television show Healthy, Wealthy and Wise based in Sydney. After encouragement from housemate Cody Willis
(Peta Brady
), Mark has one final breakfast at Number 30 and leaves for Sydney.
did not remember the character, saying "Bruce played Mark Gottlieb – no, we didn't immediately remember him either".
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Australian soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
, played by Bruce Samazan
Bruce Samazan
Bruce Samazan is an Australian actor who appeared in several soap operas and drama series on Australian television, the only actor to have played regular roles in Australia's "Big Three" soap operas of the 1990s .-E Street:Samazan was a brickie's labourer, until 1989 when he accompanied his...
. He made his first on-screen appearance on 13 August 1993 and he departed on 29 November 1995.
Casting
Samazan joined the cast of Neighbours in 1993 after three and a half years playing Police Constable Max Simmonds on E StreetE Street
E Street is an Australian television soap opera created by Forrest Redlich and produced by the Ten Network from 1989 to 1993.Whereas Neighbours is set in a middle-class suburb, Home and Away in a seaside town, and Richmond Hill a semi-rural ordinary community, E Street was set in a tough inner-city...
. In an interview with TV Soap, Samazan explained that his role on Neighbours was a great opportunity to play a "tough guy" rather than a pushover as his previous role had been. He said "After three-and-a-half years Max was starting to, er, well, not get boring, but, well, there were going to have to be some drastic changes to keep him interesting!."
Characterisation
Samazan described Mark as a a "bit of a pain" and went on to say "Mark's what you'd call the flirty-tirty type...I understand there are a few love triangles happening at Ramsay Street and Mark comes in and rocks the boat."Backstory
Born to Dave Gottlieb and Sally Dawes in their hippy commune, Mark, who was christened "Cosmic", was one of three children. As Mark grew, he followed in the footsteps of his brother Stephen (Lochie DaddoLochie Daddo
Christopher Lachlan "Lochie" Daddo is an Australian actor and television presenter. His elder brothers are actors Andrew and Cameron Daddo, and Andrew's twin, Jamie Daddo.-Career:...
) and rejected their parents' ways. One night at a party Mark spiked Stephen's drink, leaving him unable to drive his fiance Libby home. Mark was also too drunk to drive and Libby had no choice but to take a cab which crashed, killing her instantly. Stephen blamed Mark for the accident and relations were frosty between the brothers. Mark fled to France to train as a chef and began working in many top hotels around the world.
1993–95
Mark arrives in Erinsborough and immediately takes a job at Lassister's Hotel posing as a french chef. Annalise HartmanAnnalise Hartman
Annalise Kratz is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Kimberley Davies. She debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 15 January 1993 and departed in 1996, and a brief return in 2005. Annalise has often been portrayed as having a conniving persona...
(Kimberley Davies
Kimberley Davies
Kimberley Davies is an Australian actress most famous for playing Annalise Hartman on the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 1993 to 1996...
) soon uncovers the ruse and Mark asks her to keep quiet. It soon emerges that Mark is there to find Stephen to reconcile their differences. When Mark visits Stephen at his home in Ramsay Street, he is shocked to find him in a wheelchair following the explosion of the local pub The Waterhole. Stephen suffers a relapse triggered by Mark's arrival. Mark wants to make amends, but Stephen's wife, Phoebe
Phoebe Gottlieb
Phoebe Gottlieb is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Simone Robertson. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 September 1991...
(Simone Robertson
Simone Robertson
Simone Robertson is an Australian actress best known for her 1991–1993 role as Phoebe Gottlieb in the TV series Neighbours. Her sister is Aimee Robertson. She is also a trained jazz and tap dancer.-TV:...
) and friend Wayne Duncan
Wayne Duncan
Wayne Duncan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jonathon Sammy-Lee. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 February 1993. Wayne became a teacher at Erinsborough High...
(Jonathon Sammy-Lee) want him to stay away from Stephen, Mark is undeterred and eventually makes a breakthrough and Stephen forgives him. After Stephen and Phoebe leave the area to manage a record store in Ansons Corner, Mark moves into the house with Beth Brennan
Beth Brennan
Elizabeth "Beth" Willis is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Natalie Imbruglia. She made her debut on-screen during the episode airing on 6 January 1992. She married Brad Willis in 1993, and the couple left Erinsborough for Perth. Behind the...
(Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
).
Mark later finds himself the object centre of attraction to local women including Annalise, Gaby Willis
Gaby Willis
Gabrielle "Gaby" Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Rachel Blakely. She made her first on-screen appearance 12 August 1991. The character departed in 1994. Blakely reprised her role in 2005 for the show's 20th anniversary.-Casting:Blakely was...
(Rachel Blakely
Rachel Blakely
Rachel Blakely is an Australian actress. Her works include films such as Love Until, Young Hercules and Counterstrike, as well as guest appearances on television shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess, State Coroner and Flipper; from 2006 to 2007 she starred as Glenda Fry in the Australian...
) and Lucy Robinson
Lucy Robinson
Lucy Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Melissa Bell. She had previously been portrayed by Kylie Flinker and Sasha Close. She was created by producer Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' original characters. Lucy was a prominent figure...
(Melissa Bell
Melissa Bell (actress)
Melissa Bell is an Australian actress and singer. She was the third actor to play Lucy Robinson in soap opera Neighbours....
). In the end Mark decides that it is Annalise he wants and proceeds to woo her with grand gestures. Mark and Annalise soon become a couple and their relationship is fraught with many arguments. Soon Mark receives a letter from his mother who is dying of cancer and he finds this hard to take as he has not seen her or his father in a number of years. Mark visits the commune and clashes with his father, but soon relents and makes his peace with Sally on her deathbed. Annalise also attends and things between her and Mark are strengthened.
Mark later proposes to Annalise and she accepts, but on the day of the wedding, he jilts her and decides he wants to become a priest. This decision hurts Annalise and soon Mark begins alienating his friends when he becomes serious about his new life path and becomes sanctimonious. Things comes to a head when Mark slips and falls while cleaning Lou Carpenter
Lou Carpenter
Louis "Lou" Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Tom Oliver. He made his first on-screen appearance on 30 March 1988. Lou appeared for a brief time, before leaving and later returning in January 1992 as a regular cast member. He is the longest...
's (Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver is an English television, film and theatre actor best known today for playing the role of Lou Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Career:...
)
gutters. Mark is left comatose for several weeks, but eventually regains consciousness, much to the relief of his sister, Serendipity
Serendipity Gottlieb
Serendipity "Ren" Gottlieb is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Raelee Hill. She made her first on-screen appearance on 25 August 1994. Serendipity is Stephen and Mark Gottlieb's only sister. She is a hippy who arrives in Erinsborough to see Mark...
(Raelee Hill
Raelee Hill
Raelee Hill is an Australian actress best known for her roles in some of her country's most successful television series...
) who has been by his bedside. After a brief memory loss, Mark begins having flashbacks to his pious behaviour prior to the fall and realises he had become an unlikeable person. Shortly after being released from hospital, Mark begins seeing Annalise's half-sister Joanna (Emma Harrison
Emma Harrison
Emma Harrison is an actress, model and dancer, best known for the role of Joanna Hartman in the Australian soap-opera Neighbours.-Early life:...
), but he ends things with her as he feels things are too weird as he was engaged to Annalise the previous year.
After realising being a chef is what he wants to do with his life, Mark is offered a job on hit television show Healthy, Wealthy and Wise based in Sydney. After encouragement from housemate Cody Willis
Cody Willis
Cody Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, originally played by Amelia Frid. She made her first on-screen appearance on 24 November 1989. The character departed in 1991, but returned in 1993 with Peta Brady in the role...
(Peta Brady
Peta Brady
Peta Brady is an Australian actress. She is best known for playing Cody Willis in the TV soap opera Neighbours. Since she left the show, Brady has appeared in the film Mullet, the TV sitcom Kath & Kim and the SBS series RAN ...
), Mark has one final breakfast at Number 30 and leaves for Sydney.
Reception
In 2009, website Hecklerspray created a list of the memorable Neighbours characters from 1994 to 1996. Mark was placed fifth in the list and they said "Joined the soap pretending to be a French chef to get a job at the coffee shop, Marcel Amadeu 'a votre service'. Mark had a religious conversion after nearly been killed by a kitchen knife accident, and in the end jilted strumpet Annalise to become a priest. He also changed the name of the café to The Holy Roll". During a feature on Neighbours actors turned pop stars the Daily RecordDaily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
did not remember the character, saying "Bruce played Mark Gottlieb – no, we didn't immediately remember him either".