Ron Shand
Encyclopedia
Ron Shand was Australian actor and comedian who worked extensively in theatre, vaudeville
and television.
Shand started his career in the circus with his parents as a clown, and later performed as a song and dance man in vaudeville, did tent shows and performed comedy. Was in the Tivoli theatre circuit for many years playing in revue and pantomime, before joining the J. C. Williamson
theatre company for several seasons in musical comedy. Roles with J C Williamson included Pyjama Game, Can Can, The Sentimental Bloke, and Sail Away produced by Noel Coward
.
Shand was then one of the original members of the John Alden Shakespearean Company that toured all the capital cities of Australia. Shand played in several straight dramatic roles with the company, appearing in such plays as The Man Who Came to Dinner, Arsenic and Old Lace, Love Thy Neighbour and Bell, Book and Candle. Through the 1960s Shand also acted in several Australian television drama series.
Shand subsequently found his widest audiences in the 1970s on television through his portrayal of hen-pecked Herbert Evans, husband to shrill gossip Dorrie (Pat McDonald), in the phenomenally successful sex-comedy soap opera Number 96
. Comedy characters Dorrie and Herb became two of the show's most popular figures and continued in the series its entire 1972–1977 run. After the series ended Shand acted in television dramas A Country Practice
and Prisoner
and appeared in the acclaimed miniseries Poor Man's Orange
. He also was part of the cast of a 1977 Benny Hill
TV special made in Australia, in place of Hill's usual short, bald stooge Jackie Wright
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
and television.
Shand started his career in the circus with his parents as a clown, and later performed as a song and dance man in vaudeville, did tent shows and performed comedy. Was in the Tivoli theatre circuit for many years playing in revue and pantomime, before joining the J. C. Williamson
J. C. Williamson
James Cassius Williamson was an American actor and later Australia's foremost theatrical manager, founding J. C. Williamson Ltd....
theatre company for several seasons in musical comedy. Roles with J C Williamson included Pyjama Game, Can Can, The Sentimental Bloke, and Sail Away produced by Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
.
Shand was then one of the original members of the John Alden Shakespearean Company that toured all the capital cities of Australia. Shand played in several straight dramatic roles with the company, appearing in such plays as The Man Who Came to Dinner, Arsenic and Old Lace, Love Thy Neighbour and Bell, Book and Candle. Through the 1960s Shand also acted in several Australian television drama series.
Shand subsequently found his widest audiences in the 1970s on television through his portrayal of hen-pecked Herbert Evans, husband to shrill gossip Dorrie (Pat McDonald), in the phenomenally successful sex-comedy soap opera Number 96
Number 96 (TV series)
Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
. Comedy characters Dorrie and Herb became two of the show's most popular figures and continued in the series its entire 1972–1977 run. After the series ended Shand acted in television dramas A Country Practice
A Country Practice
A Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,...
and Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
and appeared in the acclaimed miniseries Poor Man's Orange
Poor Man's Orange
Poor Man's Orange is a novel by New Zealand born Australian author Ruth Park. Published in 1949, the book is the sequel to The Harp in the South and continues the story of the Darcy family, living in the Surry Hills area of Sydney....
. He also was part of the cast of a 1977 Benny Hill
Benny Hill
Benny Hill was an English comedian and actor, notable for his long-running television programme The Benny Hill Show.-Early life:...
TV special made in Australia, in place of Hill's usual short, bald stooge Jackie Wright
Jackie Wright
John "Jackie" Wright was an Irish comedian, best known for being the bald-headed sidekick of Benny Hill on his television programme for one and a half decades...