John Meillon

Meillon was born in Mosman, a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. His younger brother was director Bob Meillon (1943–2012).^[3]

Acting

Meillon began his acting career at the age of eleven in the ABC's radio serial Stumpy, and made his first stage appearance the following year. He joined the John Alden Shakespeare Touring Company when he was sixteen.

He appeared in a number of early Australian TV plays.^[4]

Like many actors of his generation from 1959 to 1965, he worked in England,^[5] but while working in Britain he consciously steered away from Australian roles.^[6] Meillon claimed that he learned discipline while working in theatre, and that television was not a good medium for training.^[7]

Meillon had a recurring role in the television series My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?. In 1968 he featured in the spin off, Rita and Wally. He featured in two episodes of Skippy in 1968 and 1969, appearing as 'Nimble Norris'. In 1976, he won the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his role of 'Casey' in the film The Fourth Wish (1976).

Voiceover

With his rich baritone, Meillon was used extensively in voice-over work— most famously in his work as the Victoria Bitter narrator who says "you can get it any old how".^[8]

Meillon was appointed an OBE in the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, for service to theatre.^[9]

Music

In 1977, Meillon released the single "Tap Tap"/"Picture Show Man", which peaked at number 80 on the Australian singles chart.^[10]

Meillon married Australian actress June Salter in 1958 and they had one son, John Meillon, Jr. Meillon and Salter were divorced in 1971. Meillon married actress Bunny Gibson on 5 April 1972; they also had a son.^[11]

In June 1980, Meillon's favourite pub, The Oaks at Neutral Bay, opened The John Meillon OBE Bar in his honour.^[12] He continued to frequent the bar over the following decade, including visiting in the week before his death.

Meillon died from cirrhosis at Neutral Bay, Sydney, on 11 August 1989.^[13][14][15] Meillon was posthumously awarded the Raymond Longford Lifetime Achievement Award.^[16]

Film

Television

Singles

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Meillon.

• John Meillon at IMDb.
• John Meillon profile, AusStage.edu.au; accessed 27 December 2015.
• John Meillon profile, National Film and Sound Archive; accessed 27 December 2015.