Brian Crossley
Brian Crossley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brian Stow Crossley 5 October 1926 Shipley, West Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 8 September 2012 (aged 85) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality | English-Australian |
| Education | Birmingham School of Speech and Drama |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1945-? |
| Known for | Director of the National Theatre, Adventure Island, The Box as producer/director |
| Notable work | Gilbert and Sullivan |
Brian Stow Crossley (5 October 1926 – 8 September 2012) was an English-born actor, director and drama tutor, who after starting his career in his native country, emigrated to Australia. He appeared in and directed numerous roles in theatre and on television over a career spanning more than 50 years, including directing straight theatre, musicals, opera and operetta.
Biography[edit]
He was born in Shipley in West Yorkshire, England to engineering draughtsman Harry Crossley and Minnie Stow. He attended Birmingham College of Speech and Drama and performed as part of Birmingham Repertory Theatre, he appeared in a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience and in 1950 was invited to join the chorus for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, playing a variety of small roles. In 1952 he played in Gay's the Word on the West End, he emigrated to Australia in 1954, where he moved to Melbourne to join the Union Theatre Repertory Company. He toured Australia and New Zealand in 1956 with the J.C. Williamson Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, but with the arrival of television he turned his attention to the screen.[1]
He appeared in a variety of television programs, including Homicide, Division 4 and Consider Your Verdict, as well as directing for serial The Box. His most successful role was on children's series Adventure Island, where he played Mrs Flower Potts from 1967 to 1972.
During this period he also directed for the stage; his first directing project was Christoph Willibald Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice for the Victorian State Opera; he subsequently directed Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, Domenico Cimarosa's The Secret Marriage and Franz Joseph Haydn's L'infedeltà delusa and collaborated extensively with Dennis Olsen. He directed a wide variety of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and in 1973 was appointed a director of the National Theatre's Opera School. He moved to the Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education in Queensland around 1982.[1]
Crossley died in Melbourne on 8 September 2012, aged 85.[1]
Television[edit]
Actor[edit]
| Production | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Sounds Like Us (TV series) | 1969 | Mrs. Flower Potts |
| Homicide | 1970 | Richards |
| Division 4 (TV series) | 1969–1970 | Trixie – Interior Decorator |
| Adventure Island | 1966–1972 | Mrs. Flower Potts |
Director[edit]
| Production | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The Box | 1974–1976 | Director – 24 episodes |
| The Ioslanthe (TV movie) | 1980 | Director |
Producer[edit]
| Production | Year | Role |
|---|---|---|
| The Box (TV series) | 1974 | Producer – 10 episodes |
Theatre (selected)[edit]
| Production | Role | |
|---|---|---|
| Patience | as himself Gilbert and Sullivan Operetta | |
| Gays the Word | 1952 (role unknown) | |
| Orfeo ed Euridice | Director | |
| The Rape of Lucretia | Director | |
| The Secret Marriage | Director | |
| L, infidelta Delusa | Director | |
| The Pirates of Penzance | Director | |
| My Fair Lady | Director | |
| The Mikado | Director |
References[edit]
- ^ a b c Sinclair, Marion (20 October 2012). "Brian Crossley, 1926–2012". The Age.