Alister Smart
Alister Smart | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1934-1935[1] (aged 88-89)[2] Australia |
| Other names | Alastair Smart |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active |
|
| Known for | Play School as host 1966–1990 (25 years)) |
| Notable work | Number 96 (film version) Sons and Daughters as director |
Alister Smart (born 1934/1935)[2][3] also credited as Alastair Smart, is an Australian retired TV presenter, singer, actor and television director, mainly of soap opera/serials and telemovies, with numerous credits from the late 1950s until retiring in 1994.
Smart started his career in theatre roles from 1957, but is best known for his long tenure as a presenter on TV children's series Play School and appeared with fellow members of Play School, including Don Spencer[2] on tie-in records released for ABC Music, as well as audio books.[2][4][5]
Actor and director
He has appeared in guest roles in soap opera and made for TV movies from the early 1960s onwards You Can't See 'round Corners, Homicide. Division 4, The Sullivans and Cop Shop.
Smart, although not a staple of the regular Number 96 television series, had a prominent role as journalist Duncan Hunter in the film version. The storyline sees him married to Sonia Vansard (Lynn Rainbow) who has returned to live at the building and questioning her new found sanity after having departed from the series with a mental illness.[6]
He's roles in theatre include Shakespeare's, Macbeth and King Henry V and a tour of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? [7]
His directing work, encompassing TV movies and TV series from the early 1970s until retiring in 1994, includes the series Scattergood: Friend of All, Sons and Daughters, Richmond Hill, Prisoner and Blue Heelers.[8][9][10]
TV presenter
see also: List of former Play School presenters
sourced: Australian National Museum (link: [11])
Smart, is other than his acting and directing roles, is probably best known to a generation of audiences as a former prsenter on the long-running children's TV program Play School, the Australian version was adapted from the original British version of the same title, and Smart was an original presenter appearing from the first episode in 1966 and remaining during a long tenure of 27 years until retiring in 1993. He hosted alongside original's including Diane Dorgan ((1966); also appeared from episode 1), Donald Mcdonald, Kerry Francis, Anne Haddy (1966-1969) and Lorraine Bayly (1966-1978). [5]
Other inaugural cast included Evan Dunstan, David Yorsten, Patsy King, Ann Stoh and Peter Drake. [11]
Personal life
Smart who grew up in Nowra, New South Wales, currently resides in East Gippsland, Victoria
Filmography
Actor
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Three Live Wires (TV series) | |
| 1961 | ITV Play of the Week (TV series) | Checker |
| 1961 | The Seven Faces of Jim (TV series) | 3 roles -Kenneth Kendall -Digger -Newspaper reporter |
| 1962 | Comedy Playhouse (TV series) | |
| 1962 | Drama 61-67 (TV series) | Dr. Jefferson |
| 1962 | Six More Faces of Jim (TV series) | |
| 1963 | Emergency-Ward 10 (TV series) | Mr. Riley |
| 1967 | You Can't See Round Corners (TV series) | |
| 1967 | Contrabandits (TV series) | 2 roles -Greer -Cox |
| 1968-1969 | Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (TV series) | 2 roles -Alf -Sergeant |
| 1969 | Riptide (TV series) | 3 roles -Adam Brockenhurst -Les Duggan -Ted |
| 1969 | It Takes All Kinds | Ray |
| 1970 | The Rovers (TV series) | Gary |
| 1970 | Delta (TV series) | Paul Falstone-Green |
| 1970 | Dynasty (TV series) | Ambassador |
| 1965-1971 | Homicide (TV series) | 7 roles -Doctor Perini (1965) -John Whelan (1965) -Geoff Woods (1965) -Alan Watson (1967) -George Allen (1969) -Lucio Leurini- -John Meadows |
| 1971 | Spyforce (TV series) | Carlos |
| 1972 | Barrier Reef (TV series) | Lynch |
| 1971-1973 | Matlock Police | 2 roles -Ricco (1971) -Barney White (1973) |
| 1973 | Ryan (TV series) | Colin Brown |
| 1974 | Number 96 (Film version) | Duncan Hunter |
| 1974 | Silence Number (TV series) | Dr. Fisher |
| 1969-1975 | Division 4 (TV series) | 7 roles -Dennis (1969) -Downey (1969) -Kenney Kent -Alf Clarke (1970) -Stan Hassett (1970) -Don Jenkins (1970) -Taylor (1975) |
| 1975 | Ben Hall (TV series) | Jack Taylor |
| 1975 | Wollongong the Brave (TV series) | |
| 1976 | The Sullivans (TV series) | Paul Hayward |
| 1976 | Number 96 (TV series) | Frank Hobson |
| 1976 | The Outsiders(TV series) | Li Norton |
| 1977 | Harness Fever (TV movie) | Sergeant Meeker |
| 1977 | Young Ramsay (TV series) | Ken Murray |
| 1977 | Roses Bloom Twice (TV movie) | |
| 1978 | Plunge Into Darkness (TV movie) | |
| 1977-1979 | Glenview High (TV series) | Kazim |
| 1979 | Disneyland | Sergeant Meeker |
| 1979 | Skyways (TV series) | Hal Bailey |
| 1978-1979 | Cop Shop (TV series) | 2 roles -Phillip Cooper -Sharkey |
| 1985 | Special Squad (TV series) | |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules (TV series) | Robson |
| | The Lady Came Late |
Presenter
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1966-1993 | Play School | Presenter[1] |
Director
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | The Spoiler (TV series) | Director 1 episode -"The Price" |
| 1972 | The Godfathers (TV series) | Director 5 episodes -"There's a Tortoise in My Bath" "The Lift" "Too Many Cakes" "The Prize" -Double Trouble |
| 1974 | One Man in the Company (TV series) | 1 episode "Two in One" |
| 1974 | Scattergood : Friends of All | |
| 1977 | Cop Shop (TV series) | |
| 1979 | Skyways (TV series) | |
| 1982 | A Country Practice | Director 14 episodes |
| 1983 | Waterloo Station (TV series) | |
| 1986 | Prisoner | 7 episodes |
| 1982-1987 | Sons and Daughters (TV series) | Director 88 episodes |
| 1989 | Richmond Hill (TV series) | |
| 1989-1990 | Rafferty's Rules | 4 episodes -Out of Line" -"One for Us" -"Free of Passion" -"In Custody" |
| 1991 | Neighbours | Director 1 episode - #1.1551 |
| 1992 | The Time Game (1992) | |
| 1993 | You and Me and Uncle Bob | |
| 1994 | Blue Heelers | 4 episodes "Waiting for Apples" -"Family Lies" -Good Cop, Bad Cop -"Crazy Like a Fox" |
References
- ^ a b "Playschool legend visits city". Barrier Daily Truth. Barrier Daily Truth. 23 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Australian Showbiz page 224".
- ^ GILES, NIGEL "Number 96: Australia's Most Notorious Address"
- ^ "Jottings". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 July 1987.
- ^ a b "Play School (1966-present)".
- ^ "NUMBER 96 movie's 40th birthday bash".
- ^ "Alister Smart". AusStage.
- ^ "Alister Smart". Screen Australia. Australian Government. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ "Alister Smart". BFI Film Forever. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ "Alister Smart". Osobnosti (in Czech). Tiscali Media. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Play School presenters".
External links
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|---|---|
| Artists | |
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