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John Fegan (actor)

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John Fegan
Born
John Joseph Fegan

19 July 1908
Belfast, Northern Ireland
Died9 April 1981 (aged 72)
Australia
Other namesJack Fegan
OccupationActor
Years active1930–1975

John Joseph Fegan (19 July 1908 – 9 April 1981) was a Northern Irish-Australian film and television actor. Also known as Jack Fegan, he appeared in many Australian films and television shows in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including the long-running series Homicide as Inspector Jack Connelly, and a featured role in the international breakthrough film Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Early life

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Fegan was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in the Falls Road area. He migrated to Australia in 1929, working as a labourer in Sydney and as a harbourside worker on The Hungry Mile during the Great Depression. He became involved in the worker's theatre movement, in particular with the New Theatre League from the 1930s onwards, receiving generally positive reviews for his performances.[1]

Fegan continued working on the docks throughout his working life, never committing fully to his acting career.

He joined the Australian Army during World War II and served in New Guinea.

Career

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Homicide

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Homicide was the first major television drama series to be produced in Australia, the domestic television market having been previously dominated by American and British imports. Homicide proved that there was a market for home-grown programming and was highly successful. For this reason, as well as for inspiring a series of popular police dramas that followed, it remains one of the most important programmes in the history of Australian television.

Fegan starred as Inspector Jack Connolly, head of the squad – a seasoned policeman in the classic dry, gruff mould that remains popular in similar shows today. The name Connolly was selected to reflect the Irish influence in Australian police forces and no doubt it helped to account for Fegan's still strong Belfast accent. The show was so popular and considered so accurate (police procedure was followed faithfully and police advisors ensured that things were done correctly) that the actors were often confused for real police officers and, at one point, Fegan was invited to a policeman's ball.

Fegan retired from Homicide in 1969.

In 2007, Homicide was chosen for a 50-cent stamp to celebrate 50 years of television in Australia. Fegan, as Inspector Connolly, is standing in the centre of the stamp, flanked by fellow original cast members Lex Mitchell and Terry McDermott.

Division 4

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After leaving Homicide, John Fegan guest starred in a number of other television series. In particular, he appeared as the recently released from prison John Kelso in episode 100 of Division 4, another Australian police drama. The episode was critically lauded and Fegan received a Logie Award for 'Best Individual Acting Performance' for his efforts.

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1946 The Overlanders Police Sergeant Feature film
1949 Eureka Stockade Hayes Feature film
1949 Sons of Matthew Jack Warrington Feature film
1952 Kangaroo Burke (uncredited) Feature film
1955 Captain Thunderbolt Dalton Feature film
1956 Smiley Nobby Feature film
1958 Smiley Gets a Gun Tom Graham Feature film
1960 The Sundowners Drover (uncredited) Feature film
1974 Moving On Unemployed Grower Feature film
1975 Picnic at Hanging Rock Doc. McKenzie Feature film
1975 Ride a Wild Pony Feature film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1964/65 The Stranger Police Officer TV series
1964-69 Homicide Inspector Jack Connolly TV series
1970 The Link Men TV series, 1 episode
Division 4 John Kelso TV series, episode 100
Chopper Squad Guest actor TV series

Incidents of note

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Fegan appeared uncredited as a drover in the 1960 film The Sundowners. Robert Mitchum, who starred in the film, is quoted as having said of that production "We didn't have stuntmen, so they got an Irish expatriate off the docks, and he beat the tar out of me" (referring to filming brawl scene).[2] Fegan was the Irish expatriate in question.

In 1970 Fegan guest starred in an episode of The Link Men, yet another Australian police drama. It would have been a footnote in a short-lived series, but for an incident on set.[3] Two young actors were performing or rehearsing a fight scene when Frank Packer, the owner of the Nine Network, came in. Packer, who had been a boxer in his younger days but who at the time was in his mid-sixties, declared that they were doing it wrong and demonstrated the correct technique by putting the actor playing the police officer in a headlock. Fegan, also in his sixties, had been watching from behind the camera and suggested that, since the young actor was the one who was supposed to be performing the headlock then perhaps Packer should demonstrate on him (Fegan) so the young actor could watch. Packer got Fegan in the same headlock but Fegan, who had also been a boxer in his younger days, got the better of him and Packer ended up on the ground. According to an article about the event in the Sydney Morning Herald[citation needed], Packer's hearing aid came flying out and Fegan lashed out and crushed it with his foot. Packer insisted that Fegan be fired on the spot. Upon being advised that Fegan was performing a single episode guest role only, Packer's response was reportedly "Well, sack him when he's finished".

Political activism

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Radicalised both by his formative years as a Belfast Catholic (having been involved with the Fianna before leaving Northern Ireland) and the Great Depression, Fegan was active in a variety of left wing movements associated with the Australian labour movement in Sydney throughout in particular his early life, including the Communist Party of Australia (CPA), the Sydney variants of the Unemployed Workers Movement/Workers Defence Committee (UWM/WDC) and a small group called the "Irish Terrorists Association" (one of the ten members of which it later turned out was an undercover policeman).[4]

References

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  1. ^ See, eg, Gould, Harry (27 April 1937). "Dead Men Who Wouldn't Lie Down". The Workers' Weekly. Sydney, Australia., Mel, J (11 March 1953). "Workers Make Theatre History in Australia". Tribune. Sydney, Australia.Powell, Geoffrey (4 September 1945). "They Came to a City". Tribune. Sydney, Australia.
  2. ^ Freese, Gene (22 November 2019). The Western Films of Robert Mitchum: Hollywood's Cowboy Rebel. McFarland. p. 115. ISBN 9781476637464., citing the "Evansville Courier and Press".
  3. ^ The Link Men at Classic Australian Television
  4. ^ Fegan, Brian. "JACK FEGAN, EDNA STACK AND THE SYDNEY LEFT IN THE 1930S: A MEMOIR". AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF LABOUR HISTORY. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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