Lou Vernon (born Clarence Alphonse Lambert, 26 June 1888, Brisbane – 22 December 1971, Sydney) was an Australian actor of stage, radio and screen and producer. He started his career in musical comedy, and was particularly noted for his versatility and ability as a character actor. [1][2]
Lou Vernon | |
|---|---|
 Photograph by Lafayette, circa 1940 | |
| Born | 26 June 1888 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 22 December 1971 (aged 83) |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, producer |
| Spouses | Olive Stella Josephine Lockyer Sinclair
(m. 1917; div. 1937)Asthore Sarah Katherine Taunton
(m. 1937; died 1965) |
| Children | Ross Vernon |
Roy Rene in his memoir mentioned Lou worked with him in the comedy farce, "Give and Take". It was described in The Bulletin, "There has not been so much laughter in any one spot in Melbourne for months and months".[3]
Marriage and children
editBy 1917 we find Vernon in Sydney making substantial inroads into Sydney's theatre scene. He also found love in a stunningly good looking divorcee Olive Stella Josephine Lockyer Norris, nee Sinclair. The two were married at Waverley in 1917. Olive had a child, not to her then husband, but to Lou Vernon. Olive was four years older than her husband. Their child, Ross Vernon would later show ambitions to follow his famous father into theatre. However that was not to be. As Flt. Lieutenant Ross Vernon, leading a second bombing sortie over Mawaraka, Bougainville, Ross crashed his RAAF bomber during World War II and was killed 11 January 1945.[4]
Divorce
editBy mid-1920's he was engaged by the J.C. Williamson Company and landed the plum role of Emile La Flamme in Rudolph Friml's romantic musical Rose-Marie. Also in the cast was Fifi Banvard, at the time separated from her husband and fellow member of Thespian Masonic Lodge in Brisbane, Edward de Tisne. The several times extended season of Rose Marie provided the venue for a long tempestuous love affair between Fifi and Lou Vernon. Rose Marie ran non-stop until 1928. A tolerant Mrs. Olive Vernon, meanwhile kept her own counsel only instigating divorce proceedings against Vernon a decade later in 1937
Divorce and Re-marriage
edit1937 was a busy year for Vernon. His marriage to Olive had somehow survived twenty turbulent years. However, by 1937 it ended in divorce. Vernon was now free to marry long-time friend Asthore Sarah Katherine Taunton (1907-1965). Asthore Sarah Taunton (Tory) was a dance teacher and choreographer whom Vernon met through theatre. They remained married until Tory's death in 1965.
Death
editVernon's last three years were spent in retirement in his Vaucluse home. Most of his contemporaries in acting and entertainment had either retired or passed on when Vernon 'got his call' dying just before Christmas, 1971. He was cremated at Northern Suburbs Crematorium, Sydney, on Christmas Eve, 1971.
Indeed, in his obituary headline in 1971 the Canberra Times writes "Dr. Mac" dead at 83, as a tribute to his role as Dr. Robert McIntyre in the long running radio program "Dr. Mac".
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | The Exile | District Attorney | |
| 1932 | His Royal Highness | Torano | |
| 1939 | Come Up Smiling | Signor Rudolpho | |
| 1939 | Gone to the Dogs | Doctor Sundermann | |
| 1941 | The Power and the Glory | Professor Marnelle | |
| 1941 | That Certain Something | Robert Gimble | |
| 1948 | The Betrayal | Ned Washington | |
| 1957 | The Shiralee | Goon | |
| 1959 | On the Beach | Bill Davidson | |
| 1959 | Captain James Cook | Aboriginal Legend | |
| 1969 | Tilley Landed On Our Shore | ||
| 1969 | You Can't See 'round Corners | Nugget |
References
edit- ^ "AUSTRALIAN TALKIES". The West Australian. Perth: National Library of Australia. 8 January 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ "Versatile Lou Vernon". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 11 April 1942. p. 24. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ "Sundry Shows". The Bulletin. 22 October 1925. p. 34 – via Trove.
- ^ "Lou Vernon - A man of many talents..." (PDF).
Sources
edit- Mo's Memoirs. (ghostwritten by Elizabeth Lambert and Max Harris) Melb: Reed and Harris, 1945.
- Photograph from the Performing Arts Collection
- "Dr. Mac" of radio dies at 83
External links
edit
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