Ron Challinor, beloved star of the Australian stage and screen, has died aged 80.
During his long career, Ron had appeared in some of Australia’s best-loved television series including Division Four, Cop Shop and A Country Practice.
Ron’s friend and fellow actor Sally-Anne Upton shared the news that he had died after a short illness on Friday
Sally-Anne, who is best known for playing Lucy Gambaro in Wentworth, took to social media to remember Ron as an ‘incredible man.’
‘With permission from his friend Peter Quinn, I share the very sad news of the sudden passing of our dear Ron Challinor,’ Sally-Anne wrote.
‘After a brief period of ill health, Ron passed away peacefully yesterday.’
Ron Challinor, beloved star of the Australian stage and screen, has died aged 80. Pictured
Continuing her heartfelt tribute, Sally-Anne remembered first meeting Ron, after being introduced by the late Australian character actress Anne Phelan.
‘I had the pleasure of meeting Ron and his late partner, David, in Romsey through our mutual friend Anne Phelan.,’ she wrote.
‘Anne, who was a great mate and colleague, humorously named her outside ramps the “Ron Challinor Memorial Ramps.”‘
Aside from enjoying a long and storied stage and screen career, Ron was also a gifted choreographer, something that was not forgotten in Sally-Anne’s post.
‘Ron was a talented actor, writer, and choreographer, and I’ve heard he was still line dancing as recently as Christmas,’ she wrote.
Continuing, Sally-Anne encouraged friends and colleagues to share their recollections of the actor.
‘Let us celebrate Ron’s life by sharing stories of this incredible man,’ Sally-Anne said.
‘Take comfort in knowing that heaven’s green room is now buzzing with laughter, Jamison’s is surely flowing, and the amazing tales are being told.
‘Rest in peace, dear hilarious, loyal, humble Ron.’
Ron’s friend and fellow actor Sally-Anne Upton, who played Lucy Gambaro in Wentworth, shared on social media on Friday that he had died
During his long career, Ron had appeared in some of Australia’s best-loved television series including Division Four, Cop Shop and A Country Practice
Sally-Anne’s sweet post was met with a flurry of condolences and memories of the late actor.
Fellow stage and screen veteran Collette Mann offered her own tribute, praising Ron’s sense of comic timing.
‘He taught me so much about comedy and was such a great support to me in my early career xxx sad to hear,’ the Prisoner star wrote.
Another friend added: ‘Vale Darling Ron, we had so much fun together. I have wonderful memories of those fabulous times. Sweet dreams old mate.’
Ron began his stage career in the late 1960s and had starred in a raft of productions staged by the likes of NIDA, Melbourne Theatre Co, National Theatre, and Playbox Theatre.
Ron began his small screen career wit a one-episode stint in the iconic Aussie crime drama Division Four.
He then appeared in another iconic Australian police series in Cop Shop, as well as in such classic dramas as A Country Practice, Homicide and the 1983 Kennedy-Miller Gough Whitlam mini-series The Dismissal.
Ron is perhaps best known for his role in ’80s teen drama The Henderson Kids in which he played Rutt Jones, the right-hand man of series’ ‘bad guy’ Ashley Wheeler.
The multi-talent also wrote for the 1993 sit-com Newlyweds and the 1984 Heaven and Hell comedy Second Time Lucky, which starred Sir Robert Helpmann as the Devil.