George Bernard Spartels (born 25 April 1954) is an Australian actor, presenter, director, playwright and children's musician. He remains best known for his role on the television soap opera Neighbours and as a presenter on Play School.
Early life Spartels was born in Carlton, Melbourne to a father of Greek descent and a mother of English and Irish descent.
He undertook his education in Melbourne and was a talented swimmer and football player, but without the height required to play professionally, he turned to acting. While studying at Teacher's College, he honed his acting skills, appearing in amateur theatre productions.
Career Television Spartels has guest starred in many Australian television series from the 1970s to the present. His earliest roles included five television police procedural series: Division 4, Homicide, Matlock Police, Bluey and Cop Shop. and Crawford Productions comedy series The Bluestone Boys. He also had notable roles in Bellbird and Prisoner and appeared in early 1980s soap opera Punishment.
In 1984, Spartels played the recurring role Nick Poulopoulos in television series Sweet and Sour, before appearing in the 1985 feature film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, the third installment in the Mad Max franchise, alongside Mel Gibson and Tina Turner, playing the role of Blackfinger.
That same year, Spartels began an ongoing role as a children's television presenter, with a long tenure on the ABC's Play School, over a period of 16 years between 1985 and 2001. He later performed in children's concerts, including George Meets the Orchestra with the Queensland Philharmonic in 2001 and live productions of Play School in 2009. He released several albums for children, as 'George from Playschool' which included songs such as "Surfing with the Seagulls" (1993) and "Return of the Spangled Drongo" (1999).
From 1992 to 1993, Spartels secured a role in long-running soap opera Neighbours, playing the regular character of family patriarch Benito Alessi. He also appeared in several episodes of medical drama series All Saints before playing Theo Karandonis, Carbo's father in drama series Packed to the Rafters from 2009 to 2012.
Theatre Spartels also performed in numerous theatre productions. He began his professional career in the Melbourne production of Godspell in 1972. From 1981 to 1983, he played Amos in a Sydney Theatre Company production of Chicago.
He appeared in Greek Tragedy at Sydney's Belvoir Theatre from 1989 to 1990, and in 1998 played the role of Mercutio in a Neil Armfield-directed Romeo and Juliet for the South Australian Theatre Company. Spartels performed in several Company B / Belvoir productions, including The Spook in 2004, under the direction of Armfield once more.
In 2014, Spartels toured Toronto, Los Angeles and Australia in an international stage production of The Last Confession opposite David Suchet, playing the roles of Cardinal Lorscheider and Eugênio Sales.
Depiction in art Spartels' photoportrait, by Ivan Gaal, is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery.
Personal life Spartels was married to first wife, Sue. He then married actress Elizabeth Alexander in 1984, with whom he shares two daughters. Both of his daughters featured in the music video for his single "Busy Baby Bubby". Spartels and Alexander divorced in 2006. Spartels married for a third time in April 2013 to wife Mary, and they resided together in Sydney. They were divorced in 2017, after which time he returned to Melbourne.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Type 1977 Out of It Tony Short film 1978 Blue Fin Con Feature film 1985 Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome Blackfinger Feature film 1988 Computer Ghosts Pi Wratich TV movie 1989 Action Replay TV movie 1992 Seeing Red Mark Feature film 1999 Kick Jack Grant Feature film 2023 The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Redridinghood Narrator Short film
Television Year Title Role Type 1971-75 Matlock Police Danny Porter, Willie Bennett, Walters, Frank Clark, Bob TV series, 5 episodes 1972-75 Division 4 Harry, Terry Hughes, Gino Napoli, Youth1 TV series, 4 episodes 1971-76 Homicide John Smith, Russell Knight, Simon Littlewood, Nick Pappas, Peter Fletcher, Anton Palades, Mechanic TV series, 7 episodes 1974 This Love Affair TV series, 1 episode 1976 Solo One Harry Thomas TV series, 1 episode Bellbird TV series 1976 The Bluestone Boys TV series 1976-77 Bluey Steve Berry, Wilson TV series, 2 episodes 1977 Bobby Dazzler George TV series, 3 episodes 1977 Hotel Story TV series 1978 Father, Dear Father in Australia George TV series, 1 episode 1978-89 Cop Shop Claudio Gustino, Chris Murray, Fergus TV series, 3 episodes 1979 Chopper Squad Man in hang glider TV series, 1 episode 1979-80 Prisoner Herbie TV series, 5 episodes 1981 Punishment David 'Robbo' Roberts TV series 1984 Sweet and Sour Nick Poulopolous TV series, 18 episodes 1985-99 Play School Presenter TV series 1986 The Great Bookie Robbery Jaffa Davis TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1990 Rafferty's Rules Stefan Bosnjack TV series, 1 episode 1991 All Together Now Georgie Leonard TV series, 1 episode 1992-93 Neighbours Benito Alessi TV series, 47 episodes 1997 Fallen Angels Dan Playhard TV series, 1 episode 2002-06 All Saints The Professor, Craig Watts, Peter Talbot TV series, 3 episodes 2009 City Homicide Frank Scarsdale TV series, 1 episode 2009-12 Packed to the Rafters Theo Karandonis, Carbo's father TV series, 4 episodes
Theatre Year Title Role Type Ref. 1971 Godspell Alternative Playbox Theatre, Melbourne 1973 The Two Gentlemen of Verona Speed J. C. Williamson's Salad Days 1974 Love for Love Old Tote Theatre Company, Sydney Macbeth Lear The Indian Wants the Bronx Equus Boy State Theatre of South Australia 1978 Dracula R.M. Renfield Festival Centre Trust, Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney 1979 P.S. Your Cat Is Dead Vito (Lead) Festival Centre Trust 1980 The Sunny South Sydney Opera House with STC I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road Joe, Manager (Lead) 1981 Hamlet Laertes Sydney Theatre Company by invitation to Hong Kong Festival 1981–1983 Chicago Amos Hart Sydney Opera House, Theatre Royal, Sydney, Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Festival Theatre, Adelaide, Hong Kong Arts Festival with STC 1983 Variations: Chamber Music for Nine Players and Six Instruments Steve Nimrod Theatre Company, Sydney Signal Driver First Being Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC / QTC Vocations Ross State Theatre of South Australia 1985 Zastrozzi Bernado Seymour Centre, Sydney with Nimrod Theatre Company 1986 The Levine Comedy Asher Levine Russell St Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 1988 Capricornia Peter Differ / Charles Kit Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney & tour 1989–1990 Greek Tragedy Larry Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B & Pioneer Theatres, London 1992 Stool Pigeon One man show Sydney Festival 1998 Romeo and Juliet Mercutio South Australian Theatre Company Twelfth Night Sir Toby Belch Q Theatre 2004 The Spook George / Footballer Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B 2006 Losing Louis Tony Ensemble Theatre, Sydney 2008 Scorched Various Belvoir St Theatre, Sydney with Company B 2014 The Last Confession Cardinal Lorscheider / Eugênio Sales Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, Toronto & Australia tour with Tinderbox 2022 Bad Machine Theo Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
Awards and nominations Year Nominated work Award Category Result 1993ARIA Music Awards George from Play School Best Children's Album 1998 Let's Go Out 2001 George Meets The Orchestra
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