John Stanton (born 28 October 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in many stage, television and film productions throughout his extensive sixty-year career.
Early life Stanton was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He attended Banyo State High School for his secondary education where he was a runner and swimmer. He is the brother of ecologist Peter Stanton. Despite his obvious sporting talents, Stanton was more interested in pursuing acting as a career although he also had a desire to become a veterinarian.
Stanton worked various jobs including as a school teacher and as a prawner on Moreton Bay. At the age of 24, he unsuccessfully auditioned for the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Stage Stanton moved to Melbourne to further his career.
He played the major supporting role of Peter Handcock (to Terence Donovan's leading role of Breaker Morant) in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne on 2 February 1978. He also played many other roles on stage including the lead in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
In 1979, Stanton appeared in the Melbourne Theatre Company production of the Harold Pinter play Betrayal which was the first time the production had been staged outside the United Kingdom.
In 2013, Stanton appeared as Willy Loman in the Black Swan Theatre Company production of Death of a Salesman.
Television Stanton's early television work included a stint in the soap opera Bellbird in 1972, and various guest-starring roles in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police. He also acted in the miniseries Against the Wind.
Despite having made six earlier appearances as different characters in Homicide, Stanton was cast as a regular character, lead detective Pat Kelly, in 1973–1974. In his final episode, Pat Kelly engaged in a romance with a woman played by his real-life wife Jill Forster, with whom he previously appeared in an episode of Matlock Police.
After leaving Homicide, Stanton continued to make guest appearances in TV dramas, and was later signed to replace the departing Gerard Kennedy in Division 4 – however, the series was summarily cancelled upon Kennedy's leaving, and Stanton's character of Sen. Det. Tom Morgan appeared in the final episode only.
He then played the regular lead role of Nick Manning in the later years of soap opera The Box. Jill Forster at that time also played the regular role of prim secretary Enid Parker in The Box, and in the storyline Enid eventually had a one-night stand with Stanton's character. When Stanton and Forster became expectant parents in real life and Forster left The Box to have the baby, likewise Enid fell pregnant and left to have the baby, and in the story Nick was the father. When Forster returned for the show's final episode in 1977 Enid's baby was played by Stanton and Forster's real-life child.
In 1981 he played the title character of Detective Sergeant Steve Bellamy in the police series Bellamy.
He was acclaimed in his role as Malcolm Fraser in television mini-series The Dismissal, for which he was awarded a Logie Award for Best Actor in a single drama or mini-series. When Stanton was cast in The Dismissal, the producers wanted him to wear a wig and prosthetics which Stanton refused. In a 2013 interview, Stanton said: "I said 'there's no way I'm going to do that. Either I will create my own reality or I'm not going to be there at all' so I was one of the few that went without make-up." During the interview, Stanton also revealed what Fraser had said about the mini-series, recalling that he had said: "Well they got someone decent to play me - they should have got someone decent to play Whitlam", referring to the performance of Max Phipps.
During the early 1990s Stanton portrayed the character of Oliver Blackwood in the TV series The Man from Snowy River, and appeared in a recurring role as Bryce Redstaff in McLeod's Daughters from 2003 to 2007.
Stanton appeared in eight episodes of The Doctor Blake Mysteries as retired, then acting, Superintendent Douglas Ashby, from Season 1 to Season 3.
In 1997, he appeared in an episode of Blue Heelers playing the character of Dougall Frazer.Blue Heelers, "Like Father, Like Son" (episode 204), Series 6, 1997.
Stanton was an announcer for Australia Day Live Concert in Sydney from 2018 to 2022.
Films In addition to his stage and television work, Stanton has appeared in numerous movies with numerous film credits to his name.
In 1981, he appeared with Henri Szeps and Simone Buchanan in Run Rebecca, Run. He starred as the bagman in the 1982 comedy film Kitty and the Bagman.
In 1983, Stanton appeared in the movie Dusty with Bill Kerr. Stanton starred in the Daryl Duke-directed 1986 adventure drama film Tai-Pan and in the 1987 Australian film Great Expectations: The Untold Story.
Stanton also appeared in Rent-a-Cop, which starred Burt Reynolds and Liza Minnelli; the film received mostly negative reviews.
Voiceover roles Stanton is known for his distinctive deep and rich voice, which has led to voiceover work.
This included being the English language announcer for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Opening Ceremony. He was also the voice on one or more television ads for the Opening Ceremony Official Album. He has also been the voice-over announcer for numerous television and radio ads, including Forty Winks bedding. He is also doing voice overs for Designer Direct.John Stanton He voiced of The Brolga in the animated TV series The Silver Brumby.
He is the narrator for the 8-part TV series Australians at War, which commenced Anzac Day, 25 April 2001.Australians at War Accessed 6 February 2010 He was also the narrator of the Australian commercial Grim Reaper. He has also narrated Hitler: The Final Chapter released in 1992 by Cyril Jones & Associates and released in the U.S. in 1995. He currently is an announcer for Seven News since 2020.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Type 1966 The Sensualist Feature film 1970 3 to Go: Toula Man in Milkbar (uncredited) Short film 1972 I'm Damned if I Know TV movie 1975 The Great Macarthy Player Feature film 1978 The Geeks Vinnie TV movie 1981 Run Rebecca, Run Bob Porter Feature film 1982 Kitty and the Bagman The Bagman Feature film 1983 Dusty Railey Jordan Feature film 1983 Phar Lap Eric Connolly Feature film 1985 The Naked Country Lance Dillon Feature film 1986 Malcolm Armed Guard (uncredited) Feature film 1986 Tai-Pan Tyler Brock Feature film 1986 Darwin 1942: Australia's Greatest Shame Narrator TV movie 1987 Great Expectations: The Untold Story Abel Magwitch Feature film 1987 Rent-a-Cop Alexander / Mr Big Feature film 1988 Day of the Panther William Anderson Feature film 1988 Strike of the Panther William Anderson Feature film 1995 Vacant Possession Frank Feature film 1997 Reprisal McTaggart TV movie 1995 The Feds: Vengeance John Dyer TV movie 2001 Nn-1 Thug 1 TV movie 2003 Darkness Falls Captain Henry Feature film 2003 Virus Dr Norton Abraxas Short film 2010 Beneath Hill 60 General Lambert Feature film 2010 The Julian Paradox Julius Caesar Film 2018 The BBQ Herbert Feature film 2020 Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears Crippins TV movie
Television Year Title Role Type 1971-74 Homicide Senior Detective Pat Kelly / Jimmy Taylor / Ken Anderson / Jack Robertson / Kev Lister / Al Simmonds / NSW Constable TV series, 55 episodes 1971-75 Division 4 Senior Detective Tom Morgan / Ray Connell / Bert Hall / Hank Van Gielens / Alex Jones / Kevin 'Knuckles' O'Brien / White / Ben TV series, 8 episodes 1971-75 Matlock Police Billy Delaney / Ben Cooper / Carl Reid / Jack O'Brien / Ernie Pratt / Lennie Daley / Chris Goddard / Dave Bayliss / Jimmy Smith TV series, 9 episodes 1972 Bellbird Leo Hill TV series, 174 episodes 1973 Ryan Johnson TV series, 1 episode 1974 Certain Women Father Michael TV series, 3 episodes 1974 Rush Jack Benson TV series, 1 episode 1974-76 Silent Number Singer / Mason TV series, 2 episodes 1975 Armchair Cinema Helier TV series, 1 episode 1975-77 The Box Nick Manning TV series, 282 episodes 1978 Catspaw Corrigan TV series, 2 episodes 1978 Against the Wind Surgeon TV miniseries, 1 episode 1980 Celebrity Tattle Tales Self TV series, 1 episode 1980-81 Cop Shop John Lewis / Les Dorsey TV series, 3 episodes 1981 Bellamy Detective Sergeant Steve Bellamy TV series, 26 episodes 1983 The Dismissal Malcolm Fraser TV miniseries, 3 episodes 1988 Dusty TV series, 1 episode 1989 Mission Impossible Lord Holman TV series, season 1, 1 episode 1989 Naked Under Capricorn Edrington TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1992 Hitler: The Final Chapter Narrator TV series 1994 Time Trax Dr Julius Rathenberg TV series, 1 episode 1995 Halifax f.p. Malcolm Priest TV series, 1 episode 1994-95 The Man from Snowy River Oliver Blackwood TV series, 16 episodes 1996-98 The Silver Brumby Brolga (voice) Animated TV series, 39 episodes 1997 Good Guys, Bad Guys Rowntree TV series, 1 episode 1998 Blue Heelers Dougal Frazer TV series, 2 episodes 2000 Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony Announcer TV special 2001 Australians at War Narrator TV miniseries, 8 episodes 2002 MDA Dr Jock McGeoghan TV series, 1 episode 2003 Welcher & Welcher Colonel TV miniseries, 1 episode 2003 Pirate Islands The Ghost of Captain Quade TV series, 26 episodes 2003-07 McLeod's Daughters Bryce Redstaff TV series, 8 episodes 2004 Stingers Ethan Stein TV series, 2 episodes 2004 Through My Eyes Roff TV miniseries, 2 episodes 2007 Dogstar Singo TV series, 1 episode 2013-15 The Doctor Blake Mysteries Superintendent Douglas Ashby TV series, seasons 1-3, 8 episodes 2015 Childhood's End WainrIght Senior TV miniseries, 1 episode 2018-22 Australia Day Live Concert in Sydney Announcer TV specials 2019 The Commons Arnold TV miniseries, 1 episode 2019-20 Bloom Max McKinnon TV series, 6 episodes 2020 Seven News Announcer TV news program 2021 Jack Irish Bill the Boatman TV series, 1 episode 2023 The Clearing Chancellor Hearn TV miniseries, 1 episode 2023 Bay of Fires Douglas TV series, 2 episodes
TVC Year Title Role Forty Winks Voiceover Designer Direct Voiceover 1987 Grim Reaper AIDS Education campaign by the National Advisory Committee on AIDS (NACAIDS) Narrator
Stage Year Title Role Company/Location 1978 Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts Breaker Morant Melbourne Theatre Company at Athenaeum Theatre Macbeth Macbeth 1979 Betrayal Melbourne Theatre Company 2013 Death of a Salesman Willy Loman Black Swan Theatre Company
References