Paul Karo (June 1935 – 4 April 2025) was a Scottish-born, New Zealand and Australian actor and producer. He was notable for his role in Crawford Productions' first television soap opera The Box (as well as the feature film version of the same title) as the LGBTIQA character of television studio producer Lee Whiteman in 1974 and 1975, as well as a return to the role in 1976, at a time when gay characters were rare on television and usually portrayed unsympathetically. He and Number 96 star Joe Hasham became cult figures for the gay liberation movement.Giles, Nigel "NUMBER 96: AUSTRALIA'S MOST INFAMOUS ADDRESS" published by Melbourne Books He also became notable for his recurring role as Detective Inspector Rouse on series Prisoner in the 1980s.
Life and career Karo—not his birth name—was born in June 1935 in Edinburgh, Scotland. His family moved to New Zealand in 1946, where he took on the Māori language surname Karo. He grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. He was educated at Auckland Grammar School and the University of Auckland. He worked for two years as a cadet reporter at The New Zealand Herald.
Karo became interested in acting and joined the New Zealand Players theatre company for two years. He relocated to Sydney, Australia in 1957, where he resumed his career in theatre and appeared in Under the Clocks, a 'sophisticated intimate revue' in Melbourne in 1958.'Under the Clocks' (ad) Melbourne Age 6 September 1958 p. 64 He featured in another revue, Further Off the Beach, the following year; he was singled out by a critic from The Age for a segment called 'Television Anonymous' about television addicts seeking a cure.'Revue is Entertaining' Melbourne Age 9 April 1959 p. 5
He had many television and film roles starting from 1959, including Tragedy in a Temporary Town,'Drama Set in Caravan Park' Age 'Radio/TV Supplement' 14 May 1959 p. 3 Beauty and the Beast,'New Venture in TV "Live" Drama Field', Age 'Radio/TV Supplement' 25 June 1959 p. 1 Outpost,'From Comic Opera to Tense Jungle Drama',Age 'Radio/TV Supplement' 22 October 1959 p. 5 and Rope.
He appeared in Quiet Night in 1961. In 1967 he received an award for Best Actor of 1966 (the "Erik") from Melbourne theatre critics for his role in A Lily for Little India.'Actors Named', Melbourne Age 21 March 1967 p. 6
Karo is best known for his role as the gay television producer Lee Whiteman in the 1970s television soap opera The Box. On leaving the show after 18 months in the role he told TV Week's Sue Wallace that he felt he had been typecast: "Everyone thinks of me as playing the role of a queer. They haven't had the opportunity to see me do anything else." He was unemployed for a year, then rejoined The Box and won the Logie Award in 1976 and the Penguin Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Whiteman.
Other selected television credits include: Homicide, Division 4, Matlock Police, Prisoner, The Sullivans, Special Squad, Phoenix, Blue Heelers and SeaChange.
Karo retired in 1999, and died on 4 April 2025, at the age of 89.
Filmography
Film Title Year Role Type Tragedy in a Temporary Town 1959 Raphael Infante TV movie OutPost 1959 Flight Sgt. Steve McCudden TV movie Uncle Martino 1960 Silvio TV movie Quiet Night 1961 Russell Keane TV movie Boy Round the Corner 1962 Gerry Lacey TV movie A Piece of Ribbon 1963 TV movie And the Big Men Fly 1963 Wally Sloss TV movie Duet: The Face at the Club House Door and How Do You Spell Matrimony? 1965 TV movie Plain Jane 1966 TV movie Demonstrator 1971 Charles East Feature film The Box 1975 Lee Whiteman Feature film The Lion's Share 1978 TV movie Death of a Soldier 1986 Opposition MP Feature film A Cry in the Dark (aka Evil Angels) 1988 Lecturer Feature film Paperback Romance (aka Lucky Break) 1994 Defence Lawyer Feature film
Television Title Year Role Type Consider Your Verdict 1962 Hugh Barte TV series The Magic Boomerang 1965 2 roles: Johnson – Oswald III – Whitey the Postman TV series Homicide 1965-1974 11 character roles: Tony Merrick - Tony Edwards - Ernie Slade - Alan Maddern – Frank Duncan - Danny Taylor - Tiger Thompson - Maurice Sharp - Tony Hewitt - Carl Warren Lee – Club Customer - Philps - Jim Sinclair - Ernst Brenner TV series Adventures of the Seaspray 1966 Criminal TV series The Long Arm 1970 Gregory Watson TV series Division 4 1969–723 character roles: Bert Sweeney – Harry Sullivan – Jimmy Hansen TV series Matlock Police 1971–73 3 character roles: Brendon Parker Smith – David Shannessy – Kevin Harrison TV series The Box 1974–75, 1976 Lee Whiteman TV series, 441 episodes Case for the Defence 1978 Doctor Brian Mark TV series The Sullivans 1978 Reverent Roland TV series Skyways 1979 Brett Miles TV series Cop Shop 1980–81 3 character roles: Percy Bradford – Graham Jordon – Norman Lyons TV series Prisoner (aka Prisoner: Cell Block H) 1981–84 Detective Inspector Rouse TV series Special Squad 1984 Scaffer – Skinny TV series Carson's Law 1983–84 3 character roles: Allan – Giles D.Albert – Charles McMillan TV series Golden Pennies 1985 Marcel TV series A Thousand Skies 1985 English Director TV miniseries Anzacs 1985 Doctor TV miniseries My Brother Tom 1986 Chemist TV miniseries Sword of Honour 1986 Godfrey TV miniseries Nancy Wake 1987 Commissioner TV miniseries Phoenix 1993 Ted McKinnon TV series Janus 1995 Mr. Hoy TV series Blue Heelers 1994 Dr. Fielding TV series Good Guys, Bad Guys 1997 Joe Tyson TV series SeaChange 1998 Dr. Ashcombe TV series
Theatre Title Year Role Type A Lily for Little India 1966 Alvin HankerStage play
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