Terence Donovan (actor)

Donovan was born on 28 October 1935,^[1] in London, England.^[2] He came to Australia with his parents when he was 14, joining his older brother George.^[3] Before his acting career took off, Donovan worked as a truck driver and a house painter.^[3]

Donovan's first professional acting job was in the 1960 Garnet H. Carroll production of West Side Story.^[2] After the production closed, Donovan stayed on with the Carroll organisation and appeared in musicals The Most Happy Fella and The Sound of Music.^[2] Donovan later joined Emerald Hill Theatre Company after meeting founder Wal Cherry.^[2] He had minor roles in episodes of the court-room drama series Consider Your Verdict, several ABC drama plays, and the children's series The Magic Boomerang.^{[citation needed]}

After becoming frustrated by the lack of acting opportunities in Australia, Donovan returned to London in 1963, where he secured work with Rediffusion and Granada and appeared in such shows as The Champions, Man in a Suitcase, Danger Man, The Hidden Truth, and The Prisoner.^[2][3] He had a season with the Oxford Playhouse,^[3] and went onto appear in No Hiding Place, and the feature films Oliver! and The Strange Affair.^[2] When his wife became pregnant, she returned to Melbourne as she wanted their child to be born there, and Donovan got a job as an entertainment officer on a ship in order to join her.^[2] After returning to Australia, Donovan appeared in a production of Oh, What a Lovely War!,^[3] before he was offered a role in Thomas Keneally's play Halloran's Little Boat at the St Martin's Theatre. He also starred in Period of Adjustment at the same theatre.^[2]

He went on to guest in Crawford Productions shows Homicide and Hunter in 1968, before he was cast in the role of Detective Mick Peters in Division 4.^[2] He starred in Division 4 from 1969 to 1975.^[4] In 1976, he appeared in the miniseries adaptation of the novel Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy.^[4] He played the title role of Harry "Breaker" Morant in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's Australian play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre on 2 February 1978.^[4] Donovan also appeared in the 1980 film Breaker Morant, but in the role of Captain Hunt, rather than as the title character.^[5]

Donovan played the lead in the 1978 crime drama film Money Movers, which received critical acclaim, but was a failure at the box office.^[4][6] From 1979 to 1981, he starred as Detective Senior Sergeant Vic Cameron in Cop Shop.^[4] Donovan chose to leave the role before his contract expired and without any work lined up. However, he was offered a role in the film The Man from Snowy River as Henry Craig shortly after.^[4] He also starred as lawyer Billy Flynn in the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Chicago.^[7]

After his 11 month run concluded, Donovan took some time out to rest, but filled in for Jimmy Hannan, who had broken his foot, on an episode of The Saturday Show. Donovan had to learn four songs from the musical The Music Man in 24 hours ahead of his appearance.^[8]

Donovan then took on the lead role of Lt. Al Wheeler in the stage musical The Stripper written by Richard Hartley and Richard O'Brien. The musical was staged in conjunction with the Sydney Theatre Company in August 1982.^[8] Between 1981 and 1984, he had minor roles in Australian television programmes. In 1985, he had roles in Prisoner and Sons and Daughters. From 1986 to 1990, he had more minor television roles including the 1989 pilot episode of E Street as Ken Swanson, which was followed by guest roles in A Country Practice,^[9] The Flying Doctors,^[9] and G. P..^[10]

In 1990, he had a six-week guest role in Home and Away as the second actor, after George Leppard, to play Al Simpson, the father of original character Bobby Simpson.^[9][11] He then starred in a production of Barnum in Perth, for which he learned how to juggle,^[11] before playing The King of Troy in rock musical Paris.^[9] He joined the main cast of Neighbours as Doug Willis in 1990.^[12] He and his on-screen family were written out of Neighbours in 1994.^[13] The following year, Donovan played Captain Hook in a UK touring production of Peter Pan, alongside Nicola Stapleton and Laurence Mark Wythe.^[13] Donovan reprised his role as Doug for Neighbours' 20th-anniversary special in July 2005.^[14]

In 2003, he appeared in the drama series MDA in the role of Eric Savage, father of Richard Savage (played by his son Jason Donovan).^[15] In 2007, Donovan performed in the Magnormos production of Mary Bryant as Boswell. Donovan reprised his Neighbours role in 2014.^[16]

He also appeared in the Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite documentary to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary, which aired in March 2015.^[17][18] He reprised the role of Doug Willis in episodes of the serial in 2016, culminating in the character's death. Donovan later expressed his unhappiness with Doug's exit, saying that it was not the way he wanted to leave.^[19] He made a cameo appearance in the show's then-finale episode in July 2022, alongside his son Jason and granddaughter Jemma Donovan.^[20]

Donovan was married to actress and presenter Sue McIntosh until 1972.^[21] They have a son, actor and musician Jason Donovan, whom Donovan raised as a single parent until he married his second wife Marlene Saunders in November 1981.^[21][22] Donovan and Saunders' first child together, a son, was born in October 1982.^[8] Donovan encouraged Jason to reject a role in Neighbours in order to finish his final year of school and get his HSC. Jason later joined the serial as Scott Robinson in 1986.^[21]