Tom Long (actor)

Long was born on 3 August 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts, as his Australian parents were visiting there at the time.^[3] On their return to Australia he grew up on a farm near Benalla, Victoria. He worked as a jackaroo and shearer after attending Geelong Grammar School, before going abroad, travelling to India, the United Kingdom, Los Angeles, and South Carolina.^[4]

After returning to Australia, Long successfully auditioned for a place at the National Institute of Dramatic Art,^[5] graduating in 1994.^[4]

Long appeared in several Australian television series, most notably the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) hit SeaChange (1998–2000) and the Nine Network police drama Young Lions (2002). He appeared in the Australian films Two Hands (1999) and The Dish (2000). Long played Brenden Abbott in the 2003 telemovie The Postcard Bandit and appeared in the film The Book of Revelation.^[6]

He also appeared in The Last of the Ryans,^[7] Doing Time for Patsy Cline,^[8] Do or Die,^[9] Risk,^[10] Heroes' Mountain: The Thredbo Story,^[11] Black Jack: Ghosts,^[12] Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback,^[13] and East of Everything,^[14] and Woodley.^[15]

Long stopped acting after he collapsed on stage during a performance of the play Coranderrk: We Will Show the Country at the Sydney Opera House in July 2012.^[16]

Long was in a long-term relationship with actress Rachael Maza, breaking up in 1998 just before the birth of their son, Ariel. The couple reunited in 2005, after Maza and Ariel survived a deadly car accident, albeit with serious injuries.^[17]

Long married Rebecca Fleming in February 2019.^[16]

Long was diagnosed in 2012 with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and received a stem cell transplant to treat the disease. In December 2018, Long was given an updated prognosis of 3–12 months to live.^[16] In March 2019, Long travelled to Seattle, Washington, to undergo a medical trial, after which he was pronounced "cancer free".^[18][19]

On 4 January 2020, Long died of encephalitis at age 51.^[2]