Ashes cast into his favourite fishing hole in Lovett Bay, Pittwater
Occupation
Actor
Years active
1939–1971
Spouse
Ellen Jameson (1941–1964; her death)
John William Pilbean GoffageMBE (26 March 1909 – 27 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian",[1] Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until he died in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American productions, including The Overlanders and The Sundowners. He appeared in commercials in Britain during the late 1950s, encouraging British emigration to Australia.[2][3]
Early days
John William Pilbean Goffage was born at Billy Goat Hill, near Broken Hill, New South Wales to John Goffage, an English-born stock agent, and Australian-born Violet Maude Joyce.[4][3] Gaining the nickname "Chips" as a school boy,[4] Rafferty studied at Parramatta Commercial School. At age 16, Rafferty began an apprenticeship as an iron moulder at Clyde Engineering Works[3] before working in a variety of jobs, including opal miner, sheep shearer, drover, RAAF officer[5][6] and pearl diver.[1][7]
Film career
Rafferty was in his thirties when he made his debut at Cinesound Studios.[3] His first film role was as a fireman in Ken G. Hall's comedy Dad Rudd, M.P. (1940) - Hall later recalled he was looking for an actor who was tall and skinny as a visual contrast to others and Cinesound's casting director, Ron Whelan, introduced Hall to Rafferty. Hall enjoyed Rafferty's performance and when he shot some additional scenes for the comedy Ants in His Pants he used Rafferty again, although the part was much smaller. (This film was released prior to Dad Rudd MP which is why many list it first on Rafferty's filmography.)[8] At that time, he managed a wine cellar in Bond Street, Sydney.[9]
Forty Thousand Horsemen
Portrait of Chips Rafferty, on the set of Forty Thousand Horsemen, 1940
Rafferty leapt to international fame when cast as one of the three leads in Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940), a film directed by Charles Chauvel that focused on the Battle of Beersheba in 1917. Rafferty's part was originally given to Pat Hanna but Chauvel changed his mind after being introduced to Rafferty by Ron Whelen and seeing a screen test with Rafferty.[10][7] Chauvel described him as "a cross between Slim Summerville and James Stewart, and has a variety of droll yet natural humour."[11]
Forty Thousand Horsemen was enormously popular and was screened throughout the world, becoming one of the most-seen Australian films made to that point. Although the film's romantic leads were Grant Taylor (actor) and Betty Bryant, Rafferty's performance received much acclaim.[12]
During the war, Rafferty was allowed to make films on leave. He appeared in a short featurette, South West Pacific (1943), directed by Hall. He was reunited with Chauvel and Grant Taylor in The Rats of Tobruk (1944), an attempt to repeat the success of Forty Thousand Horsemen.[citation needed]
Rafferty was discharged on 13 February 1945, having reached the rank of Flying Officer.[14]
International fame
Ealing Studios were interested in making a feature film in Australia after the war, and assigned Harry Watt to find a subject. He came up with The Overlanders (1946), a story of a cattle drive during war time (based on a true story) and gave the lead role to Rafferty who Watt called an "Australian Gary Cooper."[15]
Rafferty's fee was £25 a week.[16] Ealing Studios were so pleased they signed Rafferty to a long-term contract even before the film was released. The film was a critical and commercial success and Rafferty was established as a film star.[citation needed]
Ealing Studios were associated with Rank Films, who cast Rafferty in the lead of Bush Christmas (1947), a children's movie where Rafferty played the villain. It was very popular.[citation needed]
Ealing Studios signed Rafferty to a long-term contract. He went to England to promote The Overlanders and Ealing put him in The Loves of Joanna Godden. While promoting the film in Hollywood he met Hedda Hopper who said Rafferty "created quite a stir. They call him the Australian Gary Cooper, but if he were cut down a bit he would be more like the late Will Rogers. I don't know how they'll get him on the screen unless they do it horizontally... He is as natural as an old shoe."[17]
Ealing and Watt wanted to make another film in Australia and decided on a spectacle, Eureka Stockade. Rafferty was cast in the lead as Peter Lalor, the head of the rebellion, despite pressures in some quarters to cast Peter Finch. The result was a box office disappointment and Rafferty's performance was much criticised.[18][19]
Rafferty was meant to follow this with a comedy for Ealing co-starring Tommy Trinder. Instead, Ealing put the two actors in a drama about aboriginal land rights Bitter Springs (1950). The film was not widely popular and Ealing wound up their filmmaking operation in Australia.[18][20]
Rafferty kept busy as an actor, appearing on radio in a show Chips: Story of an Outback. He was cast by 20th Century Fox in a melodrama they shot in Australia, Kangaroo (1952). The studio liked his performance enough that they flew him (and Charles Tingwell) over to Los Angeles to play Australian soldiers in The Desert Rats (1953), a war movie.[citation needed]
Producer
Film production in Australia had slowed to a trickle and Rafferty decided to move into movie production. He wanted to make The Green Opal, a story about immigration but could not get finance. However he then teamed up with a producer-director Lee Robinson and they decided to make movies together.[18][21]
Their first movie was The Phantom Stockman (1953), directed by Robinson and starring Rafferty, and produced by them both. The film was profitable. It was followed by King of the Coral Sea, which was even more popular, and introduce Rod Taylor to cinema audiences. Rafferty and Robinson attracted the interest of the French, collaborated with them on the New Guinea adventure tale, Walk Into Paradise (1956). This was their most popular movie to date.
Rafferty also appeared as an actor only in a British-financed comedy set in Australia, Smiley (1956). It was successful and led to a sequel, Smiley Gets a Gun (1958),in which Rafferty reprised his role. In England he appeared in The Flaming Sword (1958).
He also participated in cinema advertisements that were part of an Australian Government campaign in 1957 called "Bring out a Briton". The campaign was launched in a bid to increase the number of British migrants settling in Australia.[citation needed]
Rafferty and Robinson raised money for three more movies with Robinson. He elected not to appear in the fourth film he produced with Robinson, Dust in the Sun (1958), their first flop together. Nor was he in The Stowaway (1959) and The Restless and the Damned (1960). All three films lost money and Rafferty found himself in financial difficulty.
Rafferty was cast as one of the mutineers in the 1962 remake of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Marlon Brando. The filming of Bounty in Tahiti dragged longer than six months but it restored him to financial health after the failure of his production company; it enabled him to buy a block of flats which supported him for the rest of his life.[22] Rafferty dubbed the film The Bounteous Mutiny.
In 1962, the 6 foot 5 inch actor was socialising with fellow expatriates in a London club when they were joined by an Australian who acted as doorman, and unbeknownst to Rafferty, was a professional wrestler. Claiming he was being ignored after helping them get in the doorman was so argumentative that Rafferty was provoked into accepting a challenge to 'step outside'. In the severe beating that followed he sustained deep grazing across his face and suffered a myocardial infarction (he had not been aware of having a heart condition until the incident) costing him the chance at roles in two major film productions.[23][24]
In 1963 he recorded a long play record with Festival Records (FL-31015) entitled A man and his horse, narrating a selection of works from Australian verse composers including Banjo Paterson (1864–1941), Adam Lindsay Gordon (1833–1870) and Will H. Ogilvie (1869–1963).[25]
Rafferty appeared in some episodes of the series Adventure Unlimited shot in 1963.[26] He played the Australian Prime Minister in the Australian sci-fi TV series The Stranger (1964) then travelled to England and appeared in eight episodes of Emergency-Ward 10 (1964). While in England he was in The Winds of Green Monday (1965) on British TV.
He travelled to the US and guest starred in episodes of The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1965) (as a different character to the role that he played in the movie version). This led to further offers to work in Hollywood on television shows; he played a Union soldier in The Big Valley (1966) with a noticeably Australian accent. He was also in episodes of Gunsmoke (1966) and Daktari (1966). "What else can I do but look to America for my future when there is still no assistance or help from the government," said in April 1966.[27]
Rafferty's final film role was in 1971's Wake in Fright, where he played an outback policeman. (The movie was filmed mainly in and around Rafferty's home town of Broken Hill.) In a review of the film, a critic praised Rafferty's performance, writing that he "exudes an unnerving intensity with a deceptively menacing and disturbing performance that ranks among the best of his career".[28]
His final performance was in an episode of the Australian war series Spyforce (1971).
Hours before he died, Rafferty was offered a prominent role in a film The Day the Clown Cried by Jerry Lewis which was never completed or released.[1]
Death
On 27 May 1971, Rafferty collapsed and died of a heart attack at the age of 62, while walking down a Sydney street shortly after completing his role in Wake in Fright.[6][29] His wife Ellen had predeceased him in 1964 and they had no children.[13] His remains were cremated and his ashes scattered into his favourite fishing hole in Lovett Bay.
Rafferty had been married to another woman from 1935 to 1940.[30]
Honours
In the 1971 New Years' Honours, Rafferty was made a Member of the Order of British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the performing arts.[31]
Australia Post issued a stamp in 1989 that depicted Rafferty in recognition of his work in Australian cinema, and in March 2006, Broken Hill City Council announced that the town's Entertainment Centre would be named in honour of Rafferty.[citation needed]
The Oxford Companion to Australian Film refers to Rafferty as "Australia's most prominent and significant actor of the 1940s–60s".[32]
Australian singer/songwriter Richard Davies wrote a song, "Chips Rafferty" for his album, There's Never Been A Crowd Like This.[citation needed]
Larkins, Bob (1986). Chips: The life and films of Chips Rafferty. Macmillan Company.
References
^ abcHooper, K. "Chips was denied comeback chance", The Age, 29 May 1971, p. 2.
^Australian Geographical Society.; Australian National Publicity Association; Australian National Travel Association (1934), Walkabout, Australian National Travel Association, retrieved 24 March 2019
^ abPike, A. (1996) "Goffage, John William Pilbean [Chips Rafferty] (1909–1971)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 14, Melbourne University Press.
^Hopper, Hedda, "European Filmland", Chicago Daily Tribune, 22 June 1946, p. 12
^ abcPhilip Kemp, 'On the Slide: Harry Watt and Ealing's Australian Adventure', Second Take: Australian Filmmakers Talk, Ed Geoff Burton and Raffaele Caputo, Allen & Unwin 1999 p 145-164
^Sherlock, J. "Wake in Fright". Jim's DVD Review and Selections. Archived from the original on 25 November 2009. Retrieved 27 November 2009.
^"CHIPS RAFFERTY, ACTOR, 62, DEAD: Australian Film Star Had Appeared on U.S. TV", The New York Times, 29 May 1971: 26.
^"Family Notices". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 30, 549. New South Wales, Australia. 30 November 1935. p. 16. Retrieved 15 March 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
^"List of Awards in Full", The Times, 1 January 1971.
^McFarlane et al., B. 2000 The Oxford Companion to Australian Film, Oxford University Press.[ISBN verification needed]
Elimelekh (Ibrani: אֱלִימֶ֫לֶךcode: he is deprecated ; artinya Allah adalah raja; Inggris: Elimelechcode: en is deprecated ) adalah nama seorang pria Israel yang disebut dalam Alkitab Ibrani dan Perjanjian Lama di Alkitab Kristen, khususnya dalam Kitab Rut. Ia adalah orang Efrata dari Betlehem-Yehuda dan hidup pada zaman para hakim memerintah (sekitar 1100 SM).[1] Keluarga Elimelekh mempunyai istri bernama Naomi dan kedua anak mereka bernama Mahlon dan Kilyon, semuanya orang-o…
203 BC battle in the Second Punic War The Battle of the Great PlainsPart of the Second Punic WarA marble bust of the Roman commander, Scipio[1][2]Date203 BCLocationBagradas River, Tunisia36°36′41″N 8°56′38″E / 36.61139°N 8.94389°E / 36.61139; 8.94389Result Roman victoryBelligerents Rome CarthageCommanders and leaders Publius Cornelius ScipioMasinissaGaius Laelius Hasdrubal GiscoSyphaxStrength c. 20,000 c. 30,000class=notpageimage| L…
AdolphePotret Adolphe karya Ludwig AngererAdipati NassauBerkuasa1839–1866PendahuluWilhelm, Adipati NassauPenerustidak ada (Nassau dianeksasi Prusia)Haryapatih LuksemburgBerkuasa1890–1905PendahuluWillem IIIPenerusGuillaume IVInformasi pribadiKelahiran(1817-07-24)24 Juli 1817Istana Biebrich, BayernKematian17 November 1905(1905-11-17) (umur 88)Puri HohenburgPemakamanWeilburgWangsaWangsa Nassau-WeilburgAyahWilhelm, Adipati NassauIbuPutri Louise dari Saxe-HildburghausenPasanganElizaveta Mikh…
Sungai PasiónRío de la PasiónFeri yang membawa penumpang dan mobil menyeberang Sungai Pasión di Sayaxché (1994)LokasiNegaraGuatemalaCiri-ciri fisikHulu sungaiRío Santa Isabel o Cancuen - lokasiDepartemen Petén, Guatemala - koordinat15°59′25″N 89°58′53″W / 15.990152°N 89.981320°W / 15.990152; -89.981320 - elevasi200 m (660 ft) Muara sungaiSungai Usumacinta - lokasiEsperanza - koordinat16°28′5…
Bagian dari seriAlkitab Kanon Alkitabdan kitab-kitabnya Tanakh(Taurat · Nevi'im · Ketuvim)Kanon Alkitab Kristen · Alkitab IbraniPerjanjian Lama (PL) · Perjanjian Baru (PB) Deuterokanonika · Antilegomena Bab dan ayat dalam Alkitab Apokrifa:(Yahudi · PL · PB) Perkembangan dan Penulisan Penanggalan Kanon Yahudi Perjanjian Lama Kanon Perjanjian Baru Surat-surat Paulus Karya-karya Yohanes Surat-surat Petrus Terjemahandan Nask…
Helene Bertha Amalie Leni Riefenstahl (22 Agustus 1902 – 8 September 2003) merupakan seorang penari, sutradara, etnografer amatir, dan aktris berkebangsaan Jerman.[1] Ia menjadi terkenal setelah menyutradarai film Triumph des Willens (1934). Ia dilahirkan pada tanggal 22 Agustus 1902 di Berlin dan mulai berkarir di dunia film sejak tahun 1925. Riefenstahl kecil menyukai renang dan seni. Ketika ia menginjak remaja, ia memulai karirnya sebagai seorang penari dan sempat tamp…
Gaelic football tournament in Ireland 1932–33 National Football LeagueLeague detailsDatesApril 1932 – September 1933League championsWinnersMeath (1st win)CaptainBill ShawLeague runners-upRunners-upCavanCaptainJim Smith← 1931–32 1933–34 → The 1932–33 National Football League was the 6th staging of the National Football League, a Gaelic football tournament for the Gaelic Athletic Association county teams of Ireland, held in 1932 and 1933. Meath won the league, with captain Bi…
Pour les articles homonymes, voir Bricq. Nicole Bricq Nicole Bricq en 2013. Fonctions Sénatrice française 3 mai 2014 – 6 août 2017(3 ans, 3 mois et 3 jours) Circonscription Seine-et-Marne Groupe politique SOC (2014-2017) REM (2017) Prédécesseur Hélène Lipietz Successeur Hélène Lipietz 26 septembre 2004 – 16 juin 2012(7 ans, 8 mois et 21 jours) Élection 26 septembre 2004 Réélection 25 septembre 2011 Circonscription Seine-et-Marne Groupe politique SOC …
British lawyer and politician For other people named Jeremy Wright, see Jeremy Wright (disambiguation). The Right Honourable SirJeremy WrightKC MPOfficial portrait, 2018Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and SportIn office9 July 2018 – 24 July 2019Prime MinisterTheresa MayPreceded byMatt HancockSucceeded byNicky MorganAttorney General for England and WalesAdvocate General for Northern IrelandIn office15 July 2014 – 9 July 2018Prime MinisterDavid CameronTheresa M…
Pour les articles homonymes, voir Saint-Amant, Roche (homonymie) et Savine. Saint-Amant-Roche-Savine Vue de Saint-Amant-Roche-Savine. Administration Pays France Région Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Département Puy-de-Dôme Arrondissement Ambert Intercommunalité Communauté de communes Ambert Livradois Forez Maire Mandat Serge Joubert 2020-2026 Code postal 63890 Code commune 63314 Démographie Populationmunicipale 522 hab. (2021 ) Densité 22 hab./km2 Géographie Coordonnées 45° 34′…
Federica Pellegrini Pellegrini nel 2009 Nazionalità Italia Altezza 179 cm Peso 65 kg Nuoto Specialità Stile libero, dorso Termine carriera 2022 Record 100 m s.l. 5318 (2016) 200 m s.l. 1'5298 (2009) 400 m s.l. 3'5915 (2009) 800 m s.l. 8'2499 (2010) Carriera Squadre di club DDS Milano Circolo Canottieri Aniene 2019-2021 Aqua Centurions11 (166) Nazionale Italia Palmarès Competizione Ori Argenti Bronzi Giochi olimpici 1 1 0 Mondiali 6 4 1 Mondiali in vasca corta 1 2 5 Europei 7 6 7 Eu…
Ilustrasi raja tengu Sōjōbō yang dibuat oleh seniman Jepang, Katsukawa Shuntei (1770-1820) Sōjōbō (僧正坊code: ja is deprecated ) adalah makhluk legendaris berwujud tengu, dan dikenal sebagai raja tengu. Menurut mitos dan cerita rakyat Jepang tengu memiliki kekuatan tempur yang setara dengan seribu tengu biasa. Dikatakan bahwa ia adalah makhluk legendaris yang diperkirakan menghuni pegunungan dan hutan di Jepang. Secara harfiah Sōjōbō (僧 坊) berarti pendeta buddha yang agung. Ia m…
Type 94 Te-Ke Tanket Tipe 94 yang tertangkap dalam Pertempuran Okinawa Negara asal Jepang Spesifikasi Berat 3,4 ton Panjang 3,0 meter Lebar 1,6 meter Tinggi 1,6 meter Awak 2 (komandan, pengemudi) Perisai 12 mm Senjatautama senapan mesin Tipe 91 6,5 mm Senjatapelengkap tidak ada Jenis Mesin Mitsubishi berpendingin udara 4-silinder bensin32 hp (24 kW) Daya kuda/ton 9 hp/ton Suspensi 2-wheel bogie Daya jelajah 200 kilometer Kecepatan 40 km/j Tanket Tipe 94 Te-Ke (九四式…
Lebanese politician and militia commander (1947–1982) In this Lebanese name, the father's name is Pierre and the family name is Gemayel. Bachir Gemayelبشير الجميّلGemayel in 19827th President-elect of Lebanon[note 1]In role23 August 1982 – 14 September 1982Prime MinisterShafik WazzanPreceded byÉlias SarkisSucceeded byAmine GemayelCommander of the Lebanese ForcesIn office18 January 1976 – 14 September 1982Preceded byOffice establishedSucceeded byFad…
Statutory body in India Central Information Commission(केंद्रीय सूचना आयोग)The official logo of Central Information CommissionCommission overviewFormed12 October 2005; 18 years ago (2005-10-12)[1]Annual budget₹25.1935 crore (US$3.2 million) (2015–16)[2]Commission executiveHeeralal Samariya, Retd.IASKey documentRTI Act, 2005 (Act no. 22 of 2005)Websitewww.cic.gov.in The Central Information Commission is a statutory body,…
ХристианствоБиблия Ветхий Завет Новый Завет Евангелие Десять заповедей Нагорная проповедь Апокрифы Бог, Троица Бог Отец Иисус Христос Святой Дух История христианства Апостолы Хронология христианства Раннее христианство Гностическое христианство Вселенские соборы Ни…
French painter (1768–1848) Jean-Baptiste DebretCopy by Rodolfo Amoedo of an 1836 portrait by Manuel Porto-AlegreBorn(1768-04-18)18 April 1768Paris, Kingdom of FranceDied28 July 1848(1848-07-28) (aged 80)Paris, French Second RepublicNationalityFrenchAlma materAcadémie des Beaux-ArtsKnown forPainting, DrawingMovementNeoclassicismAwardsPrix de RomeMember of the Academie des Beaux Arts. Jean-Baptiste Debret (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ batist dəbʁɛ]; 18 April 1768 – …
Voce principale: Nuova Cosenza Calcio. Associazione Sportiva CosenzaStagione 1941-1942Sport calcio Squadra Cosenza Allenatore Renato Vignolini Presidente Carlo Campagna Serie C7º posto nel Girone M. 1940-1941 1942-1943 Si invita a seguire il modello di voce Questa voce raccoglie le informazioni riguardanti l'Associazione Sportiva Cosenza nelle competizioni ufficiali della stagione 1941-1942. Rosa N. Ruolo Calciatore D Mario Abate D Luigi Barbarello A Walter Berti D P. Biallo C P. Bruno A R…