Frank Bren
Born
Frank Bren

(1943-09-07)September 7, 1943
DiedApril 14, 2018(2018-04-14) (aged 74)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • playwright
  • author
  • scholar
Years activeas actor - 1967-2013

Frank Bren (7 September 1943 – 14 April 2018) was an Australian actor, playwright/dramatist, director, translator and author, who was a scholar of international film history. He has written books (on the histories of Polish and Hong Kong cinema), written plays, and acted in Australian film and television roles.

Books and articles

Frank Bren was a scholar of Polish cinema and Chinese cinema film history. His book World Cinema 1: Poland (University of Illinois Press, 1989) is one of the premier resources on the history of Polish cinema.[1][2]

His book (with Law Kar), Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-Cultural View (The Scarecrow Press, 2004) is one of the few books to thoroughly document the very early history of Hong Kong cinema, dating back to its beginnings in the 19th century.[3][4]

Bren was writing a biography of French filmmaker and comedian, Pierre Étaix.[5]

Bren has also written articles on film for international journals such as Far Eastern Economic Review, Screen International, Films and Filming, as well as for newspapers such as Libération and The Asian Wall Street Journal.[6]

Acting career

Film, television and stage

Frank Bren played Colin "The Snake" Adder in Mark Savage's film Sensitive New Age Killer,[7] and co-starred in the Craig Addison movie Betel Nut Girl.[7][8] He also played two recurring roles, as twin brothers Colin Taylor and Alf Taylor, in the popular Australian TV series Neighbours during the 1990s.[7] In addition, he played "Mr. Nicholson" in the film Hating Alison Ashley.[7] He was preparing a biopic of Chinese-American film director Esther Eng.[9]

In all, Bren has acted in over a dozen roles in Australian television series and movies, including The Flying Doctors, Blue Heelers and Stingers.[7]

Frank Bren[10] wrote and starred in the play A History of Motion Pictures, which ran at La Mama Theatre (Melbourne).[11][12] He has also written and starred in about a dozen plays since 1967, with runs in London, Amsterdam, and Melbourne.[13] Some of the other plays he both wrote and starred in are The Rise and Fall of Archie Jones (1968),[14] Have You Noticed Your Leg Is Missing? (1969),[15] Odyssey of a Bald Man (1970),[16] Larceny Makes No Noise (1988),[17][18] Muckrake (1989),[19] Honest! (1993),[20] and Flashback (1997).[21]

Death

Frank Bren died from cancer, aged 74, on 14 April 2018, at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Victoria.[22][23] A tribute to his life was held at La Mama Theatre,[24] and further tributes were written by writer John Snadden and film director Mark Savage.[25]

Filmography (selected)

Title Year Role
Life at Stake (TV series) 1978 Hostage
The Flying Doctors 1989 Vince
Boys from the Bush (TV series) 1991 Vince
Pugwall & Pugwall's Summer (TV series) 1989-1991 Dr. Pongerton
Boney (TV series) 1992 Rabbit
Funky Squad (TV series) 1995
Neighbours (TV series) 1994-1995 Frank Taylor/Alf Taylor
Good Guys Bad Guys: Only the Good Die Young (TV movie) 1997 Bookie
Blue Heelers (TV series) 1998 Ronnie Fennell
Sensitive New Age Killer 2000 Colin 'The Snake' Adder
Bootleg (Tv miniseries) 2002 Shopkeeper
Trail of Passion (Video) 2003 Mal
MDA (TV series) 2003 Dr. Kenneth Patching
Stinger (TV series) 2002-2004 Eduardo
Hating Alison Ashley 2005 Mr. Nicholson
Bastard Boys (TV miniseries) 2007 Barrister
Betel Nut Girl 2013 Jack

Notes

  1. ↑ Marek Haltof, Polish National Cinema, Berghahn Books, 2002 (Introduction).
  2. ↑ Janina Falkowska, Slavic Review, Vol. 62, No. 3, p. 592 (2003).
  3. ↑ Review by The Bookwatch, Nov. 2004, published by The Midwest Book Review Archived 13 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Review of "Hong Kong Cinema: A Cross-Cultural View" by China Quarterly, reproduced by The Scarecrow Press Archived 12 October 2004 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "The Esther Eng Story (website)". Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  6. ↑ "DonaldofChina.com". Archived from the original on 7 November 2007. Retrieved 6 October 2007.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Frank Bren at IMDb
  8. ↑ "Dragon Horse Films". Archived from the original on 26 May 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  9. ↑ "The Esther Eng Story (website)". Archived from the original on 27 May 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  10. ↑ "Frank Bren". AusStage.
  11. ↑ Review Archived 16 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine of "A History of Motion Pictures" from Australian Stage, 4 May 2007.
  12. ↑ A History of Motion Pictures Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  13. ↑ "Interview with Frank Bren". Archived from the original on 15 August 2007. Retrieved 4 October 2007.
  14. ↑ The Rise and Fall of Archie Jones Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  15. ↑ "Have You Noticed Your Leg Is Missing?" Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  16. ↑ Odyssey of a Bald Man Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  17. ↑ Larceny Makes No Noise Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  18. ↑ "A Crime Thriller Comedy" by Jason Romney, The Age, Entertainment Guide section, 30 September 1988, p. 7 (available here Archived 29 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine via Google News Archive, retrieved on 6 February 2014).
  19. ↑ Muckrake Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  20. ↑ Honest! Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  21. ↑ Flashback Archived 22 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, AusStage
  22. ↑ Frank Bren Archived 29 November 2021 at the Wayback Machine, The Age
  23. ↑ Frank Desmond Bren, Legacy
  24. ↑ In Memoriam Frank Bren - Pictures from the tribute to his life held at La Mama Archived 7 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Film Alert 101
  25. ↑ Vale Frank Bren - Actor, writer, director, scholar, critic - Friends John Snadden and Mark Savage remember Archived 20 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Film Alert 101
Official pages
Reference material
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