John Walton (actor)

John Walton (1952 – 17 July 2014) was an Australian actor of stage, television, and film, best known for his roles in television soap operas The Young Doctors and The Sullivans.

Walton was born in St Ives, New South Wales.

Walton appeared in a 1973 ABC TV play adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew.^[1] During a 1976 stage production of Much Ado About Nothing, he was spotted by Reg Grundy Productions' casting director Kerry Spence, and was subsequently cast for television soap opera The Young Doctors as Doctor Craig Rothwell,^[1] a role he played for two seasons,^[2] from 1976 to 1977.

Walton played Michael Watkins,^[3] the nephew of Ida Jessop (Vivean Gray), on Crawford Productions’ classic period drama The Sullivans, from episodes 239 to 433. His character wed Maggie Hayward (Vikki Hammond)'s daughter, Alice Morgan (Megan Williams),^[3] but it was not a happy marriage. His character was killed in a car accident, after throwing his mistress, Pamela Somers (Diane Craig) from the vehicle, saving her life. He went on to appear in further Crawford's series, including Cop Shop and Skyways.^[1]

Walton also appeared as Australian cricketer Bill Woodfull in the 1984 miniseries Bodyline, alongside Hugo Weaving and Gary Sweet, which dramatised the events of the 1932–1933 Ashes test cricket series.^[4] The following year, he played the lead role of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in the biographical miniseries A Thousand Skies.^[2]

In 1986, Walton appeared as Jack Calcott in the film Kangaroo, opposite Judy Davis and Colin Friels and based on the novel by D.H. Lawrence.^[5] His performance saw him nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Australian Film Institute Awards, an award that ultimately went to John Hargreaves for his role in Malcolm.^[6] The following year, Walton played the role of Tas in Australian war film The Lighthorsemen, alongside Peter Phelps, Bill Kerr and Sigrid Thornton.^[7]

Walton later completed a stint in Heartbreak High, playing the role of Albers' replacement, humanities teacher Nat Delaine, from season 6 (1997–1998).^[8] His other television credits include Cop Shop, Skyways, A Country Practice, Halifax f.p., McLeod's Daughters, All Saints, MDA and Blue Heelers. Walton's final screen credit was television drama Sea Patrol in 2009.^[2]

Walton also performed extensively for the stage, playing several lead characters including Shakespeare’s Hamlet, in productions of both Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1979–1980).^[9] He worked for several of Australia's major theatre companies, including Melbourne Theatre Company, Sydney Theatre Company and Bell Shakespeare. From 1993 to 1994, he also toured nationally in a production of the musical South Pacific for the Gordon Frost Company.^[9]

Source: ^[9]

Walton died in 2014 at his home in Perth, following a long battle with Huntington's disease, aged 62. A memorial service was held for him at the University of NSW on Saturday 19 July,^[14] where fellow actor and friend Robert Alexander delivered a tribute.^[10]

• John Walton at IMDb