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George Bernard Spartels (born 25 April 1954) is an Australian actor, presenter, director, playwright and children's musician of Greek descent on his father's ancestry, and English and Irish on his mother's. He remains best known for his role on the television soap opera Neighbours.[1]
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George Spartels | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Bernard Spartels 25 April 1954 Australia |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1971-present |
| Known for | Neighbours (TV series) as Benito Alessi |
Spartels has guest starred in many Australian television series from the 1970s to the present, most notably, Prisoner and Bellbird and in Neighbours playing family patriarch Benito Alessi. He has also appeared in a number of episodes of medical drama series All Saints and serial Packed to the Rafters as Carbo's father.
Other roles included Cop Shop, Punishment and The Bluestone Boys, as well as Blackfinger in the movie Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome in 1985, alongside Mel Gibson and Tina Turner.
Spartels was also a children's television presenter, having had a long tenure on ABC's Play School, over a period of 14 years between 1985 and 1999.[2][3][4][5]
In 2014, Spartels toured Canada, LA and Australia in "The Last Confession" with David Suchet.[6]
Spartels' photoportrait, by Ivan Gaal, is in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery.[7]
Spartels was previously married to Sue Spartels, followed by actress Elizabeth Alexander; married, in April 2013, to Mary Spartels and resided in Sydney, Australia. Divorced from Mary in 2017, he returned to Melbourne and commutes.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Blue Fin | Con | Feature film |
| 1985 | Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome | Blackfinger | Feature film |
| 1988 | Computer Ghosts | Pi Wratich | TV movie |
| 1989 | Action Replay | TV movie | |
| 1992 | Seeing Red | Mark | Feature film |
| 1999 | Kick | Jack Grant | Feature film |
| 2023 | The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Redridinghood | Narrator | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971-75 | Matlock Police | Danny Porter, Willie Bennett, Walters, Frank Clark, Bob | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1972-75 | Division 4 | Harry, Terry Hughes, Gino Napoli, Youth1 | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1971-76 | Homicide | John Smith, Russell Knight, Simon Littlewood, Nick Pappas, Peter Fletcher, Anton Palades, Mechanic | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1974 | This Love Affair | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1976 | Solo One | Harry Thomas | TV series, 1 episode |
| Bellbird | TV series | ||
| 1976 | The Bluestone Boys | TV series | |
| 1976-77 | Bluey | Steve Berry, Wilson | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1977 | Bobby Dazzler | George | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1977 | Hotel Story | TV series | |
| 1978 | Father, Dear Father in Australia | George | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1978-89 | Cop Shop | Claudio Gustino, Chris Murray, Fergus | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 1979 | Chopper Squad | Man in hang glider | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979-80 | Prisoner | Herbie | TV series, 5 episodes |
| 1981 | Punishment | David ‘Robbo’ Roberts | TV series |
| 1984 | Sweet and Sour | Nick Poulopolous | TV series, 18 episodes |
| 1985-99 | Play School | Presenter | TV series |
| 1986 | The Great Bookie Robbery | Jaffa Davis | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1990 | Rafferty's Rules | Stefan Bosnjack | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991 | All Together Now | Georgie Leonard | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1992-93 | Neighbours | Benito Alessi | TV series, 47 episodes |
| 1997 | Fallen Angels | Dan Playhard | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2002-06 | All Saints | The Professor, Craig Watts, Peter Talbot | TV series, 3 episodes |
| 2009 | City Homicide | Frank Scarsdale | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2009-12 | Packed to the Rafters | Theo Karandonis, Carbo's father | TV series, 4 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Godspell | Playbox Theatre | |
| 1981-82 | Chicago | Amos Hart | Sydney Opera House's Drama Theatre, Sydney Theatre Company, Theatre Royal, Comedy Theatre, Festival Theatre, Hong Kong Arts Festival |
| 1989 | Greek Tragedy | Company B, Belvoir Street Theatre |
ARIA Music Awards
| Year | Nominated work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | George from Play School | Best Children's Album | Nominated |
| 1998 | Let's Go Out | Nominated | |
| 2001 | George Meets The Orchestra | Nominated |
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