Born Oscar Ralph Whitbread
26 November 1929England, United Kingdom
Died 16 May 2016 (ahed 86) Citizenship English Australia Occupation(s) Film and television producer/director Years active 1956-1997 Known for Head of Drama at the ABC , Head of Drama at the Seven Network Spouse Corrine Kerby
Oscar Ralph Whitbread OAM (26 November 1929 – 16 May 2016) was an English-Australian producer who worked extensively in television.[ 1] [ 2]
He moved to Australia in the late 1940s. Whitbread started his career at the ABC in 1956, where he served as the Head of Drama, before switching to the same position with the Seven Network . He was responsible for numerous successful series including Bellbird , The Flying Doctors and the miniseries Power Without Glory .
Whitbread was the senior executive producer at Crawford Productions and also worked in England for the BBC , Thames Television , Granada Television, and London Weekend Television . During the 1970s, he worked as a theatre media studies lecturer, at Charles Sturt University , Bathurst, New South Wales .
Whitbread was married to Corinne Kerby .[ 3] He died on 16 May 2016 after a long illness.[ 2]
Ice Circus (1963) (ice skating TV special)[ 4]
Beauty and the Beast (1964) (ice skating TV special)[ 5]
On Approval (1964) (TV movie) – producer
Corruption in the Palace of Justice (1964) (TV movie) – producer
The Winds of Green Monday (1965) (TV movie) – producer, director
Otherwise Engaged (1965) (TV movie) – producer
Duet on Wednesday (1965) (television play) – producer
Photo Finish (1965) (TV movie) – producer[ 6]
Plain Jane (1966) (TV movie) – producer
Slow Poison (1967) (TV movie) – producer
Love and War (1967) (TV movie) – producer
The Shifting Heart (1968) (TV movie) – producer[ 7]
Delta (Australian TV series) (1969) (TV series) – director
Dynasty (1969) (TV series) – director
Bellbird (1970–77) (TV series) – producer
A Family at War (1970) (TV series) – director
The Man Who Shot the Albatross (1972) (TV movie)
Frank and Francesca (1973) (TV series)
Marion (1974) (miniseries) – producer, director
And the Big Men Fly (1974) (TV series) – producer
Rush (1975) (TV series) – producer, director
The Professional Touch (1976) (television play)
Trial of Ned Kelly (1977) (TV movie)
Power Without Glory (1976) (mini series) – producer
Catspaw (1978) (TV series)
The Truckies (1978) (TV series)
Burn the Butterflies (1979) (TV movie)
A Wild Ass of a Man (1980) (TV movie)
Lucinda Brayford (1980) (mini series)
I Can Jump Puddles (1980)
Locusts and Wild Honey (1980) (TV series)
All the Green Year (1981) (mini series)
Outbreak of Love (1981) (mini series) – producer, director
The Young Wife (1984) (mini series) – producer, director
Golden Pennies (1985) (mini series) – producer, director
The Flying Doctors (1985) (mini series) – producer
The Flying Doctors (1986) (TV series) – producer, director
Studio 86 (1986) (TV series) – producer, director
Acropolis Now (1989) (TV series) – producer
The Power, The Passion (1989) (TV series) – producer
Ratbag Hero (1991) (mini series) – producer, director
Cluedo (1990–92) (TV series) – producer, director
Bush Patrol (1996) (TV series) – producer
The Balanced Particle Freeway (1997) (TV movie) – producer
^ "Oscar Whitbread: a man behind Aussie drama" By Caris Bizzaca Nine New 26 January 2012 accessed 29 June 2013
^ a b Stephanie Ferrier, "Oscar Whitbread: Australian television pioneer, mentor, dies aged 86" ABC News 18 May 2016
^ "CORINNE: Melbourne-type ma'am" . The Australian Women's Weekly . Vol. 28, no. [?]. 26 October 1960. p. 69. Retrieved 27 February 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Circus Ballet" . The Canberra Times . Vol. 37, no. 10, 513. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 18 April 1963. p. 35. Retrieved 27 February 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "RICH FARE FOR HOLIDAY VIEWING" . The Australian Women's Weekly . Vol. 31, no. 31. 1 January 1964. p. 13. Retrieved 27 February 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ "Photo finish of an 80-year-old" . The Canberra Times . Vol. 40, no. 11, 307. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 November 1965. p. 17. Retrieved 27 February 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
^ Vagg, Stephen (7 June 2021). "Forgotten Australian TV Plays: The Shifting Heart" . Filmink . Retrieved 9 August 2024 .
TV plays TV series Miniseries
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