Reg Livermore

Biography

Reginald Dawson Livermore (born 11 December 1938) is an Australian actor, singer, theatrical performer and former television presenter. During the 1960s Livermore became nationally known with roles in a number of notable Australian films and television programs. His first known TV role was in the early Australian TV adventure series Whiplash (1961). He featured in several important ABC television drama productions, playing Ariel in The Tempest (1963), and co-starring opposite Tony Ward in The Rape of the Belt (1964). During 1964–65 he had a featured role as the alien Vorussa in the pioneering ABC-TV children's science fiction series The Stranger. Livermore had a prominent role the groundbreaking Commonwealth Film Unit documentary From the Tropics to the Snow (1964) and also featured in the historic ABC-TV production of The Recruiting Officer (1965), notable as the first play ever performed in the newly founded colony of New South Wales, in 1789. He gained his first starring role in TV as the host of the ABC version of the children's comedy series Crackerjack (1966–67), and was a featured cast member for the final season of the satirical sketch series The Mavis Bramston Show (1968). In 1969 he joined the cast of the original Australian production of the then groundbreaking rock musical Hair. He originally joined as a member of "the Tribe", then became the understudy to Keith Glass who played the role of Berger. When Glass left the production in 1970 Livermore took over as Berger, and Hair rapidly elevated his commercial and theatrical profile. After two years starring in Hair he joined the cast of the acclaimed Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar for Harry M. Miller, where he won rave reviews for his show-stopping performance as King Herod. In 1974 he was rewarded with one of his greatest and best-known roles, Dr Frank’n’Furter in the original Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show, and he also performed the role for the Australian cast recording. In 1975, at the request of producer Eric Dare, Livermore conceived his first one-man show, Betty Blokk-buster Follies, which played to record crowds in Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. He then wrote and performed a string of successful one-man shows – Wonder Woman, Sacred Cow, Son of Betty and Firing Squad. His trip to London with Sacred Cow in 1980 created an unexpected sensation: the audience tried to boo him off the stage but he refused to oblige them. The Sydney Daily Telegraph subsequently lamented that his appearance in the West End had given Australia a bad name. In 1982 he played the title role in the American musical Barnum, and 1984 saw him in a revival of The Rocky Horror Show directed by another Rocky star Daniel Abineri. In 1996 Livermore was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).[3] Livermore became a regular presenter on Channel Nine's Our House, an infotainment show that notched up nine years of television. In February 2014, Livermore was signed for the role of The Wizard in the stage show Wicked commencing in May 2014 playing in both Melbourne and Sydney. It was his first stage role for two years.[5] He won a Helpmann Award for the role of The Wizard and in the same year received the Sydney Theatre Awards, Lifetime Achievement Award.