PETER AANENSEN: TV ICON REMEMBERED
For a trained pharmacist who initially saw acting as just a hobby, Peter Aanensen, who has died aged 92, had a remarkable career and became a true stalwart of the entertainment industry. With his white blond hair and solid frame he was hard to ignore and for 50 years he was a familiar face on our screens, big and small.
1932–2024
Educated by the Jesuits and Marist Brothers, Peter grew up in Port Melbourne, an only child whose family had strong links to their community. After attending a play by Frankston Theatre Group that a former Pharmacy College mate was stage managing, Peter became interested in treading the boards. He had been appearing in amateur productions when an opportunity arose in 1955 to join the cast of a touring production of Medea starring Judith Anderson for the Elizabethan Theatre Trust. Although he was only onstage as a spear carrier he got to witness Tony Award-winner Anderson in action at each performance.
His first significant professional role onstage was as Ben Donnelly in playwright Barbara Vernon’s The Multi-Coloured Umbrella at the Little Theatre, the forerunner to St Martin’s, in 1958, the year he joined the union. He subsequently appeared in two ground-breaking Australian plays for the Trust: Richard Beynon’s The Shifting Heart, in which he played the first of many cops — Det. Sgt. Lukie — and then as Roo in Ray Lawler’s Summer of the Seventeenth Doll which toured Victoria, South Australia and New Zealand with Ben Gabriel, Ethel Gabriel and Patsy King.
Peter’s arrival on the acting scene was fortuitous as it coincided with the beginning of Television in this country. One work offer quickly led to the next and Peter became a pioneer of the medium. His first professional screen role was as the executioner in the ABC play The Lark, based on the story of Joan of Arc with Beverley Dunn. This was followed by meatier roles in early TV productions such as Emergency and Whiplash (his first time working in front of a film camera), the comedy series Barley Charlie and plays that were often broadcast live-to-air, such as No Picnic Tomorrow and as sailor Lofty in Seagulls Over Sorrento, one of Crawford Productions first forays into drama. Over the years Peter would appear in just about every drama Crawford’s made from Consider Your Verdict, Homicide, Hunter, Division 4 and Matlock Police to Bluey, The Sullivans, Cop Shop, Skyways, Holiday Island, Special Squad, The Flying Doctors and Whose Baby? (It wasn’t uncommon for him to return to the same shows multiple times as a different character). One memorable role for Crawford’s that he particularly enjoyed was as underworld figure Hammer Wallace in 1920’s-era legal drama Carson’s Law alongside Noel Trevarthen.
Peter’s arrival on the acting scene was fortuitous as it coincided with the beginning of Television in this country.
There were many other television guest roles throughout his long career, including a comedy skit on the hugely popular variety show IMT working alongside formidable talents Noel Ferrier, Mary Hardy and Frank Thring. Peter once said he was the only one who attempted to stick to the script, but it was a lot of fun. He acted in series that screened around the world such as Riptide, Barrier Reef and Boney, and quality mini-series including Marion and Power Without Glory for the ABC and the award-winning Women of the Sun for SBS.
There was a naturalness to Peter’s acting that brought a quintessential quality to each and every character, whether he was playing a businessman, a publican, politician, crim or cop. Or even Santa Claus (which he did in a 1982 Christmas Eve special for the ABC). He was always believable.
His longest running role began in 1967 when he was cast as Jim Bacon in the ABC’s Bellbird, Australia’s first ongoing evening serial. Set in a fictional rural town, Bellbird became a huge success and made Peter and his castmates household names (even if they were more often called their characters’ names). Jim was a local police officer who soon retired from the force to run the local pub alongside his wife, Marge, played by Carmel Millhouse. Peter enjoyed Bellbird’s on-set atmosphere and those in the cast he became close to include Elspeth Ballantyne, Dennis Miller, Stewart Faichney and Maurie Fields. In 1975 Peter and Maurie took a break from Bellbird to perform in Jack Hibberd and John Timlin’s footy-based play, Goodbye Ted, directed by Burt Cooper. Joining them onstage were Val Jellay (Maurie’s wife) and Rosie Sturgess. Back at the ABC, Bellbird was now broadcast in colour. The show was so popular that Peter couldn’t go anywhere without being recognised. He had a great time as the cast travelled from Darwin to Hobart — and everywhere in between — to promote the show. In 1976, after nine years with the show, Peter was written out when Jim Bacon was killed off.
He married Valerie Todd, whose family also had connections to Port Melbourne, in 1957 and together they raised three daughters. Being able to return to pharmacy work when things were quiet on the acting front came in handy. He was arguably the most famous pharmacist in the country. Apart from Bellbird he was instantly recognisable as the man from the Tosca chocolate bar TV commercial and sometimes in the most unlikely places. When visiting the US one time a fellow Aussie traveller approached him quoting the line from the ad “Gone for a Tosca”. Doing radio ads years later for the Pancake Parlour afforded him more anonymity.
Through the 1980s there was a recurring role of Inspector Thorne in Grundy’s hit drama Prisoner. Peter enjoyed working on the series as well as the opportunity it gave him to catch up with old mates from very early theatre days such as Elspeth Ballantyne, Gerda Nicolson, Sheila Florance and Patsy King. Prisoner developed a cult following around the world and even in recent years Peter received fan mail.
A recurring role in Blue Heelers introduced him to a new generation of viewers and gave him another chance to work with colleagues he admired, old and new. In 1997 he made his first appearance as Mt Thomas local Merv Poole, an irascible, rough diamond with a heart of gold. A particular favourite TV gig of Peter’s was the ABC’s Something in the Air, which he watched on a regular basis. He appeared in a couple of episodes in 2000 and shared some tender scenes with old friend and former Bellbird castmate, Annie Phelan.
Having played Sgt. Quinn in the 1967 TV series, You Can’t See ‘Round Corners, Peter made his big screen debut when he reprised the role for the feature film version released in 1969. He would appear in many other films throughout his career including director Tim Burstall’s Alvin Purple, End Play and Duet for Four, John Richardson’s Dusty, Paul Cox’s Cactus and Fred Schepisi’s Evil Angels. He gave a standout performance in director Steve Jodrell’s hard-hitting feature, Shame. With his hair dyed a shade of ginger he was excellent as the ineffectual small town cop Sgt. Wal Cuddy. Peter thoroughly enjoyed the role and working alongside Deborra-Lee Furness, Tony Barry and Simone Buchanan. He was part of the ensemble in Sue Brooks’ Road to Nhill and the comedies The Craic, Crackerjack and Bad Eggs.
In 2004 Peter made his final appearance as Merv in Blue Heelers then played the grandfather of Karen, Katie Wall’s character, in The Secret Life of Us in 2005. This was to be Peter’s last screen role and he retired soon after.
He loved travel, reading and musical theatre, felt deeply about human rights and was passionate about sport, especially cricket and AFL footy. In 1966, without telling Peter, his mother entered him as a contestant on the TV quiz show Coles £3000 Question. His expert topic was cricket. He won the jackpot. Two days after Peter’s passing his beloved AFL team Hawthorn won their game against Adelaide and Peter’s daughters say they could hear their father cheering.
Peter is survived by his daughters Karel, Kim and Leah, sons-in-law Tony and Kevin and granddaughters Perri and Ellen.
Obituary by Nigel Giles
