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Jack Charles Jack Charles i(A71492 works by) (a.k.a. Jacky Charles)
Born: Established: 1943 Murray River, ; Died: Ceased: Sep 2022 Melbourne, Victoria,
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Boonwurrung / Boonerwrung / Bunurong ; Aboriginal Dja Dja Wurrung ; Aboriginal Wurundjeri / Woiwurung ; Aboriginal Yorta Yorta / Yota Yota
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BiographyHistory

Boonwurrrung Elder, Jack Charles was born at the Cummeragunja Mission on the Murray River and was a child of the Stolen Generations. He was taken from his mother and spent many of his formative years in a Melbourne boys' homes. Charles originally believed he was a Yorta Yorta man, but later discovered he belonged to the Boonwurrung people. His obituary notes that he retained ties to the Yorta Yorta clan, as well as the Dja Dja Wurrong and Woiwurrung people, and other people across south-eastern Australia. His father's and family's ties to Aboriginal nations across Victoria and Tasmania were explored in a 2021 episode of Who Do You Think You Are?

In 1971 he co-founded the first Aboriginal theatre company, Nindethana, with Bob Maza.

Charles acted in feature films, TV series and hundreds of plays including, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Bedevil, Ben Hall and the 1972 play Bastardy, about his own life. Bastardy is also the title of the 2008 film about Charles' life by filmmaker Amiel Courtin-Wilson. He continued acting well into his 70s, including a role in Cleverman.

Jack Charles died in the Royal Melbourne Hospital in September 2022, after suffering a stroke.

Exhibitions

Most Referenced Works

Awards for Works

y separately published work icon Jack Charles : Born-Again Blakfella Melbourne : Viking , 2019 17022157 2019 single work autobiography

'Jack Charles has worn many hats throughout his life: actor, cat burglar, musician, heroin addict, activist, even Senior Victorian Australian of the Year. But the title he’s most proud to claim is that of Aboriginal Elder.

'Stolen from his mother and placed into institutional care when he was only a few months old, Uncle Jack was raised under the government’s White Australia Policy. The loneliness and isolation he experienced during those years had a devastating impact on him that endured long after he reconnected with his Aboriginal roots and discovered his stolen identity. Even today he feels like an outsider; a loner; a fringe dweller. 

'In this honest and no-holds-barred memoir, Uncle Jack reveals the ‘ups and downs of this crazy, drugged up, locked up, fucked up, and at times unbelievable, life’. From his sideline as a cat burglar, battles with drug addiction and stints in prison, to gracing the nation’s stages and screens as he dazzled audiences with his big personality and acting prowess, he takes us through the most formative moments of his life.

'By turns heartbreaking and hilarious, Jack Charles: Born-again Blakfella is a candid and uplifting memoir from one of Australia’s finest and most beloved actors. (Publication summary)

2020 shortlisted Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA) Australian Biography of the Year
Jack Charles v The Crown 2010 single work drama Indigenous story

'Uncle Jack Charles is an Australian legend: veteran actor, musician, Koori elder and activist, but for a good portion of his nearly 70 years he has also been an addict, a thief and a regular in Victoria’s prisons.'

'From Stolen Generation to Koori theatre in the 70s, from film sets to Her Majesty’s prisons, JACK CHARLES V THE CROWN runs the gamut of a life lived to its utmost. Charles’ unswerving optimism transforms this tale of addiction, crime and doing time into a kind of vagabond’s progress – a map of the traps of dispossession and a guide to reaching the age of grey-haired wisdom.'

'This fleet-footed, light-fingered one-man show is a theatrical delight and a celebration of Black Australia’s dogged refusal to give up on getting on.' (Source: Ilbijerri Theatre Company website)

2014 winner Dublin Theatre Festival Best International Production Award
Last amended 13 Sep 2022 14:09:45
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