Harold Baigent

Harold Baigent

Born: November 16, 1916
Died: March 9, 1996
in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Harold Verdun Baigent (16 November 1916 – 9 March 1996), known as 'Baige', was a New Zealand theatre director, actor and arts manager. He trained as an actor in the USA at Yale University Drama School, and acted in Broadway and London stage productions, before returning to New Zealand in the late 1940s, where he founded his own drama company and worked as a drama tutor and stage manager. In the 1960s he settled in Melbourne, Australia. As director of the Emerald Hill Theatre Company and the Victorian Travelling Theatre, he was an influential figure in the Victorian theatrical scene, and played a significant role in promoting the arts in regional Victoria and South Australia. He was associated with the Warrandyte Arts Association Drama Group and performed in many productions including Twelfth Night (1964) as Malvolio, and as director of Salad Days (1968).

As an actor, Baigent was known for many parts on Australian film and television, including roles in the film Gallipoli and the television series The Flying Doctors, and a memorable introductory monologue at the beginning of the film Mad Max 2. He was director of the Council of Adult Education in Adelaide, South Australia for many years, and founded the Arts Train, an innovative travelling arts project that toured small towns throughout South Australia and Victoria. He retired to the Heathcote area in the 1980s, but continued to be actively involved in theatre and the arts there until his death in 1996.

Movies for Harold Baigent...

Title: The Damnation of Harvey McHugh
Character: Leo Daniels
Released: June 2, 1994
Type: TV
The Damnation of Harvey McHugh is a television miniseries made by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The series consists of 12 episodes and was first broadcast on the ABC in 1994.
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Slate, Wyn & Me
Title: Slate, Wyn & Me
Character: Sammy
Released: August 13, 1987
Type: Movie
Meandering drama of Brothers Burke and Sacks, who rob a bank, kill a cop and kidnap Thornton, a witness to their crime.
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Title: The Flying Doctors
Character: Lance Simpson
Released: May 15, 1986
Type: TV
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.
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Title: The Flying Doctors
Character: Reg (Gunner) Hodges
Released: May 15, 1986
Type: TV
The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.
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Mad Max 2
Title: Mad Max 2
Character: Voice of Narrator
Released: December 24, 1981
Type: Movie
Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.
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Gallipoli
Title: Gallipoli
Character: Camel Driver
Released: August 13, 1981
Type: Movie
As World War I rages, brave and youthful Australians Archy and Frank—both agile runners—become friends and enlist in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps together. They later find themselves part of the Dardanelles Campaign on the Gallipoli peninsula, a brutal eight-month conflict which pit the British and their allies against the Ottoman Empire and left over 500,000 men dead.