Biography
Tommy Dysart (24 December 1935 – 7 June 2022) was a Scottish-born actor who lived in Australia. He was a familiar face on Australian television for many decades, often appearing in guest roles in dramas and comedies, as well as character parts in films and miniseries.
Early notable roles included appearances in Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, Phoenix Five, and multiple parts in the Crawford Productions police dramas Homicide, Division 4, and Matlock Police.
In the early 1980s, he portrayed perhaps his most famous character, the brutal and corrupt prison officer Jock Stewart in Prisoner. His character was fired from the prison service and confessed to prisoner Judy Bryant that he had murdered her lesbian lover, fellow inmate Sharon Gilmour. This confession concluded a murder mystery storyline and sparked a prolonged arc where Bryant repeatedly escaped from prison in efforts to exact revenge on Stewart.
Following this, Dysart continued to take guest roles in television dramas and comedies and appeared in numerous feature films. His film credits include The Man from Snowy River (1982), Bliss (1985), Garbo (1992), and Flynn (1996). Throughout the 1990s, he appeared in TV series such as All Together Now, The Games, State Coroner, Blue Heelers, Something in the Air, and Neighbours. He also provided the voice of Captain Griswald in Anthony Lucas' animated short The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005).
From the 1990s onward, Dysart became well known for a series of memorable Yellow Pages advertisements in which he called various mechanics about his troublesome Goggomobil. He was also recognized for playing a recurring Mafia-boss-like butcher in commercials for Don's Smallgoods.
In the early 2000s, he reprised his Goggomobil persona in advertisements for Shannons Insurance, portraying a car enthusiast searching for parts. Telstra challenged these ads in the Supreme Court, leading Shannons to withdraw them but continue featuring Dysart and his distinctive accent, which he maintained was his own and unchangeable. The campaigns persisted, with Shannons Insurance owning several Goggomobil cars showcased in their promotions.
Dysart maintained a longstanding friendship and professional collaboration with director and writer Frank Howson, working together on films including Backstage, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, What The Moon Saw, Flynn, Crime Time, The Final Stage, The Lucky Country, and their award-winning recent project Remembering Nigel, which also starred Dysart's wife Joan and son Kole.
He was married to Australian actress Joan Brockenshire.
