John E. C. Appleton

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Australian director

title: "John E. C. Appleton" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["australian-theatre-directors", "australian-theatre-managers-and-producers", "australian-radio-producers", "australian-male-radio-actors", "1905-births", "1990-deaths", "20th-century-australian-male-actors", "julian-ashton-art-school-alumni", "british-emigrants-to-australia"] description: "Australian director" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_E._C._Appleton" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Australian director ::

::data[format=table title="infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameJohn E.C. Appleton
birth_nameJohn Edward Corby Appleton
other_namesJack Appleton
educationFort Street Boys High School
occupation
birth_placeWalham Green, England, United Kingdom
birth_date20 October 1905
death_date13 September 1990 (aged 84)
::

| image = | caption = | name = John E.C. Appleton | birth_name = John Edward Corby Appleton | other_names = Jack Appleton | education = Fort Street Boys High School | occupation = | birth_place = Walham Green, England, United Kingdom | birth_date = 20 October 1905 | death_place = | death_date = 13 September 1990 (aged 84) John Edward Corby Appleton (20 October 1905 – 13 September 1990) was an Australian theatre and radio director and actor prominent in the 1950s.

Early life

Born in Walham Green, England the oldest of eight children of an English father and an Australian-born mother, Frank and Irene, he was educated at Fort Street Boys' High School. He joined the Sydney Evening News as a journalist but after six years was sacked for supporting striking workers. During this time he had been taking night classes at the Julian Ashton Art School and started a small business painting 24-sheet posters for billboards.

Amateur theatre

In 1928 he joined the Sydney Players Club, of which his father Frank was an active member, initially as an actor then producer, known as "Jack Appleton".

He then joined Doris Fitton's The Independent Theatre, where he gained further experience as actor and producer.

Professional and Wartime experience

At least partly because of his horsemanship, he was engaged to play Dan Kelly in the 1934 film "When the Kellys Rode", which failed to find a distributor.

In 1936 he joined radio 2GB's "B.S.A. Players" (from 1938 known as the "Macquarie Players"), which led to further employment with 2GB. There he teamed up with Jack Davey and together set up an independent production company as his producer and announcer.

In 1940 he was engaged to fellow Independent Theatre actor Sheila Carter (1918–) They married and by war's end had one child. He spent the war years with the RAAF firstly with the American 19th Bomber Group, planning the secret Hobert (spelling?) airfield in Northern Australia, then as Intelligence Officer with 75 Squadron for 14 months. He was then involved in a group organising escape lines from New Britain, followed by a stint with MI9. His radio production company continued to grow. One notable client, from 1947 to 1949, was Robert Menzies' Liberal Party.

Australian Broadcasting Commission

He was appointed Supervisor of Children's Programmes for ABC Radio in 1952. By this time he was married with three daughters. He took a very hands-on approach to the running of the Children's Session, including persuading Ruth Park to write him a part, "Tabby Cat", in the Muddle-Headed Wombat serial. He was outspoken on the damaging effects of TV on children's minds. With his conservative outlook and RAAF demeanor, he was treated as an outsider by the governing clique of the ABC. He retired in October 1970.

Theatre

He acted in a great number of amateur productions (aided by his very "proper" English accent) including:

  • The School for Scandal (Sheridan) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
  • Scrapped (Alma Brosnan) with Turret Theatre at their Milsons Point clubhouse
  • The Passion Flower (Benavente) with Turret Theatre
  • The Last Enemy (Frank Harvey – an Australian writer) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
  • Dutch Courage (Mac Luker – an Australian writer) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
  • Intruders (Mac Luker – an Australian writer) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
  • Art and Mrs Bottle (Benn Levy) with Sydney Players' Club at St James' Hall
  • The Shadow of a Gunman (Seán O'Casey) with Independent Theatre at its clubrooms 175 Pitt St.
  • The Importance of Being Earnest (Oscar Wilde) with Independent Theatre
  • Thunder Rock (Robert Ardrey) with Independent Theatre group

As assistant producer

He served as producer for the Junior Theatre League and acted as judge for several of its annual drama festivals. and was producer for the Sydney Players Club based at St James's Hall:

Radio

  • The Terrible Twins (2CH play) (actor)
  • Beau Geste (2CH serial) (as "Digby")
  • The New Adventures of Tiger Bryce (2CH serial)(as actor)
  • Adventure (2UW series)
  • Dithering with Davey (2GB, 2UE series)
  • Dr Davey, the Happiest Man on Earth (2GB series)
  • 100 Years in Australia (2GB, 2CA series)
  • The Heroic Past (2UE series)
  • These Old Homes (2GB, 2UE) series
  • The Romance of Canada (2GB series)
  • Uncle Remus
  • Hester's Diary (2CH serial)
  • Death Takes Small Bites (2UW series)
  • Death By Horoscope (2UW 3DB series)
  • Three Roads to Destiny (3KZ serial)
  • ABC Children's Hour

Other interests

He wrote a number of radio broadcasts for commercial radio on historic Australian homes, the scripts of which are held in the Mitchell Library.

He was active in the Pony Club movement.

Bibliography

  • The Australian Horse & Pony Handbook (ill. Walter Stackpool) Angus & Robertson 1986 :(a revised edition of his Horse & Pony Handbook first pub. 1972)

Sources

References

References

  1. Obituary in the ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 18 September 1990
  2. Johnson, Rob ''Golden Age of the Argonauts'' Hodder and Stoughton 1997 {{ISBN. 0-7336-0528-1
  3. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17729196 ''SMH'' 28 January 1941]
  4. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18373256 ''SMH'' 25 June 1953]
  5. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16479154 ''SMH'' 14 July 1928]
  6. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17038085 ''SMH'' 5 January 1934]
  7. "Ned Kelly: Australian Ironoutlaw > Kelly On Film".
  8. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17679004 ''SMH'' 27 June 1940]
  9. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23181450 ''SMH'' 16 May 1952]
  10. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18460356 ''''SMH'' 7 October 1954]
  11. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16496477 ''SMH'' Saturday 22 September 1928]
  12. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16553728 ''SMH'' 14 June 1929]
  13. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16572979 ''SMH'' 5 August 1929]
  14. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16727501 ''SMH'' 3 November 1930]
  15. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16901392 ''SMH'' 8 August 1932]
  16. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17164901 ''SMH'' 18 March 1935]
  17. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16856558 Players Club – Art and Mrs Bottle] ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 16 April 1932 p.17 accessed 5 September 2011
  18. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17563009 ''SMH'' 7 January 1939]
  19. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17680740 ''SMH'' 29 July 1940]
  20. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17738714 ''SMH'' 17 March 1941]
  21. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28048870 ''SMH'' 13 July 1929]
  22. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17248725 ''SMH'' 4 July 1936]
  23. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16573354 ''SMH'' 6 August 1929]
  24. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16930529 ''SMH'' 14 November 1932]
  25. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17109854 ''SMH'' 6 October 1934]
  26. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17113328 ''SMH'' 17 November 1934]
  27. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17114853 ''SMH'' 17 December 1934]
  28. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17143763 ''SMH'' 27 April 1935]
  29. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17194414 ''SMH'' 6 July 1935]
  30. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17185546 ''SMH'' 28 September 1935]
  31. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17238793 ''SMH'' 18 November 1935]
  32. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17317513 ''SMH'' 16 March 1936]
  33. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27993053 ''SMH'' 16 May 1936]
  34. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17372632 ''SMH'' 13 July 1937]
  35. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17382497 ''SMH'' 14 August 1937]
  36. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17415920 ''SMH'' 13 October 1937]
  37. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17467464 ''SMH'' 21 May 1938]
  38. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17553637 ''SMH'' 28 January 1939]
  39. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17596503 ''SMH'' 10 July 1939]
  40. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18229718 ''SMH'' 10 September 1951]
  41. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18265167 ''SMH'' 17 May 1952]
  42. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18284603 ''SMH'' 3 October 1952]
  43. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18393838 ''SMH'' 17 October 1953]
  44. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article28657476 ''SMH'' 6 December 1953]
  45. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18276557 ''SMH'' 7 August 1952]
  46. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18431256 ''SMH'' 7 May 1954]
  47. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18429227 ''SMH'' 7 August 1954]
  48. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17110091 ''SMH'' 5 December 1934]
  49. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17156250 ''SMH'' 29 May 1935]
  50. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article29536512 ''SMH'' 20 June 1935]
  51. [http://www.dadsotr.com/collectionguide_australianradioseries1930-1970.pdf ScreenSound Australia (prev. National Film and Sound Archives)]
  52. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17467377 ''SMH'' 21 May 1938]
  53. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article11268949 Melbourne ''Argus'' 27 January 1940]
  54. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17658996 ''SMH'' 6 March 1940]
  55. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18020557 ''SMH'' 8 April 1947]
  56. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18482834 ''SMH'' 3 September 1950]
  57. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18474448 17 September 1950]
  58. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article23421107 Melbourne ''Argus'' 8 June 1954]
  59. [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18453122 ''Sydney Morning Herald'' 2 September 1954]

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australian-theatre-directorsaustralian-theatre-managers-and-producersaustralian-radio-producersaustralian-male-radio-actors1905-births1990-deaths20th-century-australian-male-actorsjulian-ashton-art-school-alumnibritish-emigrants-to-australia