Noel Tovey

Noel Tovey was an Australian dancer, actor, mentor, director and choreographer. His career encompassed activities in ballet, theatre, and motion pictures. He was also a pioneer of the LGBTQIA movement and a role model for Indigenous Australians. He was born in Melbourne on 25 December 1934, the son of an Aboriginal New Zealand mother and father of Scottish-African descent. He endured sexual abuse, neglect and poverty throughout his childhood and adolescence. He was sent to a reformatory school at the age of 10 and later to Pentridge Prison for homosexual acts. He was raped by two prison guards and attempted suicide. He escaped from prison and lived on the streets as a hustler and thief. He also developed a passion for dancing and acting, and joined a dance troupe that toured around Australia. He moved to Sydney for physical rehabilitation at the Far West Children Home. He returned to Melbourne and worked as a dancer at the Tivoli Theatre. He also appeared in several radio plays and television shows. In 1955, he moved to London to pursue his career in theatre. He changed his name from Noel Christian to Noel Tovey to avoid being associated with his criminal past. He studied at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He performed in various plays and musicals in London's West End, such as Salad Days, The Boy Friend, Irma La Douce, Lock Up Your Daughters, and Oh Calcutta. He also appeared in films such as A High Wind in Jamaica, The Magic Christian, and The Blood on Satan's Claw. He taught at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and co-founded the London Theatre for Children before returning to Australia in 1990. He directed and choreographed several plays and ballets in Australia, such as The Tempest, The Dreaming, The Cherry Orchard, The Importance of Being Earnest, and Skipping on Stars. He also mentored many young Indigenous artists and performers. He was the artistic director for the indigenous welcoming ceremony at the Sydney 2000 Olympics. In 2004, he published his autobiography Little Black Bastard, which chronicled his life and career. The book won several awards and was adapted into a stage play in 2013. He also wrote a sequel called And Then I Found Me in 2018. He was an outspoken advocate for the rights of LGBTQIA+ elders and Indigenous Australians. He received several honours for his contributions to the arts and society, such as the Order of Australia (AM) in 1999 and the Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2014. He also received honorary doctorates from Deakin University and Flinders University. He died on 24 April 2019 at the age of 84 from heart failure at a hospital in Melbourne.