Comicactors have made a particularly strong contribution to cultural life inAustralia over the past sixty years. They have brought a range of memorablecharacters to the stage, television and film; they have transformed our imageof ourselves, helped to overturn the crippling cultural cringe, and broughtAustralian humour and satire to the world. TheAustralian theatre, television and film industries are dynamic in ways thatcould never have been imagined fifty years ago. These industries have expandedand demonstrated extraordinary vitality, with actors, as the public face of theperforming arts, carrying the immediate responsibility for the success of eachshow. It is the actors, and often the characters they play, that we rememberwhen we recall a favourite television program, film or play, long after we haveseen it. In spite of this they are frequently left out of history.

Thisbook draws on extensive interviews to present full, rounded portraits of sevensignificant Australian comic actors: Carol Raye, Barry Humphries, NoelineBrown, Max Gillies, John Clarke, Tony Sheldon, and Denise Scott. Takentogether, these actors' careers span the period from the Second World War untilthe present and contributed immensely to the cultural life of millions ofAustralians.