Henri Szeps
Henri Szeps OAM, (born 2 October 1943, Lausanne, Switzerland) alternatively Henry Szeps, is an Australian character actor of theatre and television. He has also featured in films and worked in voice roles, and has worked in productions in the United Kingdom.
Henri Szeps | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 October 1943 Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Education | University of Sydney |
| Occupation |
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| Organization | Ensemble Theatre |
| Known for | Mother And Son , I'm Not A Dentist (theatre) |
| Television | Palace of Drams |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Ann Severne |
| Children | Josh Szeps |
| Awards |
|
Early life
Szeps was born in Lausanne, Switzerland to Polish parents. Due to the German invasion of Poland during World War II, his parents fled to France in 1938. His father left the family to join the French Resistance. In 1943, his mother and three-year-old sister made their way to a refugee camp in Lausanne, where Henri was born. At 1½ months he was fostered to a Swiss couple in Blumenstein. His mother reclaimed him when he was three years old, and returned to the Swiss couple when he was 4½. He was reclaimed by his mother to Paris, and due to her illness, at the age of six was placed at the Rothschild Orphanage. He came to Sydney, Australia at the age of eight in 1951 or 1952 with his mother and sister.[2][3]
Career
Szeps studied acting at Ensemble Theatre during weekends, under the direction of Hayes Gordon, while gaining science and electrical engineering degrees at Sydney University. In 1963, while sitting for the BSc in maths and physics during the day he was appearing every night at the Ensemble Theatre in his first play there, called The Physicists, which ran for six months.
Szeps is probably best known for his role as selfish dentist Robert Beare in the classic Australian television comedy series Mother and Son (1984 to 1994), with Garry McDonald, Ruth Cracknell and Judy Morris. Another prominent role was in Palace of Dreams for which he received a Penguin Award. He played the Doctor in the world première of David Williamson's play, Travelling North, and was asked to repeat the performance in the 1987 film, with Leo McKern & Graham Kennedy.
He appeared in 1981 TV movie A Step in the Right Direction.
Szeps won the Penguin Award for best actor for ABC's 10 part series Palace of Dreams.
He has performed in five one-man shows, produced by the Ensemble Theatre, the last three self-penned: The Double Bass (1990), Sky (1992) (written for him by John Misto, I'm Not a Dentist (1997), Why Kids (2003) and Wish I'd Said That (2010).
He has written a book on acting, All in Good Timing (1996), which is used by drama schools.
Honours and awards
- Penguin Award, Best Actor in a mini-series – Palace of Dreams
- 1985 Norman Kessell Award (Outstanding Performance) for I'm Not a Dentist
- 1998 OAM for Service to Arts and Community
- 2001 Helpmann Award for Cabaret, 2003
- The Henri Szeps Green Room – declared at Ensemble Theatre in 2014
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Glugs, 2015
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | You Can't See 'round Corners (movie) | Peter |
| 1969 | Skippy (TV series) | Bob |
| 1969 | Rip Tide (TV series) | Des Dawkins |
| 1967–1969 | Homicide (TV series) | 3 roles Peter Scott (1967) Alan Shaw (1969)- David Yates (1969) |
| 1971 | Misleading Cases (TV series) | Pierre |
| 1971 | Spyforce (TV series) | Dingo |
| 1971 | The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes (TV series) | Laval |
| 1972 | Spyder's Web (TV series) | Policeman |
| 1972 | Spy Trap (TV series) | The Frenchmen |
| 1972 | The Strauss Family (mini-series) (credited as Henry Szeps) | Edi's Dresser |
| 1974 | Barlow (TV series) | Corsican |
| 1973–1974 | Colditz (TV series) | 2 roles De Crossait Captain Henry LeVevre |
| 1974 | Crown Court (TV series) | Dr. Herman Abel |
| 1975 | Dixon of Dock Green (TV series) | Onion Man |
| 1969–1975 | Division 4 (TV series) | 3 roles Jeff Taylor (1969) Brian Martin (1971) Jimmy Dunn (1975) |
| 1975 | Armchair Cinema (TV series) | |
| 1976 | Number 96 (TV series) | Phillip Chambers |
| 1976 | God Knows Why, But It Works | Dr. Archie Kalokerinos |
| 1977 | The Dick Emery Show in Australia (TV series) | various characters |
| 1977 | Say You Want Me (TV movie) | Jim Morton |
| 1978 | Chopper Squad (TV series) | Falconio |
| 1977–1978 | Cop Shop (TV series) | 2 roles Steven Halliday (1977) Vincent Morelli (1978) |
| 1979 | The Plumber (TV movie) | David Medavoy |
| 1979 | Ride on Stranger (TV series) | Vincent Sladder |
| 1980 | A Toast to Melba (TV movie) | 3 roles Thomas Beecham Buffalo Bill Mayor of Brisbane |
| 1980 | Fatty Finn | Mr. Zilch |
| 1981 | A Step in the Right Direction (TV movie) | |
| 1981 | Run, Rebecca Run! | Manuel Cortes |
| 1981 | Daily at Dawn (TV series) | Joe Parker |
| 1982 | Wilde's Domain (TV movie) | Shenko |
| 1982 | The Best of Friends | Lilo |
| 1982 | M.P.S.I.B (TV series) | Tran Van |
| 1982 | Mystery at Castle House | Mr. Wilberforce |
| 1983 | Now and Forever | Barry York |
| 1982–1983 | A Country Practice (TV series) | 2 roles Perc Hobbs Ralph Bianchi |
| 1983 | The Return of Captain Invincible | Chief Security Officer |
| 1983 | Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear | Voice (credited as Henry Szeps) |
| 1983 | Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet | Voice |
| 1983 | Platypus Cove | Winston Bell |
| 1980–1984 | Kingswood Country | 2 roles Mr O'Grady Eric the Postman |
| 1984 | City West (TV series) | Dr. Mikus Kuskis |
| 1984 | A Tale of Two Cities (TV movie) | Voice |
| 1985 | Palace of Dreams (TV mini-series) | Mick Mendel |
| 1985 | Warming Up | Sergeant Peter Sullivan |
| 1985 | The Pickwick Papers (TV movie) | Voice |
| 1987 | Vietnam (TV miniseries) | Harold Holt |
| 1987 | Les Patterson Saves the World | 2 roles Dr. Charles Herpes Desiree Herpes |
| 1987 | Travelling North | Saul |
| 1987 | The Edge of Power | Steve Traynor |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules (TV series) | Uncle Aniello |
| 1989 | Hannay (TV series) | Police Inspector |
| 1990 | Mission: Impossible (TV series) | Esteban Magdalena |
| 1991 | Hampton Court (TV series) | Mr. Verstak |
| 1992 | The Adventures of Skippy (TV series) | Frank |
| 1992 | Seeing Red | Louie Leeds |
| 1984–1994 | Mother and Son (TV sitcom) | Robert Beare |
| 1991–1995 | G.P. (TV series) | 2 roles -Charlie Cassidy -Ibram Hanaf |
| 1996 | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga (TV series), | Jacob Verkovic |
| 2000 | Stingers (TV series) | Norman Sagar |
| 2001 | Flat Chat (TV series) | Cardinal Del Gardia |
| 2001 | South Pacific (TV movie) | Benoit |
| 2001 | Elixir | Bob Sommerville |
| 2001 | Escape of the Artful Dodger (TV series) | Dr. Hartman |
| 2009 | No Junk Mail (film short) | |
| 1999–2009 | All Saints (TV series) | 2 roles -George Bresnic (1999) -Victor McGregor (2009) |
| 2010 | The Bris (film short) | Dobinski |
| 2012 | Bathing Franky | Rodney |
| 2013 | McLean's Money | Edward McLean |
| 2015 | Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door (mini-series) | Dee Anthony |
Personal life
He met his wife of 47 years, New Zealand Australian actress Mary Ann Severne, during the Sydney season of The Boys in the Band, and they were married soon after. They have two sons, one of whom is Josh Szeps, a media personality and former co-host of Weekend Breakfast on the Australian ABC News 24 channel.
References
- "Henri Szeps". AusStage.
- "Henri's story". Refugee Council of Australia. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
- Wright, Tony (6 September 1988). "Szeps's life would make a good script itself". Canberra Times (ACT : 1926 - 1995). p. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
External links
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