Ian McFadyen
Ian McFadyen (born 8 July 1948) is an Australian television writer, actor, director and producer. He is best known as the creator and producer of the Australian television series The Comedy Company, which he also directed and wrote episodes for, and performed in, which ran from 16 February 1988 to 11 November 1990. One of McFadyen's most memorable characters on the show was "David Rabbitborough", a parodic impersonation of British naturalist David Attenborough.[2]
Ian McFadyen | |
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| Born | 8 July 1948 Pascoe Vale, Victoria, Australia[1] |
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| Website | http://members.ozemail.com.au/~imcfadyen |
McFadyen hosted the Australian version of Cluedo, and was the creator of the Network Ten sketch comedy show The Wedge.[3] In 2009, he played a vampire in an advertisement for Australian lotteries.[4] He also wrote "The Bounty Hunter", episode 4 for the new Doctor Who spin-off TV series K-9. In 1983 he played the part of Detective Mears in the iconic Australian TV series Prisoner.
McFadyen is the author of the book Mind Wars: The Battle for Your Brain, published by Allen & Unwin.[5] He also co-wrote the satirical novel Going Out Backwards (2015) with Ross Fitzgerald.[6]
Filmography
Producer
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | The Eleventh Hour | (TV series) Producer |
| 1988 | The Comedy Company | (TV series) Producer |
| 1989 | The Great TV Game Show | (TV series) Executive Producer (16 episodes) |
| 1990 | The Big Time | (TV series) Producer (2 episodes) |
| 1990 | Larger than Life | (TV series) Producer |
| 1990-92 | Let the Blood Run Free | Executive Producer (26 episodes) |
| 1992-93 | Bingles | Executive Producer (23 episodes) |
| 1993-94 | Newlyweds | (TV series) Executive Producer (52 episodes) |
| 2002 | The Comedy Company: So Excellent (documentary) | Producer |
| 2006 | The Wedge | Co-Executive Producer/Producer (26 episodes) |
| 2010 | The Verge | (TV series) Executive Producer |
Actor/performer
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Snow: The Movie (TV movies) | Ian |
| 1984 | ...And Where Lies The Justice? (TV movie) | |
| 1984 | Special Squad (TV series) | Evans |
| 1983-84 | Prisoner (TV series) | 2 roles -Joe Timmons -Det. Fred Mears |
| 1985 | Glass Babies (TV movie) | Dr. B. Bombar |
| 1985 | One Summer Again (TV movie) | Theodore Fink |
| 1985 | The Eleventh Hour (TV series) | Various |
| 1986 | Malcolm (film) | Model Shop Salesman |
| 1988 | Boulevard of Broken Dreams (film) | Hotel Clerk |
| 1988 | A Cry in the Dark (also titled Evil Angels) | Attorney General |
| 1988 | The Bit Part | Commercial Director |
| 1988 | The Comedy Company (TV series) | David Rabbitborough/Ian |
| 1991 | All Together Now (TV series) | Simon Carpenter |
| 1996 | The Genie from Down Under (TV series) | Lord "Bubbles" Uppington-Smythe |
| 1998 | The Genie from Down Under 2 (TV series) | Lord "Bubbles" Uppington-Smythe |
| 2004 | Flushed (film short) | The Narrator (voice) |
| 2011 | Dartworth | Darren "The Spider" Twine |
| 2018 | Bluey (TV series) | Bob |
Screenwriter
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Home (TV series) | Writer - 4 episodes |
| 1984 | The Keepers (TV series) | |
| 1984 | The Cleaning (short) | Writer |
| 1984 | Infinity Limited (TV series) | Writer - 5 episodes |
| 1985 | The Eleventh Hour (TV series) | Writer |
| 1988 | The Bit Part | Writer |
| 1988 | The Comedy Company (TV series) | Writer |
| 1992 | Bingles (TV series) | Writer |
| 1993 | The Feds: Terror (TV movie) | Writer |
| 1993-94 | The Newlyweds (TV series) | Roles -Writer- 34 episodes -Additional Writer - 1 episode -Creator - 1 episode |
| 2001 | Wicked! (TV series) | Writer |
| 2002 | The Vector File (TV movie) | Screenplay / Story |
| 2006 | The Wedge (TV series) | Writer - 26 episodes |
| 2010 | The Verge (TV series) | Writer |
| 2011 | WAC! World Animal Championships (TV series) | Writer |
Director
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Alive and Kicking (documentary short) | Director |
| 1988 | The Comedy Company (TV series) | Director |
| 2002 | Bingles (TV series) | Director |
| 2002 | The Comedy Company: So Excellent (TV movie documentary) | Director |
| 2010 | The Verge (TV series) | Special Guest Director |
Appearances
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Cluedo (TV series) | Host (23 episodes) |
| 2005-10 | 20 to 1 (TV series documentary) | Himself (5 episodes) |
| 2015-17 | Stop Laughing... This is Serious (TV series documentary | Himself (4 episodes) |
Production assistant
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Nothing Like Experience | Production Assistant |
References
- McFadyen, Ian: "Fond memories of a lost frontier", The Age, 1 November 1983.
- Lallo, Michael: The Life of Mammals, The Age, 7 July 2008.
- Dale, David: Humiliation becomes family fun, The Sydney Morning Herald Entertainment Blog, 5 December 2005.
- Butler, Dianne: Ian McFadyen's new role as Dracula in Halloween lottery ads, The Courier Mail, 26 October 2009.
- Bestsellers from Melbourne, New Scientist, 13 January 2001.
- Atfield, Cameron (29 November 2015). "A professor and a comedian walk into an authoring partnership..." Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 December 2016.