George Whaley

Acting

George Whaley

Born — Died

1934-06-19 — 2019-08-06

Place of birth

Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia

Known for

Acting

Credits

20 titles

George Whaley (19 June 1934 – 6 August 2019) was an Australian actor, director and writer, known for his work across theatre and film. Whaley taught as Head of Acting at National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) from 1976 to 1981, where among other students, he taught Mel Gibson, Judy Davis, Colin Friels, Hugo Weaving, Philip Quast, Steve Bisley, Tom Burlinson, Linda Cropper, Penny Cook, Anne Tenney, Heather Mitchell and Di Smith.

Known for

The Flying Doctors poster
6.6

The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.

The Flying Doctors

1986

Rafferty's Rules poster
8.0

Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the Seven Network. Rafferty's Rules was one of the first programs undertaken by the Seven Network's then new in-house drama unit, going into production in May 1985 as "a 15-part courtroom drama". The program had started out as a pilot episode, recorded in early 1984 with the actor Chris Haywood in the lead role. When the pilot episode was remounted later in 1984, Chris Haywood wasn't available and the lead role was re-cast to John Wood. This second recording was eventually broadcast as the program's first episode.

Rafferty's Rules

1987

Bodyline poster
7.6

Dramatization of the 1932/33 Test cricket series between England and Australia. Played in Australia, the series gained notoriety in Australian and worldwide cricketing history for the fact that the English team (headed by captain Douglas Jardine) applied a bowling technique called "leg theory", or more commonly, Bodyline. This technique involved bowlers bowling the ball directly at the batsman's body, and resulted in many of the Australian team receiving numerous bruises and injuries, with batsman Bert Oldfield sustaining a cracked skull. The series generated much anger and resentment towards the English team within Australia and seriously damaged Anglo-Australian cricketing relations at the time.

Bodyline

1984

Dirt Game poster
7.0

Enter the dramatic and dangerous world of Australia's oldest and riskiest pursuit – mining. A mismatched team strive to save a struggling but proud Australian mining company, and in doing so, must overcome their own prejudice and fears while facing life-threatening situations – not only for themselves but also for the workers they employ.

Dirt Game

2009

Ring of Scorpio poster
6.3

Three women plot revenge against a drug dealer who scammed them into working in his operations.

Ring of Scorpio

1991

Daydream Believer poster
6.7

A struggling actress with an affinity for horses meets wealthy rock music promoter and stable owner Digby Olsen.

Daydream Believer

1992

Film credits

1990s · 3 titles

1970s · 2 titles

Series credits

The Flying Doctors poster
6.6

The Flying Doctors is an Australian drama series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the real Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. It was initially a 1985 mini-series based in the fictional outback town of Cooper's Crossing starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. The success of the mini series led to its return the following year as an on-going series with McFarlane being joined by a new doctor, Chris Randall, played by Liz Burch. McFarlane left during the first season and actor Robert Grubb came in as new doctor Geoff Standish. The series' episodes were mostly self-contained but also featured ongoing storylines, such as Dr. Standish's romance with Sister Kate Wellings. Other major characters included pilot Sam Patterson, mechanic Emma Plimpton, local policeman Sgt. Jack Carruthers and Vic and Nancy Buckley, who ran the local pub/hotel, The Majestic. Andrew McFarlane also later returned to the series, resuming his role as Dr. Callaghan. The popular series ran for nine seasons and was successfully screened internationally.

The Flying Doctors

1986

Rafferty's Rules poster
8.0

Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the Seven Network. Rafferty's Rules was one of the first programs undertaken by the Seven Network's then new in-house drama unit, going into production in May 1985 as "a 15-part courtroom drama". The program had started out as a pilot episode, recorded in early 1984 with the actor Chris Haywood in the lead role. When the pilot episode was remounted later in 1984, Chris Haywood wasn't available and the lead role was re-cast to John Wood. This second recording was eventually broadcast as the program's first episode.

Rafferty's Rules

1987

Bodyline poster
7.6

Dramatization of the 1932/33 Test cricket series between England and Australia. Played in Australia, the series gained notoriety in Australian and worldwide cricketing history for the fact that the English team (headed by captain Douglas Jardine) applied a bowling technique called "leg theory", or more commonly, Bodyline. This technique involved bowlers bowling the ball directly at the batsman's body, and resulted in many of the Australian team receiving numerous bruises and injuries, with batsman Bert Oldfield sustaining a cracked skull. The series generated much anger and resentment towards the English team within Australia and seriously damaged Anglo-Australian cricketing relations at the time.

Bodyline

1984

Dirt Game poster
7.0

Enter the dramatic and dangerous world of Australia's oldest and riskiest pursuit – mining. A mismatched team strive to save a struggling but proud Australian mining company, and in doing so, must overcome their own prejudice and fears while facing life-threatening situations – not only for themselves but also for the workers they employ.

Dirt Game

2009

Ring of Scorpio poster
6.3

Three women plot revenge against a drug dealer who scammed them into working in his operations.

Ring of Scorpio

1991

Behind the camera

Dad and Dave: On Our Selection poster
6.8

Tired of local corruption and the harshness of his life a bushman demonstrates the true Aussie spirit and decides to run for parliament

Dad and Dave: On Our Selection

1995

Dad and Dave: On Our Selection poster
6.8

Tired of local corruption and the harshness of his life a bushman demonstrates the true Aussie spirit and decides to run for parliament

Dad and Dave: On Our Selection

1995

Clowning Around poster
7.2

Follows a boy who realizes there is more to being a clown, than just clowning around.

Clowning Around

1991

Poor Man's Orange poster
NR

Like its predecessor The Harp In The South, Poor Man's Orange was also adapted for Australian television by the Ten Network in 1987. It continues the story of the Darcy family, living in the Surry Hills area of Sydney. Originally a novel by New Zealand-born Australian author Ruth Park, the book was published in 1949. The Darcys a poor, working class family of tough Irish stock - Mumma (Anne Phelan), dad Hughie (Martyn Sanderson), Roie (Anna Hruby) and the younger daughter Dolour (Kaarin Fairfax), through whose eyes we hear their story.

Poor Man's Orange

1987

Poor Man's Orange poster
NR

Like its predecessor The Harp In The South, Poor Man's Orange was also adapted for Australian television by the Ten Network in 1987. It continues the story of the Darcy family, living in the Surry Hills area of Sydney. Originally a novel by New Zealand-born Australian author Ruth Park, the book was published in 1949. The Darcys a poor, working class family of tough Irish stock - Mumma (Anne Phelan), dad Hughie (Martyn Sanderson), Roie (Anna Hruby) and the younger daughter Dolour (Kaarin Fairfax), through whose eyes we hear their story.

Poor Man's Orange

1987

The Harp in the South poster
9.0

We first meet The Darcys, a poor, working class family of tough Irish stock through whose eyes we hear their story. A story that centres on the bittersweet first and last loves of Roie, who becomes a woman too quickly living among the tenement houses, razor gangs, brothels and sly-grog shops of inner city Sydney.

The Harp in the South

1987

The Harp in the South poster
9.0

We first meet The Darcys, a poor, working class family of tough Irish stock through whose eyes we hear their story. A story that centres on the bittersweet first and last loves of Roie, who becomes a woman too quickly living among the tenement houses, razor gangs, brothels and sly-grog shops of inner city Sydney.

The Harp in the South

1987

Clowning Around 2 poster
5.0

Sim, now a member of the Winter Circus in Paris, befriends Eve, another young clown. Drawn to an experimental style of clowning used by Circus Oz and Cirque du Soleil, the techniques get them both fired, but when Sim returns home to Australia, he finds that he is now the inheritor of a share in the Rathnow Circus.

Clowning Around 2

1993