Gus Mercurio

Gus Mercurio
Born	Augustino Eugenio Mercurio
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1970–2008

Augustino Eugenio "Gus" Mercurio (10 August 1928–7 December 2010) was an American-born Australian character actor who appeared on both film and television.

Early life

Mercurio was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He visited Australia during 1956 Melbourne Olympics and decided to stay.

Boxer

He was a professional boxer, Marine and chiropractor.

He was also an international boxing judge. He refereed a world title fight. He was also a well-known boxing promoter, who later became the president of the Australian Boxing Hall of Fame.

TV and film

Having successfully auditioned for consideration to be included in the cast of an ABC radio play, and selected at his first audition, his raspy voice, energetic personality and natural talents quickly came to the attention of Australian television production houses such as Crawford Productions.

He also worked as a commentator for Channel 7's World of Sport, as well as acting as the movie host for Channel 10's Saturday Night with Gus Mercurio.

Mercurio appeared in several Australian TV series, including Cash and Company (1975), its follow-up Tandarra (1976) and the miniseries Power Without Glory (1976). Additionally, he played many guest roles in Australian TV police series, including Homicide (1964), Division 4 (1969) and Matlock Police (1971). His film appearances include The Blue Lagoon (1980), The Man from Snowy River (1982), Turkey Shoot (1982), "Crocodile" Dundee II (1988), Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991) and Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997).

Family

Mercurio was the father of dancer and actor Paul Mercurio, the star of the film Strictly Ballroom (1992).

Death

He died on 7 December 2010 during surgery for a chest aneurism.

Selected filmography

• Alvin Purple Rides Again (1974)
• Cash and Company TV series (1975)
• Eliza Fraser (1976)
• The Sullivans TV series (1976–1983)
• Power Without Glory TV series (1976)
• Tandarra TV series (1976)
• The Blue Lagoon (1980)
• Harlequin (1980)
• Turkey Shoot (1982)
• The Man from Snowy River (1982)
• Five Mile Creek TV series (1983)
• All the Rivers Run TV series (1983)
• The Return of Captain Invincible (1983)
• The Challenge TV series (1986)
• "Crocodile" Dundee II (1988)
• The Great Air Race (1990) (TV)
• Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
• Lightning Jack (1994)
• Flipper TV series (1996)
• Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997)

Works

• Mercurio, G., Boxin' : all you wanted to know but didn't want to fight to ask, Regus, (Kew), 1998. ISBN 0646352415
• Mercurio, G., Hang in There: Inspirational Gems to Empower You!, Wilkinson Books, (Melbourne), 1994. ISBN 1863501681

External links

• Gus Mercurio at IMDb
• Gus Mercurio biography at Aussie Box
• Photo Gallery: Farewell Gus Mercurio
• New Colonial Epic, Sydney Morning Herald TV Guide, Monday, 2 February, 1976.
• Carman, G. & Upham, P., "Thinking man's boxer and more", The Age, 9 December 2010.
• Humphries, R. "Inside Sport: Gus Mercurio", Sydney Morning Herald, Wednesday, 25 February 1976, p.25.
• Paxinos, S., "A Contest in Black and White", The Age, 18 May 2008.
• Paxinos, S., "One out of the box", The Age, 12 July 2005.
• Quinn, K., "Farewell to a man who made mistakes … and amends", The Age, 21 December 2010.
• Stark, J., "Boxing history hits the canvas", The Age,29 September 2005.
• Silvers, A.R., "Wisconsin's Mercurio was a famous actor in Australia", The Journal Sentinel, 11 December 2010.
• Webb, C., "Celebrating dinky-di Americans", The Age, 7 June 2005.