Gus Mercurio

The Sydney Morning Herald described him as "one of the most recognised and loved faces in Australian television," while boxing writer Paul Upham called him "one of the great characters of Australian boxing."

• Name — Gus Mercurio • Birth Name — Augustino Eugenio Mercurio • Born — 10 August 1928 • Birthplace — West Bend, Wisconsin, U.S. • Died — 7 December 2010 • Place of death — Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Citizenship — * United States • Australia • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1970–2008 • Children — 7 (including Paul Mercurio)

Of Sicilian descent, Mercurio was born in West Bend, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee, in 1928. He was the eldest child of Vincent A. Mercurio and Cecilia W. 'Mickey' Miller. He had two sisters, Gerie and Connie, and a brother, Tony. The elder Mercurio was a member of the Milwaukee mob, and according to his son, was verbally and emotionally abusive. His parents were divorced when he was seven. Mercurio served in the United States Maritime Service, then the United States Marine Corps, and was also a chiropractor. He first visited Australia during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and decided to stay. He worked as a chiropractor in regional Victoria for over a decade before he became prominent in the media. He was later naturalised as an Australian citizen.

Mercurio's family had close ties to boxing. His father had boxed professionally under the ring name of Vince McGurk, and one of his uncles had boxed professionally under the name of Ray Miller. Mercurio began boxing while in the Marine Corps and turned professional after leaving the service. He participated in two professional boxing fights in 1950, losing both. He first came to Australia as a 32-year old during the 1956 Summer Olympics, accompanying the US boxing team as a chiropractor. He decided to stay, moving to Melbourne and working as a boxing coach. Mercurio was also an international boxing judge (refereeing a world title fight) and was also a well-known boxing promoter. Staying close to boxing, he judged 149 professional bouts and, starting in 1970 and until 1986, refereed 89 fights, including some world championship contests, such as the 1985 one between Barry Michael and Lester Ellis, which was a major sporting event in Australia. Mercurio was also a judge for several world title bouts including Roy Jones versus Clinton Woods, Pernell Whitaker versus Gary Jacobs, Azumah Nelson versus Juan LaPorte and Rocky Mattioli versus Elisha Obed. Mercurio was a regular commentator on Channel 7's World of Sport, from 1976 until the programme's end in 1987. His appearance on the programme led him to be what The Sydney Morning Herald described as "one of the most recognised and loved faces in Australian television." He was also the movie host for Channel 10's Saturday Night with Gus Mercurio. He later became the president of the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame – into which he was inducted in 2008.

In 1967, Mercurio began his television career as a referee of amateur boxing matches on Channel Nine's Golden Gloves, before becoming a commentator. After attracting the attention of producer Hector Crawford, he auditioned for Crawford Productions in 1969, scoring a role in an episode of Homicide. In preparation for television acting, he gained experience in an amateur theatre production of Arthur Miller's After the Fall. Mercurio's rugged appearance saw him play numerous 'tough' characters. His extroverted personality landed him lead roles in Cash and Company (1975), its follow-up Tandarra (1976). and the miniseries Power Without Glory (1976). He also had a regular roles in Disney series Five Mile Creek, miniseries All the Rivers Run (alongside Sigrid Thornton) and The New Adventures of Flipper. He had a minor role in an episode of American series McCloud opposite Dennis Weaver. He played guest roles in several TV police series, including Division 4, Matlock Police and later, Blue Heelers. Other guest credits included Mission Impossible and All Together Now. Mercurio's film appearances include The Blue Lagoon (1980), Ozploitation action film Turkey Shoot (1982) and Australian classic The Man from Snowy River (1982), once again with Sigrid Thornton. Further film credits included the internationally successful Crocodile Dundee II (1988), opposite Paul Hogan, Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991), Lightning Jack (also with Hogan) and Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997). Additionally, Mercurio appeared in television commercials, including one for a roofing company, playing a character called the 'Roof Fairy', in which he wore a pink tutu and a blond curly wig. He was a guest commentator on an Australian broadcast of the Super Bowl one year. He also wrote scripts for Division 4.

Mercurio was married twice and fathered seven children. He had his first three children, Jo, Vincent and Tony, with his first wife, Shirley. Two of the children were born in the US, and after the family moved to Australia, their third child was born in Ballarat, Victoria. After his first marriage failed, Shirley returned to the US with the children. Mercurio married his second wife, Jean McKibbin, after 1959, in Swan Hill. The couple had four children – Joseph, Michael, Connie and dancer/actor Paul Mercurio. They split in 1969, when Paul was five. Michael took his life in 2000. Mercurio remained friends with both his ex-wives. His long-term partner was Rita Ball. In 1989, Mercurio was heading for the Argyle diamond mines in Western Australia to film an episode for his series Gus Mercurio's Australia when he had a serious car accident. This resulted in three operations on his back and one on his foot. In 1995, the Supreme Court of Western Australia awarded him $502,500, after the insurance company had originally only offered him $25,000.

• Year — Title — Role — Type • 1970 — The Long Arm — Bud Weiser / Syd — 2 episodes • 1970–1975 — Homicide — 12 guest roles — 12 episodes • 1971–1973 — Matlock Police — 8 guest roles — 8 episodes • 1971–1974 — Division 4 — 12 guest roles — 12 episodes • 1973 — Boney — Frail — 1 episode • Frank and Francesca — 6 episodes • Ryan — James Logan — 1 episode • 1974 — Marion — Papa Stefano — Miniseries, 1 episode • 1975 — Cash and Company — Joe Brady — Miniseries, 13 episodes • 1976 — McCloud — Alex Demery — 1 episode • Solo One — Pickett — 1 episode • Power Without Glory — Sparring Partner / Bill Tinns — Miniseries, 3 episodes • Tandarra — Joe Brady — Miniseries, 13 episodes • 1976–1987 — World of Sport — Commentator • 1978 — The Lion's Share — Hennesy — TV movie • Catspaw — The Colonel — 3 episodes • The Sullivans — George — 9 episodes • 1979 — Skyways — Willard Fry — 1 episode • TV Follies — Maxy Missouri — 1 episode • 1981 — Holiday Island — Bob — 3 episodes • 1983 — All the Rivers Run — Tom Critchley — Miniseries, 4 episodes • 1983–1985 — Five Mile Creek — Ben Jones — 37 episodes • 1984 — Special Squad — Haliwell — 1 episode • 1985 — I Live with Me Dad — Waldo Skrimm — TV movie • 1986 — The Lancaster Miller Affair — Harry Middleton — Miniseries, 3 episodes • Sword of Honour — Onassis — Miniseries, 1 episode • The Challenge — Vic Romagna — Miniseries, 2 episodes • 1986–1987 — Gone Fishing — Presenter • 1988 — Australians — Tex Rickard — Miniseries, episode: "Les Darcy" • Badlands 2005 — Stubbs — TV movie • Mission: Impossible — Bob Connors — 1 episode • 1989 — The Heroes — Captain Hawes — Miniseries • 1991 — Ratbag Hero — Referee — Miniseries • The Great Air Race — 'Granny' Granville — Miniseries, 1 episode • 1992 — Survive the Savage Sea — Mr Haines — TV movie • The Flying Doctors — Happy — 1 episode • 1993 — Time Trax — Announcer — 1 episode • All Together Now — Freddy Vale — 1 episode • Official Denial — Joe Dan — TV movie • Stark — Larry — Miniseries, 2 episodes • 1996–2000 — Flipper — Edward 'Cap' Daulton — 66 episodes • 1997 — Neighbours — Trainer — 1 episode • 2000 — Tales of the South Seas — Miniseries, 1 episode • 2001 — Curse of the Talisman — Junkyard Owner — TV movie • 2001; 2004 — Blue Heelers — Harry Spencer / Jimmy Steedman — 2 episodes • 2003; 2008 — The Saddle Club — Bluey / Mick — 2 episodes • Saturday Night with Gus Mercurio — Movie host

• Year — Title — Role — Type — Ref. • 1979 — Two for the Seesaw — Jerry Ryan — NSW & VIC tour, Playhouse, Canberra with Gus Mercurio Productions • 1981 — True West — Saul — Playbox Theatre, Melbourne • 1985 — Insignificance — The Senator — SGIO Theatre, Brisbane with QTC & Playbox Theatre, Melbourne • 1994 — The Grapes of Wrath — Pa Joad — Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC

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