Charles William "Bud" Tingwell (born January 3, 1923 in Coogee, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), is an Australian film and theatre actor. Tingwell is one of the veterans of Australian film. He acted in his first film in 1946, and has appeared in over one hundred films.
As an adolescent, Tingwell was encouraged by his father to be an accountant, but failed the entrance exam. Not long after, he volunteered as a pilot during World War II. He joined the Royal Australian Air Force in 1941 and subsequently saw action flying photographic reconnaissance missions overseas. After returning to Australia, he married his childhood sweetheart, Audrey. He also began to seriously consider a career in film, which had been a passion of his before the war.
In 1946, Tingwell won his first film role, as a control tower officer in the film Smithy. He took on several roles over the next few years, increasing in stature, until he caught the attention of Hollywood in 1952, and won the part of Lt. Harry Carstairs in the film The Desert Rats, alongside Chips Rafferty, James Mason and Richard Burton.
After filming The Desert Rats, Tingwell stayed in Australia for three years, making three films, including King of the Coral Sea, which also featured Rafferty. In 1956, Tingwell moved to England. The following year, he took on his first recurring television role, playing Australian surgeon Alan Dawson in the live television serial Emergency Ward 10. He also won the role of Inspector Craddock in all four films of the Miss Marple film series starring Margaret Rutherford, between 1961 and 1964.
In the later 1960s, he performed various minor voice roles for the Gerry Anderson shows Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet as well as appearing in the first series of cult television show Catweazle.
Tingwell made numerous other films while in England, but in 1973, returned to Australia with his wife and children, and soon after, won the role of Inspector Reg Lawson on the long-running series Homicide. This was followed by small roles in a number of major Australian films, such as Breaker Morant, Puberty Blues and All The Rivers Run.
His career went through a quiet period throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, until he took on the role of a grandfather in a recurring segment for the satirical series The Late Show in 1993. He was awarded the prestigious Gold Logie Hall of Fame award in 1994. His role in The Late Show was later to win him a major role as lawyer Lawrence Hammill in the major 1997 film The Castle. He later said that this role helped him recover from the death of his wife not long before.
After the success of The Castle, Tingwell's career has undergone a revival during the late 1990s and early 2000s. This saw him take on small roles in commercial films The Craic and The Dish, the mini-series Changi, as well as the lead in the romance Innocence.
Tingwell also had a recurring guest role in the soap opera Neighbours in 2000 and 2003, playing "Henry O'Rourke".
'Bud' Tingwell appeared as "John Conroy" in the musical theatre production The Man from Snowy River: Arena Spectacular, which toured Australian capital cities twice during 2002.
As of 2005, Tingwell is still acting regularly, alternating between theatre, film and television. Most recently, he has hosted ratings winners Celebrity Circus, and 20 to 1. He appeared on a Celebrity special of Temptation with his daughter Virginia.
In 2006 Bud successfully launched his own website with over 500 registered users in just over a week. On October 5, 2006 he launched his first blog . Bud is encouraging fans to visit the site and share their thoughts on his life and career. Bud will be expressing his views on a number of topics including Directing TV, Film and Theatre, 50 Years of Australian Television, Reality TV, Acting Craft.
