Gerard Maguire (born 25 September 1945) also credited as Gerard McGuire, is an Australian actor, producer and screenwriter best known for his role in Prisoner as Deputy Governor, Jim Fletcher. Often appearing on Australian television police dramas and soap operas throughout the 1970s and 80s, he is also one of Australia's top voice actors, voicing numerous commercials and narrations during the 1990s and early 2000s.
Early life
Maguire was born in September 1945 and began acting during the late 1960s, shortly after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art with a Diploma of Dramatic Art in 1967. Out of 3,000 applicants, he was one of 15 students to complete the program.
Career
Early career
After minor one-time roles on the television series Riptide and The Link Men, Maguire made his feature film debut in The Demonstrator with Joe James and Irene Inescort. In the film, he portrayed university student Steve Slater whose political differences with his father Joe Slater, a Federal cabinet minister, result in his leading a series of protests disrupting his father's activities in organising an international conference. The film was considered a commercial failure. Following this he starred in the film Country Town (1971)Reade, Eric. History and Heartburn: The Saga of Australian Film, 1896–1978. Rutherford, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1979. (pg. 171, 174) Country Town was a feature film spin-off from Australian Broadcasting Corporation soap opera Bellbird.
In the late 1960s and the 1970s, he was a guest actor on drama series Dynasty, Ryan, and on police procedural series Matlock Police, Homicide, Division 4 and Cop Shop. Joining the Melbourne Theatre Company, he also performed in Going Home at St. Martin's Theatre on 11 March 1976. That same year, he starred with Tom Oliver and Kate Sheil in David Williamson's A Handful of Friends at the Russell Street Theatre in Melbourne.Perkins, Elizabeth. The Plays of Alma de Groen. Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V., 1994. Williamson, David and Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt. Australian Playwrights: David Williamson. Amsterdam: Rodopi B.V., 1988. Maguire went on to supporting roles in the television miniseries Luke's Kingdom and the film Mad Dog Morgan. In 1978 he was part of the cast in the first public performance of Kenneth G. Ross's important Australian play Breaker Morant: A Play in Two Acts, presented by the Melbourne Theatre Company at the Athenaeum Theatre, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on 2 February 1978.
A late arrival during the first season of Prisoner, Maguire joined the cast in mid 1979 as Deputy Governor Jim Fletcher and eventually became the only main male character during his three years on the series. Maguire eventually left during the show's fourth season in early 1982. During his last year with the series, he appeared with Prisoner co-stars Colette Mann and Val Lehman in Kitty and the Bagman (1982).
During 1983, Maguire starred as Dr. John Rivers in the short lived television series Starting Out. As one of the school's tutors and the father of the disfigured Michelle (Rowena Mohr), his time on the series dealt with Rivers' guilt over his daughter's accident while dealing with his unhappily married wife Yvonne (Suzy Gashler).Mercado, Andrew. Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows. Melbourne: Pluto Press Australia, 2004. (pg. 199)
After the series' cancellation, Maguire made a guest appearance on Special Squad and had supporting roles in The Surfer and Alice to Nowhere before returning to the stage in 1986 to perform in David Williamson's Sons of Cain which ran for five-months in London's West End. In 1987, was a television presenter for Ground Zero and appeared in one episode of The Flying Doctors during the next two years. Maguire also appeared during the final season of the soap opera The Power, The Passion as a police investigator and ex-boyfriend of one of the central characters, Ellen Byrne Edmonds (Olivia Hamnett).Mercado, Andrew. Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows. Melbourne: Pluto Press Australia, 2004. (pg. 284)
Producing and writing
While producing a film adaptation of a novel during the mid-1980s, he replaced the screenwriter originally working on the screenplay. Contacted by Columbia Pictures, he flew to California to discuss the project, he met producer and then Senior Vice-president Jane Alsobrook. He soon began a romantic relationship and Maguire ended up staying in Los Angeles for the next several years. In 1993, he and Lance Peters co-wrote Gross Misconduct, later directed by George T. Miller and, the following year, wrote Seduce Me: Pamela Principle 2 and was the script supervisor for Tunnel Vision. He was also involved in acting workshops with actors such as Jon Voight among others.
Return to Australia
In 1995, he moved back to Australia with Alsobrook when she accepted a position as president of Australia's largest independent film production and distribution company, REP. During the mid-to-late 1990s, Maguire appeared in the television movies Heart of Fire, The Fury Within and The Finder as well as the guest appearances on the television series Water Rats, Murder Call and All Saints. He became a voice actor, eventually narrating hundreds of commercials and, in 1995, was the voice of Titanium Man in the series Iron Man. During the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, he was the announcer during the diving events.
Return to USA
Following the September 11 attacks, Maguire moved to the United States allowing his wife to be closer to her family in Sedona, Arizona. Although continuing to be involved in a number of film projects with his wife, he also became involved in local theatre agreeing to appear in theatrical performances with the Canyon Moon Theatre Company and, in April 2002, appeared as the narrator in Side By Side By Sondheim at the Old Marketplace in West Sedona.
Maguire continued working as a voice actor during the next several years via the internet. After a five-year absence, Maguire made an appearance in the 2007 independent film Brothel.
As of 2013, Maguire lives in Arizona.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Type 1969 You Can't See 'Round Corners Terry (uncredited) Feature film 1971 Demonstrator Steven Slater Feature film 1971 Country Town Phillip Henderson Feature film 1972 Crisis TV film 1976 Secret Doors TV film 1976 Mad Dog Morgan Rutherford Feature film 1979 Burn the Butterflies TV film 1981 Prisoner in Concert Jim Fletcher TV film 1982 Kitty and the Bagman Cyril Film 1984 The Bodyguard Lawyer Short film 1986 The Surfer 1987 Death Ware Jack 1987 Ground Zero TV presenter Feature film 1988 Vicious! (aka To Make a Killing) Brian Kennedy Feature film 1989 Mull Dr. Graham 1993 Gross Misconduct Vice Chancellor Feature film 1997 Heart of Fire Scott Dodd TV film The Fury Within Dr. Daryl Levine TV film 2001 The Finder Sgt. Jack Matthews TV film 2002 Bloodsports Barry Kelly TV film 2003 Code 11-14 Captain Copeland TV film 2008 Brothel Curtis Feature film
Television Year Title Role Type 1969 Riptide Tractor Driver Episode: "North of the Headland" 1970 The Link Men Terry Episode: "Somebody's Kid is Missing" 1970-71 Dynasty Jamie Brooks 2 episodes 1973 Ryan Jack Baker 2 episodes 1971-74 Matlock Police Ted Brewer, Keith Evans, Mick Johnson, Terry Harris, Nick Rogers, Walt Rogers 6 episodes 1969-73 Homicide Wilson, Bruce Foster, Lyell Revel, Gecko, Riley 4 episodes 1969-75 Division 4 Vince Jordon, George Flack, Jerry Thompson, Martin Roche, Mike Turner, Donald West, Phillip Reid, Brent Campbell, Cookson 9 episodes 1975 Shannon's Mob Fraser Episode: "When Collier Came" 1976 Luke's Kingdom 13 episodes 1976 Power Without Glory Colin Lassiter TV miniseries, 2 episodes 1977 Bluey Larry Davis Episode: "The Pick Up" 1978-79 Cop Shop Peter Galbraith, Phillip Kline, Frank Garde, Eddy Marshall 7 episodes 1980 Lawson's Mates Jock Episode: "Joe Wilson" The Daryl Somers Show Man with parked car (uncredited) Prisoner: Cell Block H Jim Fletcher 209 episodes 1983 Starting Out Dr. John Rivers 1984 Special Squad Hansen Episode: "The Wurzburg Link" 1985 The Fast Lane Bill Martin Episode: "Irreconcilable Differences" 1986 The Lancaster Miller Affair Frank Upton Miniseries 1986 Alice to Nowhere Tim Sanderson Miniseries 1987 Neighbours Parnell 1988 The Flying Doctors Harry McDonald Episode: "Johnnie Come Home" 1989 The Power, The Passion David 1989 Bodysurfer Gordon Miniseries 1990 The Bradys Australian Envoy Episode: "The Party Girls" 1990 Embassy Freddie 3 episodes 1995 Iron Man Titanium Man (voice) Episode: "Distant Boundaries" 1997 Heartbreak High Tom Harding 1998 Water Rats Lloyd Venables Episode: "Old Bones" 1999 Murder Call Donald Cook All Saints Peter Maloney 2 episodes
Theatre Year Title Role Venue / Co. 1966 Two Programs of Short Plays: The Pier / The Caretaker Sam / Mick Jane Street Theatre, Sydney 1967 Camille and Perdican Perdican UNSW Old Tote Theatre with NIDA 1967 Point of Departure Monsieur Henri UNSW Old Tote Theatre with NIDA 1967 Three Men on a Horse Charlie UNSW, Sydney with NIDA 1967 The Winter’s Tale Shepherd UNSW, Sydney with NIDA The Lion in Winter https://www.gerardmaguire.com Bye Bye Birdie Menzies Hotel, Sydney Henry V Queensland tour with Youth Elizabethans Macbeth Queensland tour with Youth Elizabethans 1968; 1969; 1970 The Boys in the Band Larry Phillip Street Theatre, Sydney, Playhouse, Canberra, Playbox Theatre, Melbourne, His Majesty's Theatre, Perth, Hobart with Harry M. Miller 1970 The Trial of the Catonsville Nine Pitt Street Congregational Church, Sydney 1972 Rooted Nimrod Street Theatre, Sydney 1972 Don's Party UNSW Old Tote Theatre, Playhouse, Canberra with NIDA 1973 Jugglers Three Playhouse, Canberra, Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre, Hunter Theatre, Sydney, Her Majesty's Theatre, Brisbane, UNSW Old Tote Theatre with MTC 1975 Doreen AMP Theatrette, Sydney with Q Theatre Company 1975 The Seahorse UNSW with Old Tote Theatre Company 1975 Down Under Stables Theatre, Sydney with King O'Malley Theatre Company 1976 Going Home St Martins Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 1976 A Handful of Friends Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 1977 The School for Scandal Joseph Surface Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC 1977 The Club Gerry Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 1977 Cop Out Randolph Dyson Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 1978 Breaker Morant Major Bolton Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC 1978 Makassar Reef Weeks Brown Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 1978 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui Ragg Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC (also played trumpet & trombone) 1978 Arsenic and Old Lace Officer O'Hara Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC 1984 The Threepenny Opera Jake Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC 1984 Pax Americana The President's Brother Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC 1985 Other Places: One for the Road / Victoria Station / A Kind of Alaska Melbourne Athenaeum with MTC 1985 Glengarry Glen Ross Williamson Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne with MTC 1986 Sons of Cain Laurie Byrne Suncorp Theatre, Brisbane, Wyndham’s Theatre, London with Queensland Theatre, Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust & Theatre of Comedy 1987 Emerald City Malcolm Playhouse, Melbourne with MTC 2002 Side by Side by Sondheim Narrator Old Marketplace, Sedona, Arizona 2024 Blithe Spirit Dr. Bradman Apotheca, Arizona with Red Earth Theatre https://redearththeatre.org
As director Year Title Role Venue / Co. 2001 The Dreamer Examines His Pillow Director Bondi Pavilion, Sydney
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