Maurie Fields


Maurice Fields was an Australian vaudeville performer, actor and stand-up comedian.

Career

Fields became a well-known face on television first thanks to his comic sketches on live programs like Sunnyside Up and later dramatic roles as the conniving John Quinney in ABC TV's Bellbird. He also featured in many soap operas on commercial television, including Cop Shop, The Box, Prisoner and publican Vic Buckley in The Flying Doctors. He was also a regular as Fred Farrell in situation comedy series Bobby Dazzler and did regular comedy segments on Hey Hey It's Saturday alongside Shane Bourne where in turn they would read jokes sent in by viewers.
During the 1980s, Fields also became known as the voice of Wally Walpamur in Australian television ads promoting the Walpamur brand of house paints.
He was also the editor of the jokes pages of the Australasian Post magazine for many years, a role continued by his son Marty after Maurie's passing. He appeared in retro-capture with his son Marty, in the Hey Hey reunions.

Personal life

Fields was the son of an accountant and married twice. His first wife was Dorothy, and they had three children: Lorraine, Eileen and Alan. He then married the comedian and actress Val Jellay, who also portrayed his screen wife in The Flying Doctors. They played publicans Vic and Nancy Buckley. He was the father of comedian Marty Fields.

Death

Fields died on 18 December 1995, from a heart attack, and became the first actor to be posthumously inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame. That honour was accepted at the awards ceremony in his name by his widow and long-time acting partner, Val Jellay.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Albums

Charting singles