Leonard George (Thiele) Teale (1922 - 1994)

Born 26 Sep 1922 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Kathleen Marie (Houghton) Thiele — married 7 Feb 1946 (to before 1958) in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Died 14 May 1994 at age 71 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

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Biography

Leonard (Thiele) Teale is Notable.

Leonard Teale AO was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and film known for his resonant baritone voice. He is best remembered for his role as David "Mac" Mackay in the long-running Australian police drama Homicide. Leonard was a Flight Lieutenant in Bomber Command during the Second World War.

Formative years

Leonard (Thiele) Teale was born in Queensland, Australia

Born Leonard George Thiele on 26th September 1922 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, he was the son of Hermann Thiele, a pharmacist, and Maude Rasmussen. He attended Milton State School and Brisbane Grammar School.

Leonard attained the height of 178cm (5ft 10in).

He formally changed his last name to ‘Teale’ in 1962. ^[1]

Military service

Leonard (Thiele) Teale is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Military Force 1941-1942
2nd Military District Signals Unit

Leonard did not hesitate to 'do his duty' for his country during the Second World War. Aged 19 years, he enlisted in the Australian Army on 16th October 1941, ^[2][3] being posted as a Signalman to the 2nd Military District Signals Unit. ^[4]

Wellington Bomber of No.458 Squadron RAAF

Leonard (Thiele) Teale is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Royal Australian Air Force 1942-1946
No.458 Squadron

Not satisfied, on 10th October 1942 he discharged from the Army and was commissioned into the Royal Australian Air Force. He was finally discharged from military service on 16th January 1946 as a Flight Lieutenant in No.458 Squadron. ^[5] No.458 Squadron was based at El Shallufa in Egypt; equipped with Wellingtons and trained in the techniques employed to attack ships and submarines with both bombs and torpedoes. Its aircraft operated from airfields in Egypt, Malta, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Sardinia, Corsica, and Italy. The squadron re-located lastly to Gibraltar in January 1945. ^[6]

Entertainment career

Starting in radio, pre-television, in the late 1940s, Teale won roles as Superman/Clark Kent, along with the lead role in Tarzan, together with voiceovers in countless commercials. He was a co-compere of the radio ABC Children's Session, as "Chris" from 1951 to 1954 (also playing the title role in its Muddle-Headed Wombat serial). He appeared in more than 15,000 radio serial episodes.

He appeared in several feature films, including Eureka Stockade (1949), Smiley (1956), Smiley Gets A Gun (1958), The Sundowners (1960), and Bungala Boys (1961).

Major television roles (television came to Australia in 1956) included a regular comedic role in the Mobil-Bobby Limb Show, host roles in variety programs Singalong and Folkmoot, and acting roles in locally produced drama series including Whiplash (1961), The Hungry Ones (1963), Consider Your Verdict (1964), and Seven Little Australians (1973). Leonard is best remembered, however, for his long-running role – 361 episodes – as Senior Detective (later Detective Sergeant) David "Mac" Mackay in Crawford Production's Homicide (Australia's first-ever locally produced TV police drama; from 1965 to 1973.

Teale is also noted for his narration for Australian Broadcasting Corporation audio recordings, including the A B 'Banjo' Paterson poem, The Man from Snowy River, and Dorothea Mackellar's patriotic poem which includes the line "I love a sunburnt country, a land of sweeping plains".

Together with Raymond Hanson, Roland Robinson and others in the early 1950s, Teale founded the short-lived Australian Cultural Defence Movement, with the object of protecting Australian art from the perceived inroads being made by United States culture. Deemed to be anti-US, and therefore communist, the movement faltered under immense pressure. ^[7]

Leonard won the Logie Award for Best Australian Actor in 1974. ^[8] He was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 1992 Australia Day Honours for his services to the performing arts and community. ^[9]

Marriages and Family

Leonard married Kathleen Marie Houghton on 7th February 1946 in St Thomas' Church of England (Anglican Church), North Sydney, New South Wales. ^[10] They had two daughters, however, were divorced before 1958.

Leonard married a second time, to Patricia Katherine Murtagh, in 1958 at Sydney, New South Wales. ^[11] They had a further two daughters, however, were divorced before 1968.

Leonard married his third wife, Australian stage and television actress, Elizabeth 'Liz' Harris, on 18th December 1968 at Sydney. ^[12] Leonard and Liz had met on the set of Consider Your Verdict in 1962. Liz had also made three guest appearances on Homicide.

Final curtain call

Leonard Teale passed away as a result of a heart attack, aged 71 years, on 14th May 1994 at Sydney. He was survived by Liz and his four daughters, born to his first two marriages, Amanda, Juli, Jennifer and Melinda.

Grandson, Lotus Lewis, has followed into the entertainment industry.

Filmography

1. Eureka Stockade (1949)
2. Three in One (1955)
3. Smiley (1956)
4. The Adventures of Long John Silver (1957), single tv episode
5. Smiley Gets a Gun (1958)
6. The Skin of Our Teeth (1959)
7. Shadow of a Pale Horse (1960)
8. The Life and Death of King Richard II (1960)
9. The Sundowners (1960)
10. Whiplash (1961), 2 tv episodes
11. The Merchant of Venice (1961)
12. In Writing (1961)
13. The Outcasts (1961)
14. Bungala Boys (1961)
15. Lend Me Your Stable (1962)
16. The Hungry Ones (1963), 10-part mini-series
17. Tribunal (1964), single tv episode
18. Consider Your Verdict (1964), single tv episode
19. Split Level (1964)
20. Adventure Unlimited (1965), single tv episode
21. Homicide (1965-76) 360 tv episodes
22. Adventure Island (1967), single tv episode
23. The True Blue Show (1973), single tv episode
24. Seven Little Australians (1973), 10-part mini-series
25. This Love Affair (1974), single tv episode
26. Class of '75 (1974-75) 383 tv episodes
27. The Bushranger (1976)
28. The Outsiders (1977), single tv episode
29. ... Maybe This Time (1980)
30. Silent Reach (1983), 2-part mini-series
31. The Body Corporate (1983)
32. Stanley: Every Home Should Have One (184)
33. Who Killed Hannah Jane? (1984)
34. Professor Poopsnaggle and His Flying Zepplin (1985), 4 tv episodes

Sources

1. ↑ National Archives of Australia, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation File: TEALE, Leonard George; Contents range: 1955-1974; Series number: A6119; Control symbol: 4537; Access status: Open with exception; Barcode: 30030709, p20
2. ↑ National Archives of Australia, WWII Service Records: THIELE LEONARD GEORGE : Service Number - 429429 : Date of birth - 26 Sep 1922 : Place of birth - BRISBANE QLD : Place of enlistment - SYDNEY : Next of Kin - THIELE HERMAN
3. ↑ THIELE LEONARD GEORGE : Service Number - N298815 : Date of birth - 26 Sep 1922 : Place of birth - BRISBANE QLD : Place of enlistment - LISMORE NSW : Next of Kin - THIELE MAUD
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: N298815 Signalman Leonard George Teale; accessed 9 Feb 2019
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: 429429 Flight Lieutenant Leonard George Teale; accessed 9 Feb 2019
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 458 Squadron; accessed 9 Feb 2019
7. ↑ Tregear, Peter John. 'Hanson, Raymond Charles (1913–1976)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1996, accessed online 9 Feb 2019
8. ↑ Wikipedia: Logie Awards of 1974; accessed 9 Feb 2019
9. ↑ Australian Honours: Leaonard Teale AO; accessed 9 Feb 2019
10. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #5735/1946
11. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #1925/1958
12. ↑ Wikipedia: Liz Harris; accessed 9 Feb 2019

See also

• IMDb: Leonard Teale; accessed 9 Feb 2019.
• Wikipedia: Leonard Teale; accessed 9 Feb 2019.