Uncle Jack

Revered First Nations actor, author and Victorian Aboriginal elder Uncle Jack Charles has died, aged 79. His publicist said the Boon Wurrung, ...

Uncle Jack was the NAIDOC male Elder of the year this year. Uncle Jack remained highly active into his later years, starring in ABC TV series Cleverman and appearing in SBS’s Who Do You Think You Are? Revered First Nations actor, author and Victorian Aboriginal elder Uncle Jack Charles has died.

Actor, musician and revered Victorian Aboriginal elder Uncle Jack Charles is mourned as a cheeky, tenacious "father of black theatre", after his death in ...

to be given the full scope of that which had been lost, denied and hidden from me." "Uncle Jack offered a window for many Australians to see the enduring pain of survivors of the Stolen Generations and inspired people with his strength of character and resilience," she said. Uncle Jack remained highly active into his later years, starring in ABC TV series Cleverman and appearing in SBS's Who Do You Think You Are? Ms Maza said Uncle Jack never let his experience as a member of the Stolen Generations dampen his sense of optimism and positivity. "He's the father of black theatre and continued to be a part of some of the most extraordinary theatre, film and television and has become such a household name, particularly in the last 15 years." "His incredible sense of humour, his cheekiness, his graciousness, how he was able to be admired and had the time of day for everyone."

Artists across Australia have paid tribute to Charles, who died following a stroke, as a 'true Australian legend'

“Uncle Jack Charles was a ground-breaking storyteller and activist who brought people in with his warmth and grace, never shying away from his past and who he was,” she said. “I wasn’t even told I was Aboriginal – I had to discover that for myself,” he told the commission. “It was a big wake-up call for the arts industry.” In 2019, Charles called on the Victorian government to establish regional Indigenous community centres to tackle increased incarceration of young Indigenous men. At the age of 17 he heard word that his mother was alive and living in Swan Hill. When he passed the news on to his foster mother, he was removed from foster care and placed in juvenile detention. He was the only First Nations child at the home, and grew up believing he was an orphan. I knew I had knowledge to share,” he said. [Full Story](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/audio/2021/jul/06/uncle-jack-charles-on-finding-family), he said of his birth: “I was supposed to be taken from my mother’s breast directly by the Aboriginal protection mob, placed into a baby city mission … He was then moved to a boys’ home, where he suffered child sexual abuse. The singer and actor David Campbell called him a “true Australian legend”. RIP my darling.” Author Anita Heiss wrote: “The beauty of your spirit and the gift of your storytelling will live on forever.”

National icon, Gay Victorian Aboriginal elder, actor and musician Uncle Jack Charles passed away on Tuesday morning aged 79.

Known as the “grandfather of Indigenous theatre”, Uncle Jack co-founded Australia’s first Indigenous theatre group, Nindethana at Melbourne’s Pram Factory in 1971. We’re living on the fringe of society, like Indigenous people, we’re fringe dwellers. May he be greeted by his Ancestors on his return home,” the statement added. [starobserver.com.au](http://www.starobserver.com.au) daily. Uncle Jack, a survivor of the Stolen Generation – stolen from his family at four months old, was the first Indigenous Elder to speak at the Victorian Truth-telling Commission. Uncle Jack’s publicist in a statement said that the much loved “Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta senior Elder, Brother, Uncle, Great Uncle Jack Charles,” passed away “peacefully this morning surrounded by his family and loved ones.”

The Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta senior Elder died at the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Tuesday, September 13 after suffering a ...

Uncle Jack was transferred to the Box Hill Boys’ Home where he stayed for 12 years as the only registered First Nations boy ‒ he referred to himself as a “bit of a novelty” at the home. “I was whitewashed by the system,” he told the inquiry. “As an actor and musician, he entertained, and through his cheeky and often pointed humour he was a leader and educator for all Australians,” Mr Birrell said. “Uncle Jack survived the Stolen Generations and devoted his life to informing and entertaining us all. “He was a ground breaking storyteller and activist, who brought people in with his warmth and grace, never shying away from his past and who he was. At four months old he was taken from his mother at Daish’s Paddock, the First Nations camp between Shepparton and Mooroopna, and spent 12 years at the Box Hill Boys’ Home.

Loved and revered Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta man Jack Charles was a respected Elder, a creative leader and activist. Known as ...

From his long-running one-man show Jack Charles Vs The Crown, first presented by Ilbijerri Theatre at the 2010 Melbourne Festival; to his countless television roles including ABC productions Preppers and Cleverman, SBS series Who Do You Think You Are? For fifty years his many screen and theatre performances captivated audiences and received critical acclaim. He was also celebrated as a musician and potter.

The Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta man died at Royal Melbourne Hospital after suffering a stroke. His publicist confirmed his death ...

"What a life. What a storyteller. What a life. "Vale Uncle Jack. Uncle Jack & Uncle Arch gonna be in good company wherever they’re at.— Senator Briggs (@Briggs) Vale Uncle Jack. Uncle Jack's acting career began in 1970, and in 1971, he co-founded Australia's first Indigenous theatre group Nindethana "place for a corroboree". 25+ news channels in 1 place. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said: "[He was] a great Victorian, who took his own personal pain, and the great trauma that he had suffered in his life to be a beacon for others, and to campaign for justice." Try 1 month free. [Stream more Australian news with Flash. Aboriginal elder and actor Uncle Jack Charles dies aged 79 in Melbourne after suffering a stroke

As Australians mourn the loss of an acting legend, those close to the 79-year-old Aboriginal actor say his legacy of love, warmth and truth-telling will ...

to be given the full scope of that which had been lost, denied and hidden from me." Love you Uncle Jack." "I couldn't believe it! Ian Hamm, the chair of the Healing Foundation Stolen Generations Reference Group, described Uncle Jack as a true statesman who "dedicated his life to healing our nations". "The idea of putting that all down on a big screen for the world to see, doesn't embarrass me," he said. Courtin-Wilson said it was a "life-transforming" experience for him to bear witness to Uncle Jack move beyond his drug addiction, revive his career and reconnect with his community. It was during his time in prisons on Dja Dja Wurrung country that he learned the fine art of ceramics, and became a "leading light" for other inmates. "As Jack said himself, it sort of allowed him to enter a different chapter of his life." "I thought it was gonna be the end of me," he told the truth-telling inquiry. "I taught people how to throw pots on a wheel, I taught them how to control and contain themselves in that environment," he said. For my entire life, I'd been the only noticeably black person in any space and yet here I was, in a sea of blackfellas," he told the inquiry. Uncle Jack recalled how walking into a pub, he found himself in a "sea of blackfellas".

Obituary: Aboriginal actor and activist overcame abuse and incarceration to become one of the nation's most respected and cherished Elders.

At the time living in a foster home and nearing the end of a glass beveller’s apprenticeship, he recalled in his biography crying himself to sleep. In 2022, Charles was the first to appear at the Yoorrook Justice Commission’s hearing where his testimony included a recount of spending his first night in jail as 16-year-old after going to a pub to learn his mother’s whereabouts. He found drugs “dulled the memories and pain” of his past. During this time, Charles became known for his brilliant acting and as an activist and mentor to others in jail. He experienced sexual abuse as a child while in the care of the state and, in the face of recurrent despair and discrimination, turned to heroin and crime before discovering theatre and a passion for acting. In a 2021 interview, he said it was the policy that he be “taken from his mother’s breast directly” but before the protection officers could do so, his mother sneaked away. I get to play all manner of blackfellas from different parts of the nation and countries here in Australia, so that’s who I am,” That was the offence,” he said. was as an Aboriginal boy, four months old, child in need of care and attention. The 2011 Helpmann Award-winning play, Jack Charles V The Crown, in which he voiced his life story alone on stage, was just one of hundreds of theatre performances. [Jack Charles, who has died in a Melbourne hospital aged 79](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/sep/13/uncle-jack-charles-indigenous-actor-and-activist-dies-aged-79), was a survivor of the Stolen Generations policy of assimilation. “Once a lost boy, now found” is how Aboriginal activist, musician and actor Jack Charles described himself upon learning his father’s identity in 2021.

A tribute to the roguish raconteur and beloved elder often spotted zooming between acting gigs, community work and social gatherings in Melbourne's inner ...

In June this year, he was named Male Elder of the Year at the NAIDOC Week Awards. In 2012, his show, Jack Charles v the Crown, premiered at Melbourne’s Ilbijerri Theatre. He would later appear in the feature film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith in 1978. He was placed there as a two-year-old after being removed from his Aboriginal parents aged four months at Daish’s Paddock, an Aboriginal camp outside Shepparton in Victoria’s north, as part of the government’s racist assimilation policy that removed Indigenous children from their parents and resulted in the stolen generations. After leaving the home at 14, Uncle Jack did an apprenticeship as a glass beveller, finishing at age 17. I was merely an interloper across the last half a dozen years, but it was there that I came to admire the roguish raconteur.

With the death of Aboriginal actor and musician Uncle Jack Charles, Australia has lost a stage and screen icon. Here's where you can watch some of his best ...

Uncle Jack took a journey of self-discovery on SBS's Who Do You Think You Are? [on SBS on Demand](https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/1909396547877/who-do-you-think-you-are-s12-ep5-uncle-jack-charles). He later returns as a ghost to train his successor. [currently available on Stan](https://www.stan.com.au/watch/cleverman). This six-part sci-fi series starring Hunter Page-Lochard and featuring A.B. [the episode on ABC iView](https://iview.abc.net.au/show/anh-s-brush-with-fame/series/2/video/DO1623H009S00). [watch it on ABC iView here](https://iview.abc.net.au/show/preppers). [watch the 2013 film on Stan](https://www.stan.com.au/watch/mystery-road-2013). [available on Amazon Prime](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/Bastardy/0JCHNLRMVOS5J20JHNYTU4C0C9), as well as [documentary streaming service Docplay](https://www.docplay.com/shows/bastardy). [currently streaming on Amazon Prime](https://www.primevideo.com/dp/amzn1.dv.gti.c8b3c467-994f-6079-fddc-e3408a6868aa?autoplay=0&ref_=atv_cf_strg_wb). [on Australian streaming channel Beamafilm](https://beamafilm.com/catalogue-product/blackfellas?focus=true). [statement from his publicist](/news/2022-09-13/uncle-jack-charles-victorian-aboriginal-actor-elder-dies/101433094) listed the many achievements of his life, adding the revered actor "will live on in our hearts and memories and through his numerous screen and stage roles".

The Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta senior elder passed away in Melbourne after suffering a stroke.

All the while radiating joy, passion and love,” said Stewart. Charles discovered his mother’s identity aged 17 and met her aged 19. I had to discover that for myself,” he told the commission. Charles was the NAIDOC male elder of the year this year. And I pay tribute to him today.” [first Indigenous Elder to address](/link/follow-20170101-p5ag3w) the Yoorrook Justice Commission at the truth-telling commission’s public hearings earlier this year.

Uncle Jack Charles was born on the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve in 1943 and was descended from the Victorian peoples of the Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, ...

The young ones across Australia are feeling shock and disbelief. In his acceptance speech, he drew attention to the prisoners he visited. [The Conversation](https://theconversation.com) under a Creative Commons licence. Most of all, the younger generations recognised him. We are not invisible, and for this we thank you, Uncle Jack. Across Melbourne, he was easily recognised in streets, cafes and continued to be a valued member of the Aboriginal community. By placing his heroin use in the spotlight, he created an awareness of the perils of addiction and incarceration. Telling stories of the plight of Aboriginal homelessness, mental health and incarcerated men and women, he could reach an audience of all ages and make a connection to them. That is what was so inspiring about him – the way he spoke about his life experiences as a child, a youth, a young man and an adult. His truth telling of his personal experiences as a member of the Stolen Generation opened the minds and understanding of many Australians, making it easier for his people to find a voice. He showed no matter what wrong they might have done in the eyes of the law, or in the eyes of other people, there is a way to come to your own understanding and gain control of the situation. Despite the hardships he faced of abuse as a child and incarceration as a young adult, his life made a difference to many others to hold their head up and not be ashamed.

Actors who worked with Uncle Jack Charles say the revered Aboriginal elder gracefully shared his painful story with the world to "make it a better place".

[ABC iview](https://ab.co/UncleJackCharles) and the [ABC listen app](https://abclisten.page.link/open) to explore collections celebrating the work of Uncle Jack Charles, including his appearances on [Conversations](https://abclisten.page.link/8FRqh8hyccANvXmB6) and [Speaking Out](https://abclisten.page.link/Cd3upe8S2tYLaku78). "He was a pioneer." "When you knew Uncle Jack was in your presence, you knew you were safe," he said. "He was so small in stature but once he opened his mouth and his voice came out, it could go across the Pacific," he said. Nakkiah Lui said it was a "real gift" to be able to work with Uncle Jack on Actors who knew Uncle Jack Charles have paid tribute to the revered Aboriginal elder and actor who "defined an era of Aboriginal storytellers".

Revered as the 'grandfather of Indigenous theatre', Uncle Jack Charles led an incredible life that touched many. Today he is remembered as royalty.

In 2019, Uncle Jack Charles was honoured by his community-winning Victorian NAIDOC Patron. "Will never forget the gentle love and presence you always brought. . . “Uncle Jack Charles your loss will always be felt in our hearts . “What a remarkable life and legacy. For all our people, this is heartbreaking," she wrote. for representing Aboriginal people in a way that made us all proud. "Thinking of all the mob today as we process yet another huge loss. You are true royalty,” said Black Comedy and Preppers creator Nakkiah Lui. "He lived a very hard life but leaves a joyous legacy. May he be greeted by his Ancestors on his return home,” they said. Uncle Jack was born at Cummeragunja Reserve on September 5, 1943.

Wesley Enoch: as the world mourns a queen, I am mourning a giant who despite knowing the depths of despair and adversity was always able to lift you up.

In the theatre, figures like Uncle Jack live on in the stories shared and in the many careers of those who have benefited from his enduring contribution. He had known his share of hardship from drug abuse and crime to As he had known the depths of despair and overcome adversity, he was able to lift your spirits and lift you up. A quick survey of images show his appeal and respect across the community. When you think about all the firsts in this country that First Nations people have achieved, it is hard to imagine the passion and determination it took to make the first Black theatres. It is hard to imagine a time when only a handful of people were involved in First Nations theatre and film, such is the vibrancy of our modern community that encompasses all ages, genders, geographies and forms.

The Aboriginal Elder made significant contributions to the social sector, partnering with not for profits to advance the progress of First Nations peoples.

“He was a keen promoter of the First Nations led films and filmmakers in the MIFF program annually. In 2014, Charles was the first Indigenous recipient of a Green Room award for lifetime achievement. Uncle Jack offered a window for many Australians to see the enduring pain of survivors of the Stolen Generations and inspired people with his strength of character and resilience,” said Burney. “As our treasured patron, we are so touched to have been graced by his charms, generosity and good humour. “His commitment to advocating on behalf of incarcerated Aboriginal people knew no bounds. He also used his creative platforms to

Daniel Browning remembers the life of revered Aboriginal elder Uncle Jack Charles, from when he was cruelly taken from his mother as a baby to his ...

"He was unapologetic and unrelenting in his advocacy, a fighter to the end. I had a lot of hair — but I had no rhythm!" I tried auditioning for 'Boney' (the fictional blue-eyed Aboriginal detective in the novels of Arthur Upfield)… He joked to me that he'd "played all manner of other black nationals from across the world, until I was shoved out into the world to go professional… I had other opportunities then, you know trying to go for (the musical) 'Hair'. [ABC iview](https://ab.co/UncleJackCharles) and the [ABC listen app](https://abclisten.page.link/open) to explore collections celebrating the work of Uncle Jack Charles, including his appearances on [Conversations](https://abclisten.page.link/8FRqh8hyccANvXmB6) and [Speaking Out](https://abclisten.page.link/Cd3upe8S2tYLaku78). It just was. "He survived the impacts of extraordinary cruel treatment and emerged with a strength of spirit and a voice that spoke truth to power. On those days I met him by chance in the street in Fitzroy he was always on a mission, often to the point of agitation. He was living at a hostel in Northcote when two members invited him to audition for a production of A Raisin In The Sun by the African-American playwright Lorraine Hansberry — a role for which he had to black-up. I revered him for the mere fact of his life, and the way he embodied tenacity and the will to survive. But I'd never heard the gravel and rasp of his extraordinary voice – no doubt deepened by the hard life he had been exposed to when he was cruelly taken from his mother, Blanche, as a baby.

Revered as the 'grandfather of Indigenous theatre', Uncle Jack Charles led an incredible life that touched many. Today he is remembered as royalty.

In 2019, Uncle Jack Charles was honoured by his community-winning Victorian NAIDOC Patron. "Will never forget the gentle love and presence you always brought. . . “Uncle Jack Charles your loss will always be felt in our hearts . “What a remarkable life and legacy. For all our people, this is heartbreaking," she wrote. for representing Aboriginal people in a way that made us all proud. "Thinking of all the mob today as we process yet another huge loss. You are true royalty,” said Black Comedy and Preppers creator Nakkiah Lui. Uncle Jack was born at Cummeragunja Reserve on September 5, 1943. "He lived a very hard life but leaves a joyous legacy. May he be greeted by his Ancestors on his return home,” they said.