Monday, February 14, 2011

Raising A Speights For Frank

Veteran kiwi actor Frank Whitten passed away peacefully in his sleep last Saturday morning, aged 68.
Frank's acting career covered movies such as Vincent Ward's Vigil (1984) and tv shows like Gloss, City Life, and Erebus: the Aftermath among many others. He acted in the UK and, in Australia, had roles in All Saints, Murder Call and Police Rescue. He also worked with major theatre companies in NZ and Oz.
Mr Whitten was awarded "Best Supporting Actor" in 2007 for his role on tv's Outrageous Fortune, playing senile ex-safecracker Grandpa Ted West.
Ironically for a bloke who grew up in the Waikato, for 12 straight years he appeared on the Speights Beer 'Southern Man' tv ads, wryly delivering that iconic line: "Good on ya mate". Here're a couple of those classics: "The Deer Stalkers Ball"...

...and Speight's "Better Half"...

Good on ya, Frank.

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