Bill Hunter was an Australian screen legend. With the exception of The Castle, there wasn’t an Australian film that could be considered good without his presence. His larrakin. His stature. His voice. He reflected the stories of a people struggling through wars – either on the battlefield or in the ballroom – and he made it OK to be vulnerable and still scull a beer. Completely fitting that the ABC offer a tribute to the great (and sadly now late) Bill Hunter. From the press release:

ABC TV pays tribute to the late actor Bill Hunter with a retrospective look at both the man and his work during a Bill Hunter season to screen on ABC1 and ABC2. Hunter, born in Ballarat, Victoria, started his career in television in the 1960s and worked on many Australian television shows including Homicide, Prisoner, Matlock Police, SeaChange, Phoenix, The Leaving of Liverpool, Skippy, Division 4, Spyforce, Water Rats and Police Rescue.

Hunter’s body of work also includes some of Australia’s classic films including; Strictly Ballroom, Newsfront, Gallipoli, Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Muriel’s Wedding.

Saturday, May 28 at 8.30pm on ABC2
Mad Dog Morgan (1976)
Starring, Bill Hunter, Dennis Hopper, Jack Thompson and David Gulpilil and directed
by Philippe Mora, Mad Dog Morgan is the true story of Irish outlaw Daniel Morgan,
who is wanted, dead or alive, in Australia during the 1850s.

Saturday, May 28 at 10.10pm on ABC2
Stone (1974)
Director Sandy Harbett’s timeless Australian cult film about a bunch of renegades
riding Kawasaki 900s.

Sunday, May 29 at 8pm on ABC2
Artscape: Bill Hunter: A Tribute
Half hour tribute to the life and works of Bill Hunter.

Sunday, May 29 at 8.30pm on ABC2
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Bill Hunter plays gruff ballroom judge Barry Fife in Baz Lurmann’s tale of a maverick
dancer who risks his career by performing an unusual routine…