Bob Herbert Bob Herbert i(A1417 works by) (a.k.a. Robert C. Herbert; Robert Charles Herbert; R. C. Herbert)
Born: Established: 6 Apr 1923 Yea, Yea area, Yea - Eildon - Warburton area, Melbourne Outer North, Melbourne, Victoria, ; Died: Ceased: 31 Aug 1999 Armidale, Armidale area, New England, New South Wales,
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Bob Herbert served in the Royal Australian Air Force and the Second AIF during World War Two. After being discharged, he became a radio officer at sea, where he began writing plays.

Keen to pursue his interest in theatre, Herbert became an an actor and radio station manager in Queensland, and later moved to Armidale, where he was Theatres Manager at the University of New England. He helped design the early performance facilities of the university's Theatre Studies Department and established its first Technical Production units, which he then supervised.

He was made a Fellow of the Theatre Studies Department at the University of New England, which awarded him an honorary Master of Arts in acknowledgement of his outstanding contribution to theatre.

Herbert was involved in many aspects of the theatre. As well as being an actor, Herbert also worked as a stage hand, stage manager and director in radio, vaudeville, pantomime and television. His primary interest, however, was play writing.

He was perhaps best known for his successful play No Names...No Pack Drill, which was set in Kings Cross during World War II. Staged by the Sydney Theatre Company, the play featured Mel Gibson and Noni Hazelhurst, and was later translated into a film, Rebel.

Herbert was the uncle of the playwright Louis Nowra (q.v.).

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

Awards for Works

form y separately published work icon Rebel ( dir. Michael Jenkins ) Australia : Phillip Emanuel Productions , 1985 Z1038977 1985 single work film/TV

During World War II, an American Marine, Rebel, is recuperating in Australia from wounds suffered in battle. He is weary of war and intent on going absent without leave. After meeting local singer Kathy, he becomes infatuated and pursues her. But Kathy is married and initially uninterested in Rebel. This begins to changes, however, when he hides out at her place, and intensifies when she receives a letter advising her that her husband has been killed in battle. Meanwhile, the local police and the U.S. military are searching for Rebel. He arranges to escape Australia by cargo ship, but eventually allows himself to be arrested in order to save Kathy from being arrested for harbouring him.

1985 nominated Australian Film Institute Awards Best Screenplay: Adapted
form y separately published work icon A Country Practice ( dir. Igor Auzins et. al. )agent Sydney Australia : JNP Films Seven Network , 1981-1993 Z1699739 1981-1994 series - publisher film/TV

Set in a small, fictional, New South Wales country town called Wandin Valley, A Country Practice focused on the staffs of the town's medical practice and local hospital and on the families of the doctors, nurses, and patients. Many of the episodes also featured guest characters (frequently patients served by the practice) through whom various social and medical problems were explored. Although often considered a soap opera, the series was not built around an open-ended narrative; instead, the two one-hour episodes screened per week formed a self-contained narrative block, though many of the storylines were developed as sub-plots for several episodes before becoming the focus of a particular week's storyline. While the focus was on topical issues such as youth unemployment, suicide, drug addiction, HIV/AIDS, and terminal illness, the program did sometimes explore culturally sensitive issues, including, for example, the Aboriginal community and their place in modern Australian society.

Among the show's principal characters were Dr Terence Elliott, local policeman Sergeant Frank Gilroy, Esme Watson, Shirley Dean Gilroy, Bob Hatfield, Vernon 'Cookie' Locke, and Matron Margaret 'Maggie' Sloan. In addition to its regularly rotating cast of characters, A Country Practice also had a cast of semi-regulars who would make appearances as the storylines permitted. Interestingly, while the series initially targeted the adult and older youth demographic, it became increasingly popular with children over the years.

1984 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1985 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1986 winner Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
1992 nominated Logie Awards Most Popular Drama Program
y separately published work icon No Names -- No Pack Drill 1979 (Manuscript version)x401068 Z185883 1979 single work drama
1982 winner AWGIE Awards Radio Award Adaptation
1979 joint winner WA Sesquicentenary Literary Competition Play Writing Award

Known archival holdings

Papers include correspondence, scripts, drafts, notebooks, genealogy papers, programs, cuttings, scrap albums, photographs, and audio and video cassettes, and a diary 1980-1981. Restricted until access determined. National Library of Australia (ACT)
Last amended 14 Jun 2017 13:16:34
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