James Condon

James Thomas Condon (27 September 1923 – 14 February 2014) was an Australian actor of radio and stage, a scriptwriter and voice over, however best known for his numerous television roles in serials and television movies in Australia, particularly for appearing as the title character in the early soap opera The Story of Peter Gray, as well as smaller roles in Number 96 and Neighbours. He was the husband of Neighbours actress Anne Haddy

Early life
James Thomas Condon was born in Fremantle, Western Australia. His career started in repertory theatre, before he joined ABC Radio in Perth in 1942. He served with the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II, being promoted to flight lieutenant.

Career
After the war, Condon worked for the BBC before returning to Australia in 1951 to resume his acting career, working on radio serials, including Portia Faces Life. When TV arrived in 1956 he moved to Sydney and appeared on the opening night of ABN2, Sydney, and in a number of ABC plays, including Tomorrow's Child and A Phoenix Too Frequent.

He played the lead role in ATN7's The Story of Peter Grey, one of the first soap opera dramas produced for Australian television in 1961.

Also in 1961, while hosting his variety show What's Next, Condon hosted an old friend from Perth, Ray Hartley, to talk about his recent successes in London and New York. Hartley was a world-class Australian pianist, composer, arranger and philanthropist.

He made many other appearances on television, including Homicide, Matlock Police, Number 96 (both the TV serial and the 1974 feature film spin-off, playing different characters), Bellamy, The Young Doctors, Carson's Law, Sons and Daughters, Prisoner, The Flying Doctors, Blue Heelers and Something in the Air.

Personal life
Condon was the brother of actress and theatre producer Coralie Condon, who was a recipient of the Order of Australian and was known as "The First Lady of Western Australian Television" and had a brother Terry. His first marriage was to Joan Cranmer. The couple had four daughters. Condon was married to Australian actress Anne Haddy, best known for the role of matriarch Helen Daniels in Neighbours, from 1977 until her death in 1999. Condon was the stepfather of Haddy's children Jane and Tony. He acted alongside Haddy in Neighbours twice – as Douglas Blake in 1985 and again in 1995 as Reuben White after previously appearing with Haddy in several episodes of Cop Shop in 1980. Condon suffered a stroke in 2013.

Death
He died from a stroke at an RSL retirement home in Narrabeen, Sydney on 14 February 2014, aged 90.