John Gregg (actor)

John Gregg (12 January 1939 – 29 May 2021) was an Australian actor, who worked steadily over six decades.

Early life
Gregg was born on a dairy farm in Campbell Town, a remote rural district in southern Tasmania. In his early years he milked cows and ploughed fields for neighbouring farms, and was interested in Aussie Rules football, cricket and rowing.

Gregg auditioned for NIDA at the age of 18, and started studying with its first intake of students in 1959, alongside Robyn Nevin, Elspeth Ballantyne, Elaine Cusack, Teddy Hodgeman and Peter Couchman.

Career
After graduating from NIDA, Gregg was chosen to work with the Elizabethan Theatre Trust. He appeared in The Merchant of Venice with the John Alden Shakespeare Company in 1961.

From the 1960s, Gregg worked with the newly formed ABC drama department on television series including Contrabandits, Delta and The Oracle, while continuing to work in theatre.

In the early 1970s, Gregg headed to London to work successfully in theatre and then television. One of his most notable roles was as Lycett in Doctor Who. On his return to Australia he continued to work both on stage and screen.

Other television appearances included: Grass Roots, Special Branch, Armchair Thriller, Bodyline, Heatwave, Bootleg, Captain James Cook, Done Away with It, and was a featured player in Frederic Raphael's semi-autobiographical miniseries The Glittering Prizes  for the BBC.

Gregg was Chair of the Actors Benevolent Fund (ABF) for six years from 2013, having joined the Committee in 2008. He passed the position on to Bruce Spence in 2019 upon his retirement.

Personal life
Gregg met his future wife Jane Seldon on the set of David Hare's 1991 production of Racing Demon at Sydney Theatre Company, where Jane Seldon was working as Wardrobe Mistress. He had four children, Sophie Gregg (who is also an actor), Alice, Ben and Sam, and eight grandchildren, as well as two stepsons and step-grandchildren through his marriage to Jane.

Death
Gregg died on 29 May 2021, aged 82.