Oakley Hall III, American playwright, died from a heart attack. he was , 60.

Oakley "Tad" Hall III was an American playwright, director, and author died from a heart attack. he was , 60.. The eldest child of novelist Oakley Hall and photographer Barbara E. Hall, at age 28 he was a rising star in the New York theatre scene. In the mid-1970s, his play Mike Fink was optioned by Joseph Papp of the Public Theatre. Oakley founded and was the artistic director of the legendary Lexington Conservatory Theatre in upstate New York, where his plays Grinder's Stand and Beatrice (Cenci) and the Old Man, and his stage adaptation of Frankenstein, enjoyed their première productions. Lexington Conservatory Theatre moved to Albany in 1979 and continues operating today as Albany Rep.

(May 26, 1950 – February 13, 2011) 

In 1978, Oakley suffered traumatic and massive head injuries in a fall from a bridge. He eventually returned to California to live in Nevada City near his family; there his play Grinder's Stand, which he had been writing at the time of his accident, was produced by the Foothill Theatre Company, directed by Philip Sneed. The story of this production, entwined with Oakley's fall and the slow process of creating a new life, are movingly told in Bill Rose's award-winning documentary, The Loss of Nameless Things.^[4].
Oakley made a life-long study of the pre-surrealist playwright, Alfred Jarry, and over the years translated several of Jarry's plays from the original French. In 2008, Hall moved to Albany, New York, to live with Hadiya Wilborn, who fostered a collaboration with acclaimed puppeteer Ed Atkeson. This resulted in a production of one of those translated plays, Ubu Rex, performed by the Firlefanz Puppets at Steamer No. 10 Theatre in Albany, New York, directed by Oakley, with Steven Patterson in the title role. In the fall of 2010, Moving Finger Press published Oakley's novel, Jarry and Me, in which Oakley intertwines a memoir of his own life with a sly "autobiography" of Jarry. One of the last sentences of the book is, "Jarry dies with a grin on his face."
Oakley was survived by his two children, Oakley and Elizabeth, his mother, Barbara E. Hall, his sisters Sands Hall, Tracy Hall, and Brett Hall Jones, four loving nephews and a niece—Justin, Nico, Hunter, Dashiell, and Emma—and his chérie, Hadiya Wilborn.
Some of Oakley Hall III's writings are available to read online at www.absintheurpress.com, in a collection which is continually being supplemented.

[edit] Cultural references

Hall has been mentioned in music, including The Tigersharks' "The Ballad of Oakley Hall III," and poetry, including B. Elliott Crist's "Tad".

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T. P. McKenna, Irish actor (The Avengers, Doctor Who) died he was , 81.

Thomas Patrick McKenna  known professionally as T. P. McKenna, was an Irish actor who worked on stage, in film and television in Ireland and the UK from the 1950s died he was , 81..

(7 September 1929 – 13 February 2011)

Film and television

McKenna was born in Mullagh, County Cavan. During the 1960s and 1970s he appeared regularly in popular television dramas, including The Avengers (1964, 1965, 1968), Dangerman (1965), The Saint (1966, 1968), Adam Adamant Lives! (1967), Jason King (1972), The Sweeney (1975), Blake's 7 (1978), Minder (1984) and in the Doctor Who serial The Greatest Show in the Galaxy.
He played Richmond in the Thames Television series Callan (1972) and made a dozen appearances in Crown Court (1974–1982), mainly as barrister Patrick Canty, while also appearing in the popular ATV anthology drama series Love Story (1965-1968).
He also featured prominently in other television dramas including The Duchess of Malfi (1972), The Changeling (1974), Napoleon and Love (1974), Holocaust (1978), The Manions of America (1981), To The Lighthouse (1982), Bleak House (1985), Strong Medicine (1986), Jack the Ripper (1988), Shoot to Kill (1990) and the final episode of Inspector Morse (2000).
He also had prominent film roles in Ulysses (1967), Sam Peckinpah's film Straw Dogs (1971) where he appeared alongside Dustin Hoffman and A Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man (1977). He was considered one of Ireland's finest Joycean actors and narrated the Emmy-winning documentary Is There One Who Understands Me (RTE, 1982).

Theatre

On stage he appeared with leading theatre companies, including the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre Company. His West End debut was as Cranly in Stephen D at the St Martin's Theatre in 1963.
In 1969 he created the role of Fitzpatrick in David Storey's 'The Contractor' directed by Lindsay Anderson at the Royal Court Theatre, London. The production later transferred to the Fortune Theatre and ran for over a year.
In 1973 to took on the role of Andrew Wyke opposite his friend Donally Donnelly in the Irish premiere of Peter Shaffer's 'Sleuth'. The production played to acclaim in both Dublin and Cork and it broke the box office record for the Olympia Theatre.
Later that year he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and took over the role of Roberts Hands in James Joyce's only play, 'Exiles' directed by Harold Pinter. In the same season he also appeared in a rare staging of Jean Genet's 'The Balcony' directed by Terry Hands.
He returned to the RSC in 1976 for Shaw's 'The Devil's Disciple' directed by Jack Gold in a production to mark the American bicentennial celebrations as the revolutionary pastor Revd. Anderson.
In the late 1980s and 1990s he had the opportunity of making a return to the Dublin stage when he was invited by director Michael Colgan to join the Gate Theatre on a number of occasions including admired productions of Uncle Vanya and No Mans Land. It was there that he also created the role of Dr. Rice in Brian Friel's drama, Molly Sweeney, and again at London's Almeida Theatre. Other Friel productions he appeared in were The Communication Cord (Hampstead Theatre, 1984) and The Aristocrats (2004) at the RNT in his final stage appearance.
He also directed on occasion, and had productions of J. M. Synge's The Playboy of the Western World (Nottingham Playhouse, 1968), Thomas Kilroy's The Death and Resurrection of Mr. Roche (Abbey Theatre, 1973) and Seán O'Casey's The Shadow of A Gunman (Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, 1980) to his credit.
McKenna was also a distinguished and instantly recognisable voice on countless radio dramas for BBC Radio and the World Service. He took the role of Phonsie Doherty in Christopher Fitz-simon's Radio 4 comedy series, Ballylennon and also appeared opposite David Threlfall in the radio drama Baldi.
He died at the Royal Free Hospital in London and is laid to rest alongside his wife, May, at Teampall Cheallaigh by the shores of Mullagh Lake in Co.Cavan.^[4]

Selected filmography

• Broth of a Boy (1959)
• Home Is the Hero (1959)
• Shake Hands with the Devil (1959)
• A Terrible Beauty (1960)
• The Siege of Sidney Street (1960)
• Girl with Green Eyes (1964)
• Ulysses (1967)
• The Beast in the Cellar (1970)
• Straw Dogs (1971)
• A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1977)
• Exposure (1978)
• Silver Dream Racer (1980)
• The Outsider (1980)
• Britannia Hospital (1982)
• Memed My Hawk (1984)
• Pascali's Island (1988)
• Jack the Ripper (1988)
• Red Scorpion (1989)
• Valmont (1989)
• The Chief (1991–1994)
• The Boys & Girl from County Clare (2003)
• The Libertine (2004)

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Brian Shaw, British rugby league player died he was 79.

Brian Shaw  was an English professional Rugby League World Cup winning footballer of the 1950s and '60s who at representative level played for Great Britain, and Yorkshire, and at club level for Hunslet, and Leeds, playing at Prop, Second-row, or Loose forward/Lock, i.e. number 8 or 10, 11 or 12, or 13 during the era of contested scrums died he was  79.

(July→September 1931  — died 13 February 2011 )

International honours

Brian Shaw won caps for Great Britain while at Hunslet in 1956 against Australia (2 matches), in 1960 against France, Australia, France, and in 1961 against France.
Brian Shaw played Second-row, in last two of Great Britain's three 1960 Rugby League World Cup matches, including Great Britain's 10-3 victory over Australia to win the 1960 Rugby League World Cup at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on 8 November 1960.

Rugby Football League Championship final appearances

Brian Shaw played in Hunslet's 22-44 defeat to St. Helens in the 1958-59 Rugby Football League Championship final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on 16 May 1959, and played Loose forward/Lock, i.e. number 13 in Leeds' 25-10 victory over Warrington in the 1960-61 Rugby Football League Championship final at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on 20 May 1961.^[2]

Club career

Brian Shaw was a pupil in the Hunslet Schools system, and signed as a professional for Hunslet from Old Lane Youth Club in Beeston for £250. He was transferred from Hunslet to Leeds in January 1961 for a world record transfer fee of £13,250, in a cash plus player deal, the players being Bernard Prior and Norman Burton (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £495,000 in 2009).^[3]

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Peter Alexander, Austrian actor and singer died he was , 84.

Peter Alexander Ferdinand Maximilian Neumayer , commonly known as Peter Alexander, was an Austrian actor, singer and entertainer died he was , 84.. His fame emerged in the 1950s and 1960s through popular film comedies and successful recordings, predominantly of Schlager and operetta repertory. Later, Alexander established himself as the acclaimed host of television shows. His career as a live singer touring the German language countries lasted until 1991, while he continued his television work until 1996.

(30 June 1926 – 12 February 2011)

Life and career

During World War II, Alexander was a teenaged Luftwaffenhelfer and member of the Reichsarbeitsdienst before finally being conscripted into the Navy. He was captured by the British in early 1945 and held as a POW.
After WWII, he attended Vienna's Max Reinhardt Seminary for actors until 1948 and then began his career in acting. He starred in several musical comedies, including Liebe, Tanz und 1000 Schlager and Peter schießt den Vogel ab. He recorded Ralph Benatzky's operetta Im weißen Rößl, singing the lead role of Leopold Brandmeyer. He then performed in the 1960 movie version of the operetta.^[1] He later starred in the Count Bobby movies and the Lümmel-series. In the 1970s, Alexander started a second career as a TV host and entertainer. His music show, Die Peter Alexander Show, was shown on black and white TV from 1963 until 1966. From 1969, the German TV station ZDF started to air a new colour version which was broadcast until 1996. The Peter Alexander Show has been seen by more than 38 million viewers and has averaged a 71% viewing rate.^{[citation needed]}
After his death, Media Control named him the biggest singles artist ever with 459 songs having charted on the German Singles Chart. The single "Und manchmal weinst du sicher ein paar Tränen" had the longest run with 34 weeks on that chart, while 2 other songs, "Der letzte Walzer" and "Liebesleid", were able to reach the #1 position.^[2] Further information: Peter Alexander discography (German)
Alexander married Hilde Haagen in 1952; they had two children, Susanne Neumayer-Haidinger (1958–2009),^[3][4] an artist, and Michael Neumayer (born 1963). He was widowed in 2003.^[5][6]
Peter Alexander died on 12 February 2011, aged 84, in his native Vienna. He is survived by his son and two grandchildren.

Filmography

Year	Film	Director	Role
1948	Der Engel mit der Posaune	Karl Hartl	Visitor
1952	Verlorene Melodie	Eduard von Borsody	Piano player
1952	Königin der Arena	Rolf Meyer	Singer
1953	Salto Mortale	Viktor Tourjansky	Singer
1953	Die süßesten Früchte	Franz Antel	Singer
1953	Drei von denen man spricht	Axel von Ambesser
1954	Rosen aus dem Süden	Franz Antel	Singer[N 1]
1954	Verliebte Leute	Franz Antel	Musician Karl Munk
1954	Große Starparade	Paul Martin	Singer
1955	Liebe, Tanz und 1000 Schlager	Paul Martin	Singer Peter Alexander
1956	Musikparade	Géza von Cziffra	Singer Peter Martin
1956	Bonjour Kathrin	Karl Anton	Music student Pierre
1956	Ein Mann muß nicht immer schön sein	Hans Quest	Jazz singer Peter Moll
1956	Kirschen in Nachbars Garten	Erich Engels	Singer[N 1]
1957	Liebe, Jazz und Übermut	Erik Ode	Jazz singer Peter Hagen
1957	Das haut hin	Géza von Cziffra	Student, artist and singer Toni Matthis
1957	Die Beine von Dolores	Géza von Cziffra	Singer
1958	Münchhausen in Afrika	Werner Jacobs	Music teacher Peter von Münchhausen
1958	Wehe, wenn sie losgelassen	Géza von Cziffra	Jazz musician Peter Holunder
1958	So ein Millionär hat’s schwer	Géza von Cziffra	Millionaire's Heir Edward Collins
1959	Peter schießt den Vogel ab	Géza von Cziffra	Porter Peter Schatz
1959	Schlag auf Schlag	Géza von Cziffra	Registrar Hugo Bartels
1959	Ich bin kein Casanova	Géza von Cziffra	Student and Butler Peter Keller
1959	Salem Aleikum aka: Mein ganzes Leben ist Musik	Géza von Cziffra	Techer and Amateur Musician Peter Karmann
1960	Kriminaltango	Géza von Cziffra	Houseowner Peter Martens
1960	Ich zähle täglich meine Sorgen	Paul Martin	Fashion designer Peter Hollmann
1960	Im weißen Rößl	Werner Jacobs	Head waiter Leopold Brandmeyer
1961	Season in Salzburg aka: Wenn der Toni mit der Vroni	Franz Josef Gottlieb	Waiter Heinz Doll
1961	Die Abenteuer des Grafen Bobby	Géza von Cziffra	Count Bobby (Robert) Pinelski
1962	Die Fledermaus	Géza von Cziffra	Dr. Gabriel Eisenstein
1962	The Merry Widow	Werner Jacobs	Danilo
1962	Hochzeitsnacht im Paradies	Paul Martin	Operetta star Dr. Ulrich Hansen
1962	Das süße Leben des Grafen Bobby	Géza von Cziffra	Count Bobby (Robert) Pinelski
1963	Charleys Tante	Géza von Cziffra	Diplomat Dr. Otto Wilder
1963	Der Musterknabe	Werner Jacobs	CEO Dr. Fritz Geyer
1963	Schwejks Flegeljahre	Wolfgang Liebeneiner	Josef Schwejk
1964	Hilfe, meine Braut klaut	Werner Jacobs	Commercial artist Valentin Haase
1964	Und sowas muß um 8 ins Bett	Werner Jacobs	Teacher Dr. Eduard Frank
1965	Das Liebeskarussell	Axel von Ambesser Rolf Thiele Alfred Weidenmann	Peter Sommer
1965	Graf Bobby, der Schrecken des Wilden Westens	Paul Martin	Count Bobby (Robert) Pinelski
1966	Bel Ami 2000 oder Wie verführt man einen Playboy?	Michael Pfleghar	Peter Knolle
1968	Zum Teufel mit der Penne Part #2 of the series: Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank	Werner Jacobs	TV reporter Dr. Peter Roland, Substitute teacher Dr. Wilhelm-Maria Tell
1969	Hurra, die Schule brennt! Part #4 of the series: Die Lümmel von der ersten Bank	Werner Jacobs	Teacher Dr. Peter Bach
1972	Hauptsache Ferien	Peter Weck	Teacher Dr. Peter Markus

1. ^ ^{a b} Scene(s) not included in the final cut of the film.

Bibliography

• Michael Wenk & Barbara Loehr: Peter Alexander – Das tat ich alles aus Liebe. Wien: Ueberreuter, 2006 (ISBN 978-3800071814)
• "Peter Alexander" entry, German version of Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2005.

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Gino Cimoli, American baseball player (Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates), died from heart and kidney complications he was , 81.

Gino Nicholas Cimoli  was an outfielder in Major League Baseball died from heart and kidney complications he was , 81..

(December 18, 1929 – February 12, 2011)

A high school all-star at Galileo High School, Cimoli signed as an amateur free agent with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1949. He would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Dodgers on April 19, 1956; appearing in his final game on May 7, 1965.
On April 15, 1958, Cimoli became the first Major League batter to step into the batter's box on the West Coast when the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants played their first game of the season at Seals Stadium in San Francisco.
Cimoli played on the Pirates' 1960 World Series championship team, which defeated the New York Yankees in seven games. He was primarily the Pirates' fourth outfielder in 1960 and often platooned with center fielder Bill Virdon. After left fielder Bob Skinner injured his thumb in the first game of the World Series, Cimoli started games two through six in left field. Cimoli returned to the bench in game seven when Skinner returned. In the eighth inning of game seven, with the Pirates trailing 7-4, Cimoli, pinch-hitting for pitcher Roy Face, led off with a single off Bobby Shantz, advanced to second on Bill Virdon's bad-hop ground ball, which struck Yankee shortstop Tony Kubek in the throat, then scored on Dick Groat's single, the first run in a five-run inning to give the Pirates a 9-7 lead. The Pirates gave the lead away in the ninth before finally winning the game in the bottom half on Bill Mazeroski's leadoff home run.
The book Carl Erskine's Tales from the Dodgers Dugout: Extra Innings (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. Cimoli is prominent in many of these stories.
Cimoli's baseball card in 1958 (No. 286, Topps) in which the background was painted out, shows him swinging a bat, without the bat-which was also painted out! (Source: Baseball Hall of Shame 4, Nash & Zullo)
After retiring from baseball, Cimoli worked as a delivery driver for United Parcel Service where, in 1990, the company honored Cimoli for completing 21 years of service without a traffic accident. Cimoli, then 60 years old and still working for the company, was now referred to as "The Lou Gehrig of UPS." [1]

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Ernesto De Pascale, Italian music promoter, producer and critic died he was , 52.

Ernesto De Pascale  was a well-known Italian music journalist and independent producer died he was , 52.. He plays piano and sings and he started making music in his early teens.

(February 13, 1958 – February 12, 2011)

The 1970s

Ernesto de Pascale attended the famous Liceo Classico Dante in Florence (whose students include actors Davide Riondino and Paolo Hendel, Italian rock icon Piero Pelù, politicians and writers Giorgio Van Straten and Giovanni Gozzini, politician Matteo Renzi) from 1971 on, until he was thrown out for having destroyed his classroom by fire and physical violence. At that high school, he met the seeds of his first band (bassist and singer Alessandro Ulivi) and formed his proto psychedelic band, Implosion, with no music rules but noise. Then in 1976 Ernesto, right out of high school after some very adventurous times, put together Lightshine^[2] as a conversion from noise to redneck collar country rock in time for his first radio broadcast. Ernesto de Pascale, although he was very young, was an eyewitness to many important music events of that decade of eclecticism. Photos of early incarnation of bands as Genesis, VDGG, King Crimson, Amazing Blondel, Soft Machine, Nucleus, Audience are part of his personal collection and a tons of memorabilia are stored in his house.

The 1980s

In 1980 he joined RAI -Radiotelevisione italiana (The Italian National Broadcasting Corporation) as a disc jockey. In 1981 he released his first album as a musician with the band Lightshine. In 1983 he founded "HypnoDance", a Rhythm & Blues band that recorded and toured regularly until 1990. From 1982 to 1995 he was one of the leading voices of one of the most acclaimed and respected Italian music radio show, Rai StereoNotte, a nightly six hours long commercial free program which aired the best music from all over the world. In 1983 he co-founded the most important Italian meeting for independent producers and bands called "Indipendent Music Meeting". In 1984 and 1985 he was called to help sharpening "Videomusic", the first all music Italian television. In 1987 and 1988 he cooperated as casting consultant to “DOC”, one of RAI's most important music TV shows along the years, by a Renzo Arbore's idea. In 1989 Ernesto de Pascale wrote his first book, a Bessie Smith biography titled Bessie's Blues (Stampa Alternativa).

The 1990s

In 1990 Ernesto De Pascale became consultant for Polygram Publishing, Sugar Music and Best Sound records. In 1991 he wrote the screenplay for a thriller movie called "Il guanto nero" . In the same year he won an award for the developing of Soul music in Italy and one for the developing of the independent music scene. In 1992 he wrote his first novel book, a collection of short stories called "Parole di Notte Verso Casa ". In 1993 he joined the "On the road" festival in Pelago, near Florence, with a special live project called " The Blues Corner ". In 1994 he began working for "Italia Radio" the most important all news Italian independent network with a night show called "Effetto Notte", co hosted with other famous " voices " of the "RaiStereoNotte" era. Since 1995 he has been working for Controradio with a very well acclaimed entertainment radio show called Il Popolo del Blues. He wrote liner notes for many artists and compiled various compilations. Since 1995 he's been tracing a new geography of the Italian blues scene with a collection of volumes called "This Is My Story-Il Nuovo Blues in Italia "(Sony). In 1995 he hosted a series of music radio specials about contemporary blues on RAI. In 1996 he became the musical director of the Massa Marittima "Folk Blues Festival". In the same year he was called to join the latest and newest Rai-Radio 2 music show called "Suoni e Ultrasuoni". In 1997 he won an award for developing the new Italian Blues scene and another one by the official Elvis Presley fan Club for the best radio show dedicated to Presley. Since 1981 Ernesto De Pascale has produced more than 40 albums and helped the discovery and shaping of the Italian hip hop band "Articolo 31"(Their album Così Com'è sold 600.000 copies - BMG/Best Sound, 1996). In 1995 Ernesto De Pascale founded the independent record label “Il Popolo del Blues”. In 1998 he founded Il Popolo del Blues monthly web magazine. He has been an actor making cameo appearances in movies, TV shows and videoclips. He has composed film scores and soundtracks. He is the author of the books Mondo Beat (Fuori Thema, 1993 - dedicated to the Italian Sixties scene), Dove il Country e il Soul si Incontrano, The Blues and I (a collection of interviews with the most important living bluesmen), America musica (Fuori Thema, 1994), Pistoia Blues: le interviste (Tarab, 1996).

The 2000s

Ernesto De Pascale hosted the radio show “Giaccio Bollente” on RAI – Radio 1. Since 2000, he has became on demand outside Italy as well. Lectures in Universities and Italian Institutes of Culture have been held in years 2001 and 2004 (Munich, Deutchland, Strasbourg, France). Since 1980, He has been writing for all the major news papers and magazines like Rockstar , Il Mucchio Selvaggio, L’Espresso, Il Manifesto, for the websites www.rocksbackpages.com and www.allaboutjazz.com. He currently writes for the daily paper La Nazione, for the Italian music magazines JAM, Rolling Stone Italia, Musica Jazz, for the English magazine Record Collector. For six years he worked as a hoster and producer for the Rai Sat thematic TV channels (Rai Sat Extra, Rai Sat Show). He wrote the books "Il Rock & Roll in Italia, 1956-1960" (Pendragon, 2000), "My Name is Pasquale(a biography of Nicola Arigliano, Stampa Alternativa, 2002), "Un weekend Post Moderno" (Tenax/Aida, 2002), "Anni di Musica in Toscana 1960-2000" (Toscana Musiche/Regione Toscana/Materiali sonori. Vol.1 and vol.2 - 2003, 2004) and several essays. With Il Popolo del Blues record label he kept producing musical projects as The Frank Zappa tribute albums (vol 1+2) and a big band tribute to the late great jazz arranger Oliver Nelson(the first one since his death in 1975). In 2004 De Pascale participated as a consultant to an international Hip Hop project with Jamar Chess, son of the legendary blues producer and publisher Marshall Chess of Chicago blues’s fame (published on Warner Brothers, USA ). As a musician, he reunited the bands Lightshine and Hypnodance. In 2007 he published his long awaited first solo album , "Morning Manic Music", on Il Popolo del Blues/ Materiali Sonori. In 2004 Ernesto de Pascale started a very important songwriting partnership with UK folk rock legend Ashley Hutchings (Fairport Convention, Steeleye Span, The Albion Country Band), that resulted in the album My Land is Your Land (Cherry Red, 2008) well received all over the world. Il Popolo del Blues extended its activity and it is now a much respected PR and press company working internationally with labels such as Loose Music^[3] and Esoteric Recordings,^[4] promoting and marketing for Italy reissues as Genesis's Tony Banks "A Curious Feeling"( oct 2009) or Jack Bruce's 6 cd box set (Oct 2008) Ernesto de Pascale is president of the Jury of Controradio 's Rock Contest since 2001. This is the longest independent music contest going on in Italy^[5] and the book on its story is out by November 2009. He died in Florence in 2011.

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James Elliott, British-born Australian actor (Number 96), died from Lewy body dementia , he was 82.

James "Jimmy" Elliott  was a Scottish-born Australian theatre and television actor best known for his long-running role of Alf Sutcliffe in the 1970s television soap opera Number 96 died from Lewy body dementia , he was  82..

(11 June 1928 – 12 February 2011)

Elliott was an original cast member of Number 96 which premiered March 1972. The show became Australia's highest-rated television program in 1973 and 1974. Alf and his wife Lucy (Elisabeth Kirkby) were immigrants from Yorkshire, England and Alf was presented as an archetypal "whinging Pom" who complained constantly about Australia while proving himself incapable of holding down a job. He also endured Lucy's series of dramatic health concerns which included a breast cancer scare, blindness, and an unplanned pregnancy followed by a troubled birth, where he proved himself somewhat kind and understanding. In late 1973 the show had a feature film spin-off featuring much of the show's current cast, including Elliott, reprising their television roles.
Prior to Number 96 Elliott had acted in Australian radio plays and serials, made several guest appearances in Australian television series including Consider Your Verdict and The Link Men, and he played Guildenstern in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation television production of the play Hamlet—this production being the first Shakespearean drama produced on Australian television. Other Shakespearean roles included Capulet in Romeo and Juliet for the Sydney University Players, and a supporting role in an Australian Broadcasting Corporation television production of The Tempest. Elliott also had a role in the feature film Ned Kelly (1970).
Despite once describing the serial as "instant television", Elliot played in Number 96 continuously for almost four years. In October 1975 Alf and Lucy were written out of Number 96 as part of a drastic remodelling of the show in the wake of declining ratings. Elliott subsequently made guest appearances on Australian drama series such as Solo One (1976), Glenview High (1977), Chopper Squad (1978), played in three episodes of legal drama Case for the Defence (1978), and later appeared in an episode of crime drama Bellamy (1981). He also acted in feature films Summer City (1977), Money Movers (1978), Little Boy Lost (1978), Lady Stay Dead (1981), Brothers (1982).
Later television guest appearances include three episodes of medical drama All Saints, in 2001 and 2003.
James Elliott died peacefully on Saturday evening, 12 February 2011. He was survived by two sons with his first wife Mary, and one son by his second wife Elaine.

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