Alan Hopgood, 87, passes away after long battle with cancer

Tributes are flowing for playwright and actor Alan Hopgood who passed away on the weekend after a long battle with cancer.

Alan Hopgood sadly passed away on the weekend. Picture: Joanna Fincham

Australian author, playwright, scriptwriter, actor and teacher, Alan Hopgood, died in Melbourne on Saturday after a long battle with cancer, aged 87.

Renowned as the man behind footy first going to the stage in 1963 with the play, And The Big Men Fly, Hopgood also had roles in a string of celebrated TV series – Bellbird as Dr Reed, Prisoner as Wally Wallace and Neighbours as Jack Lassiter.

He also wrote the screenplay for the hit film Alvin Purple.

And The Big Men Fly, produced by the Melbourne Theatre Company, became a film and TV series and gave the game the legendary character Achilles Jones.

Gold Logie winner Samuel Johnson was in awe of Hopgood and delivered a speech at his 80th birthday.

Hopgood has a highly-respected playwright. Picture: Chris Eastman

A close friend said: “He was in just about every Australian TV show, he’s had a role in all of them. His most famous work was in 1963 when he wrote the first play about football. That was a huge success in Melbourne and everybody wanted to go and see it because all of a sudden there was a play written about football.

“He was a wonderful man and the other great thing about him is everyone always used to say that he was such a charming person.”

Hopgood, born in Launceston, developed prostate cancer which he turned into material with plays, books and tours.

Actor Margot Knight with Hopgood.

Hopgood was passionate about raising awareness of men’s health issues.

He released a book called Surviving Prostate Cancer – One Man’s Journey in 1996, which documented his experience. He also conducted humorous men’s talks via tours and released a one-man play he authored called The Carer. He then wrote a further 10 plays about health.

On January 2005, Hopgood was made a Member of the Order of Australia for service to the performing arts, as an actor, playwright and producer and to the community through raising awareness of men’s health issues.

Over his career he worked with a large number of actors including Frank Thring, Meryl Streep, Brooke Shields, Sam Neill and Judy Davis.

Hopgood died peacefully in a Melbourne hospital and is survived by his wife Gay, son Sam and daughter Finci and four grandsons.