By Angus Dalton
One of Australia’s most beloved and celebrated actors and musicians Jack Charles has died aged 79.
The Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta senior elder passed away at the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Tuesday morning surrounded by friends and family after suffering a stroke.
His family has given permission for his name and image to be used, and said in a statement that “he will live on in our hearts and memories through his numerous screen and stage roles”.
“We are so proud of everything he has achieved in his remarkable life – elder, actor, musician, potter, activist, mentor, a household name and voice loved by all.”
Charles was the NAIDOC male elder of the year this year. His family had arranged a smoking ceremony at the hospital as the actor passed, the statement said.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney remembered Charles as a “a remarkable truth-teller”.
Aboriginal actor, musician and activist Jack Charles passed away at Royal Melbourne Hospital. Credit: Louise Kennerley
“He was a ground-breaking storyteller and activist who brought people in with his warmth and grace, never shying away from his past and who he was,” Burney said in a statement.
“Uncle Jack offered a window for many Australians to see the enduring pain of survivors of the Stolen Generations and inspired people with his strength of character and resilience.
“We have lost a legend of Australian theatre, film and creative arts.”
At a press conference on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “He endured cruelty, he endured pain, but he uplifted our nation with his heart and his genius, creativity and passion. And I pay tribute to him today.”
Charles founded one of Australia’s first Indigenous theatre groups, Nindethana, in Melbourne in 1971 and went on to become known as the “grandfather” of Aboriginal theatre.
He was a member of the stolen generation, had an acting career that spanned six decades and, later in life alongside the late Archie Roach, mentored Indigenous people in prison.
Charles was the first Indigenous Elder to address the Yoorrook Justice Commission at the truth-telling commission’s public hearings earlier this year. He spoke of his mistreatment at the Box Hill Boys’ Home, where he was taken after being removed from his family as a baby, and his ensuing experiences with drug addiction, incarceration and homelessness.
“I wasn’t even told I was Aboriginal. I had to discover that for myself,” he told the commission.
Charles discovered his mother’s identity aged 17 and met her aged 19. Seventy years later he discovered who his father was on a 2021 episode of SBS’s Who Do You Think You Are?.
As an actor, Charles appeared in the landmark 1978 film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, and later he starred in Bedevil, Blackfellas and Mystery Road.
His theatre credits include starring as Bennelong in a 1974 production of Cradle of Hercules at the Sydney Opera House, alongside an early career David Gulpilil, and one-man show Jack Charles V the Crown, which toured internationally.
In recent years, Charles starred in the television drama Cleverman and released his memoir Jack Charles: Born-again Blakfella.
Marcus Stewart, Co-Chair of First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, said Charles had lived “an amazing life”.
“They couldn’t keep him down, he persisted against all the odds overcoming every challenge thrown his way. All the while radiating joy, passion and love,” said Stewart. “Such energy, such talent, such an icon for our community. The legacy of a legend will never be forgotten. Rest in power.”
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