April 27, 2020

BRUCE ALLPRESS 1931-2020

2020      posted 27 Apr 2020, 04:00 PM / edited 27 Apr 2020, 04:07 PM

Kiwi actor Bruce Allpress dies aged 89 

New Zealand actor Bruce Allpress died aged 89 on April 23, 2020, at home in Auckland. 

NZ Herald 

New Zealand actor Bruce Allpress, who appeared in long-running 70s TV show Close to Home, and had roles in The Piano and Lord of the Rings, has died aged 89.

Allpress died on Thursday, April 23, at his Auckland home surrounded by family.

The actor spent more than 60 years on New Zealand’s small and large screens carving out a niche for himself in roles playing the quintessential working class Kiwi bloke.

His first role, in the 1960s, was in a Vaudeville act called The Cheeseman Singer Series.

Later he appeared in iconic soap opera Close to Home which ran from 1975-83, as well as roles in Hunter’s Gold, The Billy T. James Show, Mortimer’s Patch and Jocko – for which he won Feltex Actor of the Year in 1981 and 1983.

His film roles included parts in New Zealand movies like Came a Hot Friday, The Scarecrow, and smaller roles in big studio productions such as The Piano, Lord of the Rings, Frosty Man and the BMX Kid.

Allpress was also a regular fixture on stage and worked as a theatre director and producer. [More]