Uncle Jack Charles, actor and revered Victorian Aboriginal elder, dies aged 79

Actor, musician and revered Victorian Aboriginal elder Uncle Jack Charles is being mourned as a cheeky, tenacious “father of black theatre”, after his death aged 79.

NOTE: This story uses Uncle Jack Charles’s name and image with the permission of his family.

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In a statement, his publicist said the Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta man, who also had links to several other clans across south-eastern Australia, passed away peacefully this morning at the Royal Melbourne Hospital after suffering a stroke.

“Before he passed away, his family were able to send him off on Country during a smoking ceremony at the Royal Melbourne Hospital,” the statement said.

“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 — as is demonstrated by his numerous awards including this year’s NAIDOC Male Elder of the Year.

“He will live on in our hearts and memories and through his numerous screen and stage roles.

“May he be greeted by his Ancestors on his return home.”

Uncle Jack’s sister, Christine Charles, said she was “pretty much numb” at the loss.

“He was my big brother, he looked after me, he was always calling in, making sure I was alright,” she said.

“I loved him.”

Uncle Jack Charles’s sister, Christine Charles (left) and niece, Ajia Jacklyn Charles-Hamilton.(ABC News: Jedda Costa)

Uncle Jack’s niece, Ajia Jacklyn Charles-Hamilton, said it had been an emotional 24 hours as the family gathered by her uncle’s bedside at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

“Uncle Jack was a great man, loved by many, it’s very overwhelming all the phone calls and messages and just everything that’s coming through,” she said.

“We just want to say a big thank you on behalf of my family for all of your condolences and thoughts.”

Ms Charles-Hamilton also thanked the hospital for enabling the family to farewell Uncle Jack with a smoking ceremony.

“It’s an important part of the healing, the journey that Uncle Jack’s gone on, it’s very important,” she said, adding she felt it should be offered at all hospitals for Aboriginal families.

‘Saved’ by a gift for acting

In a career spanning several decades, the Stolen Generations survivor used his creative platforms to share painful and personal truths about the brutal impact of government policies on his community.

Uncle Jack began his acting career at the age of 19.(ABC News: Jeremy Story Carter)

Taken from his young Aboriginal mother at just four months of age, Uncle Jack’s early childhood was spent cycling through a range of institutions.

They included the Salvation Army Boys’ Home at Box Hill in Melbourne’s east, where he was physically and sexually abused.

“It’s hard to convey the damage that place did to me,” Uncle Jack told Victoria’s Yoorrook truth-telling inquiry earlier this year.

“It wasn’t just the abuse that traumatised me, the Box Hill Boys’ Home stripped me of my Aboriginality.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Uncle Jack fronted campaigns to support vaccination.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

But he said discovering his acting gift as a young man was a turning point.

“In a way it [acting] saved me,” he said.

“I think I owe my life to having found the theatre.”

Uncle Jack appeared in the groundbreaking 1978 Australian film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith and co-founded Australia’s first Indigenous-led theatre group in Melbourne.

In 2008, he appeared in the documentary Bastardy, which explored how trauma from his childhood had fuelled years of drug addiction and burglary, leading to stints in prison and homelessness.

In a personal piece of theatre, the actor starred in Jack Charles Vs The Crown, which was staged in Melbourne in 2010.

Uncle Jack learnt his pottery skills in prison, where he taught the art to other inmates.(ABC News)

Uncle Jack remained highly active into his later years, starring in ABC TV series Cleverman and appearing in SBS’s Who Do You Think You Are? program last year, where he discovered the identity of his father and his family’s ties to more Aboriginal nations across Victoria and Tasmania.

He also worked with the late Uncle Archie Roach to support Indigenous prisoners.

Uncle Jack starred in a raft of Australian productions across the stage and screen.(ABC: Lisa Tomasetti)

In 2019, he published his memoir, Uncle Jack: Born-again Blakfella.

In his submission to the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Uncle Jack said sharing the details of his personal journey offered a broader truth for Australia.

“The idea of putting that all down on a big screen for the world to see, doesn’t embarrass me,” he said.

“It’s no shame job, because my life, as I see it, is a variation on so many other lives, they don’t have the opportunity like I have … to be given the full scope of that which had been lost, denied and hidden from me.”

‘Cheekiness’ and spirit saw him rise as much-loved star

Indigenous rapper Briggs, who worked alongside Uncle Jack on the TV series Cleverman, said “you’d never have met a more warm, funny and friendly soul” in a tribute on social media.

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Actor and stage director Rachael Maza, whose father Bob Maza co-founded the Nindethana Aboriginal theatre group with Uncle Jack in the 1970s, said Uncle Jack had blazed a trail for young Indigenous actors.

“He represents to me the extraordinary resilience and tenacity of who we are as a people,” Ms Maza told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“His incredible sense of humour, his cheekiness, his graciousness, how he was able to be admired and had the time of day for everyone.”

“He’s the father of black theatre and continued to be a part of some of the most extraordinary theatre, film and television and has become such a household name, particularly in the last 15 years.”

Uncle Jack’s sharp sense of humour is being mourned after his death aged 79.(ABC News: Danielle Bonica)

Ms Maza said Uncle Jack never let his experience as a member of the Stolen Generations dampen his sense of optimism and positivity.

“Never was his spirit put down,” she said.

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“He was a shining, vibrant celebration of life and I think that’s why we’re all so touched and moved and why he was so loved.”

Victoria’s Aboriginal treaty body, the First Peoples’ Assembly, described Uncle Jack as a “true King” in a tribute on social media.

A story ‘permanently etched’ in Victoria’s history

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said Uncle Jack “blazed a path in Australia and around the world” and telling his story at the Yoorrook Justice Commission “permanently etched it into our state’s history”.

“There is no actor, no activist, no survivor and no Victorian quite like Uncle Jack Charles,” he said.

The Premier said the title of the actor’s first hit play, Uncle Jack Is Up and Fighting, was “prophetic”

“At a time when Aboriginal actors were overlooked for even Aboriginal roles he co-founded Australia’s first Indigenous theatre — Nindethana,” he said.

“And against all the odds he’d become a household name”.

Mr Andrews said like many other members of the Stolen Generations, Uncle Jack would spend his life searching.

“With his stories he gave us so much,” he said.

“Laughter, anguish, insight — and justice.

“He will be sorely missed. Vale Uncle Jack.”

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Prime Minister pays tribute to creative genius and passion

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also paid tribute to Uncle Jack, noting he “lived a very hard life, but leaves a joyous legacy”.

“He endured cruelty, he endured pain, but he uplifted our nation with his heart, with his genius, his creativity and his passion,” Mr Albanese said.

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The Prime Minister said he had the chance to meet Uncle Jack during a QandA program where they were both panellists.

“I found him incredibly warm and engaging, very funny, great character and a great loss for Australia,” Mr Albanese said.

Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney remembered Uncle Jack as a “ground-breaking storyteller and activist” who used warmth and grace to bring people with him.

“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,” she said.

“We have lost a legend of Australian theatre, film and creative arts. Vale Uncle Jack.”

Posted Yesterday at 12:12amTue 13 Sep 2022 at 12:12am, updated 22h ago22 hours agoTue 13 Sep 2022 at 6:35am