Ron Haddrick

Haddrick was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the only son of Olive May (née Gibson) and Alexander Norman Haddrick.[5] Haddrick's wife, Lorraine, received the Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for her "outstanding dedication to athletics as a volunteer official for 32 years".[6] They had two children: NIDA graduate Lynette Haddrick[7] and screenwriter and producer Greg Haddrick, and three grandchildren, Taya, Milly and Jack Haddrick.[8]

As a sportsman, Haddrick played first-class cricket during the 1950s, representing South Australia on three occasions in the Sheffield Shield competition.[9][10]

In 1960 Haddrick appeared at the Adelaide Festival of Arts in a production of Murder in the Cathedral in Bonython Hall. It marked the start of a long working partnership between Haddrick and Ruth Cracknell. In 1970 they performed in Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. It was directed for the Old Tote in Sydney by Sir Tyrone Guthrie and toured widely. In 1973, Haddrick, Ruth Cracknell, Gordon Chater and Garry McDonald appeared at the Australian Theatre in Newtown in a miscellany called Aurora Australis. They were in the Old Tote's production of David Williamson's What If You Died Tomorrow? in 1974 and it toured Australia and played in London at the Comedy Theatre. In the late 1970s they were in two Peter Williams' productions at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, Bedroom Farce and The Gin Game. In 1983 Haddrick and Cracknell played the theatrical Mr and Mrs Crummles in Richard Wherrett’s production of David Edgar's two-part Dickens marathon, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby for the Sydney Theatre Company. This played at the Theatre Royal in Sydney and the State Theatre in Melbourne. In 1990 they were reunited in A.R. Gurney's Love Letters for the Sydney Theatre Company.[13]

Haddrick died at home on 11 February 2020. A memorial service was held at The Parade Theatre at NIDA on 1 March 2020, where speakers included actor and director John Bell and former Australian cricket captain Ian Chappell.[14][15]

• In 1974 he was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil Division) – For services to the Arts.[16]
• In 1977 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.
• In 2012 he was awarded an Actors Equity Lifetime Achievement Award – for a lifetime combining a phenomenal career with generous leadership and selfless mentorship presented by Actors Equity Australia.[17]
• In 2013 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (General Division) – For significant service to the performing arts as an actor and narrator.[18]