Vale Paul Blackwell

The popular South Australian actor has died aged 64, after a long battle with cancer.
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Paul Blackwell in Faith Healer (2017). Photo by Jeff Busby.

Remembered as an inspirational and affecting actor, as well as loveable, smart and kind, Paul Blackwell passed away in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Born in 1954, Blackwell attended the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in Sydney from 1980 to 1982, and worked with many of Australia’s most significant theatre companies throughout his career, including State Theatre Company of South Australia (STCSA), Brink Productions, Patch Theatre, Melbourne Theatre Company (MTC), Belvoir and Sydney Theatre Company (STC).

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Richard Watts OAM is ArtsHub's National Performing Arts Editor; he also presents the weekly program SmartArts on Three Triple R FM. Richard is a life member of the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, a Melbourne Fringe Festival Living Legend, and was awarded the 2019 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards' Facilitator's Prize in early 2020. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Green Room Awards Association in 2021, and a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in June 2024. Photo: Fiona Hamilton. Follow Richard on Bluesky @richardthewatts.bsky.social and Instagram @richard.l.watts