Thomas Andrew Long[1] (3 August 1968 – 4 January 2020) was an Australian film and television actor. He played court official and avid surfer Angus in the late 1990s TV series SeaChange and Brenden Abbott in the 2003 Australian TV movie The Postcard Bandit.[2]

Tom Long
Born
Thomas Andrew Long

(1968-08-03)3 August 1968
Died4 January 2020(2020-01-04) (aged 51)
NationalityAustralian
Alma materNational Institute of Dramatic Art
Occupation(s)Film and television actor
Years active1992–2012
Spouse
Rebecca Fleming
(m. 2019)
PartnerRachael Maza
Children1

Early life

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Long was born on 3 August 1968 in Boston, Massachusetts, as his Australian parents were visiting there at the time.[3] On their return to Australia he grew up on a farm near Benalla, Victoria. He worked as a jackaroo and shearer after attending Geelong Grammar School, before going abroad, travelling to India, the United Kingdom, Los Angeles, and South Carolina.[4]

After returning to Australia, Long successfully auditioned for a place at the National Institute of Dramatic Art,[5] graduating in 1994.[4]

Career

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Long appeared in several Australian television series, most notably the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) hit SeaChange (1998–2000) and the Nine Network police drama Young Lions (2002). He appeared in the Australian films Two Hands (1999) and The Dish (2000). Long played Brenden Abbott in the 2003 telemovie The Postcard Bandit and appeared in the film The Book of Revelation.[6]

He also appeared in The Last of the Ryans,[7] Doing Time for Patsy Cline,[8] Do or Die,[9] Risk,[10] Heroes' Mountain: The Thredbo Story,[11] Black Jack: Ghosts,[12] Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback,[13] and East of Everything,[14] and Woodley.[15]

Long stopped acting after he collapsed on stage during a performance of the play Coranderrk: We Will Show the Country at the Sydney Opera House in July 2012.[16]

Personal life

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Long was in a long-term relationship with actress Rachael Maza, breaking up in 1998 just before the birth of their son, Ariel. The couple reunited in 2005, after Maza and Ariel survived a deadly car accident, albeit with serious injuries.[17]

Long married Rebecca Fleming in February 2019.[16]

Long was diagnosed in 2012 with multiple myeloma, an incurable blood cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and received a stem cell transplant to treat the disease. In December 2018, Long was given an updated prognosis of 3–12 months to live.[16] In March 2019, Long travelled to Seattle, Washington, to undergo a medical trial, after which he was pronounced "cancer free".[18][19]

On 4 January 2020, Long died of encephalitis at age 51.[2]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Type
1994 Country Life Billy Livingstone Feature film
1997 The Last of the Ryans Peter Walker TV movie[7]
1997 Doing Time for Patsy Cline Brad Goodall Feature film[8]
1999 Two Hands Wally Feature film
1999 Strange Planet Ewan Feature film
2000 Risk Ben Madigan Feature film[10]
2000 The Dish Glenn Latham Feature film
2001 Hildegarde Tony Feature film
2002 Heroes' Mountain Paul Featherstone TV movie[11]
2003 The Postcard Bandit Brenden Abbott TV movie[20]
2006 The Book of Revelation Daniel Feature film
2006 Black Jack: Ghosts Mike TV movie[12]
2007 Joanne Lees: Murder in the Outback Tony Elliot TV movie[13]

Television

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Year Title Role Type
1992 The Leaving of Liverpool Ned TV miniseries (2 part)
1995 Echo Point Dave Campbell TV series
1998-2000 SeaChange Angus Kabiri TV series
2001 Do or Die Michael Tyler / Joey TV miniseries[9]
2002 Young Lions Det. Sr. Const. Guy 'Guido' Martin TV series
2006 Two Twisted Karl Wells TV series, 1 episode
2008-09 East of Everything Vance Watkins TV series[14]
2012 Woodley Greg TV series[15] (final appearance)

References

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  1. ^ "No. G 42 Thursday 22 October 2020" (PDF). Victoria Government Gazette. p. 5. Retrieved 5 November 2020 – via Victoria State Government.
  2. ^ a b "Australian actor Tom Long dies: report". Sydney Morning Herald. 5 January 2020.
  3. ^ Aveyard, Karina; Moran, Albert; Vieth, Errol (2017). Historical Dictionary of Australian and New Zealand Cinema (2nd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 159–160. ISBN 978-1-538-11127-7.
  4. ^ a b "SeaChange". Sea Change website. 23 June 2016. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  5. ^ Much Ado About NIDA, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 7 November 2018, archived from the original on 15 April 2019, retrieved 15 April 2019
  6. ^ Colbert, Mary (7 September 2006). "Tom Long confronts his fears". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  7. ^ a b "The Last of the Ryans (1997) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  8. ^ a b Stratton, David (22 June 1997). "Doing Time for Patsy Cline". Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Do or Die (2001) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Risk (2001) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Heroes' Mountain - The Thredbo Story (2001) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b "BlackJack 2: Ghosts (2006) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b "Murder in the Outback (2007) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  14. ^ a b "East of Everything series 1 (2007) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  15. ^ a b "Woodley (2011) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  16. ^ a b c Carmody, Broede (25 March 2019). "Australian actor Tom Long reveals he is living with incurable cancer". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Year of living dangerously". The Age. 27 August 2006. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  18. ^ Bond, Nick (25 March 2019). "Tom Long: SeaChange star has 'months to live'". www.news.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  19. ^ "SeaChange actor Tom Long dead: reports". NewsComAu. 4 January 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  20. ^ "Postcard Bandit (2003) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia". www.screenaustralia.gov.au. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
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