Alexander Francis Marinos (1 February 1949 – 13 September 2024) was an Australian actor and television director, radio personality and voice artist. He was most notable for his role as Bruno, the Italian son-in-law of Ted Bullpitt, in the 1980s Australian comedy television series Kingswood Country, and as host of "Late Night Legends" on ABC2. With Ted Robinson, he was also a presenter on radio station 2JJ (Double Jay), now Triple J, in the late 1970s.

Biography

Marinos was born on 1 February 1949 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, the son of a Greek immigrant father, Fotios ("Frank") Marinopoulos and Greek-Australian mother, Anne Karofilis, who was the daughter of Adonis ("Tony") Karofilis, a Greek migrant from Kasos, Greece and Minnie Matheson, an Australian of Scottish and English origin, with descent going back to Marinos's maternal great-great-great-grandparents, Samuel Bradley, a convict, and Marian Mortimer, a free emigrant, who arrived in Hobart, Tasmania, in the 19th century. Marinos' maternal grandparents, Adonis and Minnie, owned Greek café's in towns across the Riverina region of New South Wales, including Wagga Wagga and The Rock, and also in the town of Bogan Gate. He graduated from the University of New South Wales with a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours in Drama. In the late 1970s, he began presenting on the ABC youth radio station 2JJ, later becoming a presenter on ABC Local Radio, including the show "Late Night Legends". In 1980, he was cast as Bruno in the television comedy, Kingswood Country, the role for which he is most famous. Marinos died in Sydney on 13 September 2024, aged 75, after a two-decade battle with leukemia. His family announced on social media that he died "peacefully... at home, at a moment of his choosing, surrounded by family and the sounds of Bob Dylan."

Honours and awards

Marinos was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1994 for "service to the performing arts as an actor, director and writer." He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001. He was also a former Deputy Chair of the Australia Council and the Community Cultural Development Fund of the Australia Council. In 2008, he delivered the tenth annual Tom Brock Lecture, on the history of Australian immigration and rugby league. In 2012, the cast of The Slap, including Marinos, received the Equity Award for Most Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Television Movie or Mini-Series.

Filmography