# Max Phipps

Maxwell John Phipps (18 November 1939 – 6 August 2000) was an Australian actor, known for a number of roles in theatre, films and television during the 1960s until the end of the 1990s.

## Life and career

Phipps was born in Dubbo and grew up in Parkes. He started his acting training in Sydney at the age of 21, at the Ensemble Theatre. There he appeared in such productions as Buffalo Skinner, Long Day's Journey into Night, Fortune and Men's Eyes, The Removalists and Rooted. In the Sydney Opera House's inaugural season he played Harry Bustle in What If You Died Tomorrow?. In London he reprised this role, as well as appearing in Don's Party. He played Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show in Melbourne in 1975–77.
His most notable screen roles included Bernie Dump in The Miraculous Mellops, The Toadie in Mad Max 2 (1981), Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in the television mini-series The Dismissal (1983), Sir Frank Packer in True Believers (1988), and Queensland Police Commissioner Terry Lewis in the Four Corners TV documentary drama Police State (1989), which helped to bring about investigations into corruption within that state's police force and political system. He was nominated for an AFI award for his role in Stir (1980). Other films included The Cars That Ate Paris (1974), Thirst (1979), Nightmares (1980), Dead Easy (1982), The Return of Captain Invincible (1983), Savage Islands (1983), which was released in the United States as Nate and Hayes, Sky Pirates (1986) and What the Moon Saw (1990). He appeared as Detective Inspector Mcallister in the Inspector Morse episode "The Promised Land" in 1991, which was set in Australia. Phipps also played the role of Edward "Dinosaur" Spence in the first season of the short lived Australian television series "FIRE" (1995) set in Queensland.
in the early to late 90s He also briefly worked on the ill-fated video game Wizardry: Stones of Arnhem at DirectSoft which was being contracted out to them by Sirtech.

## Death

He died from cancer in Sydney in August 2000, survived by his three siblings. He had never married.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1964 | Split Level | Louis | TV movie |
| 1969 | You Can't See 'round Corners | Keith Grayson | Feature film |
| 1974 | The Tony Hancock Special | Hotel Clerk | TV movie |
| 1974 | The Cars That Ate Paris | Mulray | Feature film |
| 1975 | Polly Me Love | | TV movie |
| 1977 | Benny Hill Down Under | Various roles | TV movie |
| 1979 | Temperament Unsuited | Supervisor | Short film |
| 1979 | Thirst | Mr. Hodge | Feature film |
| 1980 | Stir | Norton | Feature film |
| 1980 | Nightmares | George D'alberg | Feature film |
| 1981 | Mad Max 2 | The Toadie | Feature film |
| 1982 | Dead Easy | Francis | Feature film |
| 1983 | The Return of Captain Invincible | Admiral | Feature film |
| 1983 | Savage Islands | Ben Pease | Feature film |
| 1983 | Who Killed Baby Azaria? | Mr. Baker QC | TV movie |
| 1985 | Emoh Ruo | Sam Tregado | Feature film |
| 1986 | Sky Pirates (aka Nate and Hayes) | Savage | Feature film |
| 1986 | The Blue Lightning | Brutus Cathcart | TV movie |
| 1986 | Body Business | Max | TV movie |
| 1987 | Dark Age | John Besser | Feature film |
| 1989 | Police State | Queensland Police Commissioner Terry Lewis | TV docudrama movie |
| 1989 | How Wonderful! | The Doctor | TV movie |
| 1990 | What the Moon Saw | Mr. Zachary | Feature film |
| 1990 | Sky Trackers | Doctor Giles | TV movie |
| 1999 | Without Warning | Mayberry | TV movie |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1964 | The Stranger | Soshuniss Citizen | TV miniseries |
| 1964 | Consider Your Verdict | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1969 | Delta | Tony Spencer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1970 | Woobinda, Animal Doctor | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1971 | The Thursday Creek Mob | Lieutenant Wigg | TV series |
| 1971 | Dynasty | Dr. Loftus | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | Catwalk | Jack Wilson | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | A Nice Day at the Office | Graeme 'Snow' Carter | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | Boney | Morris Answorth | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | Snake Gully with Dad and Dave | Harry Phealy | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1972 | Behind the Legend | | TV series. 1 episode |
| 1973 | Ryan | Bradley | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | Shannon's Mob | Patrick Ryan | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Glenview High | | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1980-81 | Cop Shop | Glen Anderson / Harry Shelton / Clyde Hewitt / Robert Doyle | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1981 | Holiday Island | Matthew Kramer | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1981 | Bellamy | Evans | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1982 | Women of the Sun | Doug Cutler | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1983 | The Dismissal | Prime Minister Gough Whitlam | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1983 | Carson's Law | Inspector Cullen | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Arthur Lambert / Arthur | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1985 | Zoo Family | Elephant Jim | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1986 | My Brother Tom | J.B.Strapp | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1988 | True Believers | Sir Frank Packer | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1988 | Rafferty's Rules | Vern O'Connor | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1989 | Mission: Impossible | Rudensky | TV series, 16 episode |
| 1989 | This Man... This Woman | Barry Farmer | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1989 | E Street | Joseph Parker | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1991 | A Country Practice | Gordon Barlow / Gus Roach | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1991 | Inspector Morse | Detective Inspector Glenn McAllister | TV series, episode "The Promised Land" |
| 1991 | Screen One | Ray | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1991-92 | The Miraculous Mellops | Bernie Dump | TV series, 20 episodes |
| 1992 | G.P. | Derek Harwood | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | Fire | Edward 'Dinosaur' Spence | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1995 | Snowy River: The McGregor Saga | Commissioner Henry Dengate | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | Naked: Stories of Men | Leonard | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1996 | Halifax f.p. | Detective Inspector Derrida | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1997 | Bullpitt! | Archbishop | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998 | Wildside | Sam Farmer | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1998-99 | All Saints | Joe Goretski | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Big Sky | Ellison | TV series, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Noah's Ark | Jezer | TV miniseries, 2 episodes |
| 1999 | Farscape | Pa'u Tuzak | TV series, 1 episode |