David Gulpilil
{{Short description|Aboriginal Australian actor and dancer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = David Gulpilil
| honorific_suffix = AM
| image = David Gulpilil.jpg
| caption = Gulpilil in 2006
| birth_name = Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu
| birth_date = {{birth date|1953|7|1|df=y}}
| birth_place = Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Australia
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|11|29|1953|7|1|df=y}}
| death_place = Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia
| awards = Best Actor in a Leading Role
2002 The Tracker
| years_active = 1971–2019
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- Robyn Djunginy
- Airlie Thomas
- Miriam Ashley
}}
| children = 7
}}
David Dhalatnghu Gulpilil {{post-nominals |country=AUS|size=100%|AM}} (1 July 1953 – 29 November 2021) was an Australian actor and dancer. He was known for his roles in the films Walkabout (1971), Storm Boy (1976), The Last Wave (1977), Crocodile Dundee (1986), Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002), The Tracker (2002), and Australia (2008).
An Indigenous Australian and Yolŋu person, he was raised in a traditional lifestyle in Arnhem Land. A skilled dancer, he was noticed by British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, who cast him in his first feature film role in Walkabout (1971). He also made several appearances on stage.
Recognised as one of Australia's greatest actors and a trailblazer for Indigenous Australians in film, he was honoured with numerous awards and honours, including a lifetime achievement award at the 2019 NAIDOC Awards. After his death in November 2021, he was posthumously referred to as David Dalaithngu for a short period at his family's request. This was to conform to Indigenous practices that avoid naming the dead.
Early life and education
Gulpilil was probably born in 1953.{{cite web | title=David Gulpilil, Arnhem Land, 1981 (printed 2000) | website=National Portrait Gallery (Australia) | date=7 July 2021 | url=http://www.portrait.gov.au/portraits/2001.75/david-gulpilil-arnhem-land/ | access-date=11 July 2021}} In the 2021 documentary about his life, My Name is Gulpilil, he said that he did not know how old he was. Local missionaries recorded his birth on 1 July 1953, based on "guesswork".{{cite news |last=McGuirk |first=Rod |date=30 November 2021 |title=Famed Australian Indigenous actor David Gulpilil dies at 68 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/famed-australian-indigenous-actor-david-gulpilil-dies-68-81445291 |work=ABC News |agency=Associated Press }} He was a man of the Mandjalpingu (Djilba) clan of the Yolngu people,{{cite AV media |people=Gulpilil, David; Reynolds, Molly (director) |date=2021 |title=My Name is Gulpilil |trans-title= |type=Television broadcast |language= |url=https://iview.abc.net.au/show/my-name-is-gulpilil |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation }} who are an Aboriginal people of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia.{{cite web |url=http://www.gulpilil.com/biography.htm |title=Biography: Who is David Gulpilil? |work=gulpilil.com |year=2001 |access-date=22 April 2021}} Note: This site appears to have been [http://www.gulpilil.com/authorization.htm authorised by the subject].
As a young boy, Gulpilil was an accomplished hunter, tracker, and ceremonial dancer. Gulpilil spent his childhood in the bush, outside the range of non-Aboriginal influences. He did not see a white man until he was 8 years old.{{Cite news|title=David Gulpilil obituary|newspaper=The Times |language=en|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/david-gulpilil-obituary-5ttqqjnss|access-date=3 February 2022|issn=0140-0460}} He received a traditional upbringing in the care of his family, until the death of his parents. After that, he attended the school at Maningrida in North East Arnhem Land, where he was assigned the English name "David".{{cite web | title=David Gulpilil, Famed Aboriginal Actor, Dies at 68 | website=The New York Times| first=Neil |last=Genzlinger | date=29 November 2021 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/29/movies/david-gulpilil-dead.html | access-date=30 November 2021}} When he came of age, Gulpilil was initiated into the Mandhalpuyngu tribal group. His skin group totemic animal was the kingfisher (the meaning of the name Gulpilil) and his homeland was Marwuyu.{{cite archive |first= |last= |item=David Gulpilil – engagements for acting |item-url=https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?irecordid=1044 |type=Textual record |item-id=F1, 1973/4846 |date=1969–1972 |collection=Northern Territory Administration |institution=National Archives of Australia }}
After appearing in his first film, Walkabout (1971), Gulipilil became fluent in English. He added this to his ability to speak several Aboriginal languages.
Career
File:David Dalaithngu (Gulpilil) dancing.jpg, July 1972]]
=Film and television=
In 1969, Gulpilil's skill as a tribal dancer caught the attention of British filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, who had come to Maningrida scouting locations for a forthcoming film. Roeg promptly cast the 16-year-old unknown to play a principal role in his film Walkabout, released in 1971. It was internationally acclaimed, and Gulpilil's role was the first time that an Aboriginal character had been portrayed as sexually attractive. Gulpilil's on-screen charisma, combined with his acting and dancing skills, was such that he became an instant national and international celebrity.
The young man travelled internationally, mingled with prominent people, and was presented to heads of state. During these travels to promote the film, he met and was impressed with John Lennon, Bob Marley, Bruce Lee, Marlon Brando, and Jimi Hendrix.{{cite web| url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/david-dalaithngu-portrait| publisher= National Film & Sound Archive| title=David Dalaithngu: A Portrait:The Life of a Screen legend| first=Liz| last= McNiven| date= 30 November 2021 |access-date= 30 November 2021}}{{efn-lr|Also related by Gulpilil in the film My Name Is Gulpilil.}} He taught Bob Marley how to play the didgeridoo, while Marley introduced him to "ganja".
Gulpilil appeared in many more films and television productions. He played a lead role in the commercially successful and critically acclaimed Storm Boy (1976). He "dominated" the film The Last Wave (1977) with his charismatic performance as Chris Lee, a conflicted urban tribal Aboriginal.{{cite book |last1=Pike |first1=Andrew |last2=Cooper |first2=Ross |date=1998 |title=Australian Film 1900–1977: A guide to feature film production |location=Melbourne |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-550784-3}}
A documentary about his life, Gulpilil: One Red Blood, was aired on ABC Television in 2003. The title comes from a quote by Gulpilil: "We are all one blood. No matter where we are from, we are all one blood, the same".{{cite AV media |people=Gulpilil, David; Willesee, Mike |date=2002 |title=Gulpilil – One Red Blood: Sharing Culture and Country |url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/gulpilil-one-red-blood-sharing-culture-and-country |access-date=30 November 2021 |publisher=National Film and Sound Archive }}
Gulpilil was a major creative influence throughout his life in both dance and film. He initiated and narrated the film Ten Canoes, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Cannes Festival. The low-budget film, based on a 1,000-year-old traditional story of misplaced love and revenge, features non-professional Aboriginal actors speaking their local language. Gulpilil collaborated with the director, Rolf de Heer, urging him to make the film. He ultimately withdrew from a central role in the project for "complex reasons."{{cite web |url=http://www.tencanoes.com.au/tencanoes/pdf/Background.pdf |title=Ten Canoes Press Kit |date=2006 |website=Ten Canoes |access-date= |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317122206/http://www.tencanoes.com.au/tencanoes/pdf/Background.pdf |archive-date=17 March 2018 }}{{cite web | last=Grbec | first=Monique | title=David Gulpilil: Profound legacy of a trailblazing Aboriginal actor | website=BBC News at the 2019 NAIDOC Awards | date=6 December 2021 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59485830 | access-date=16 January 2022}} Gulpilil also provided the voice of the storyteller for the film. De Heer had directed Gulpilil in the earlier film, The Tracker (2002).{{cite Rotten Tomatoes |id=the_tracker |type=movie |title=The Tracker|access-date =12 April 2022 }}
In 2007, he starred in Richard Friar's hour-long independent documentary, Think About It! This was focused on Indigenous rights and the anti-war movement. It included commentary from former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser, former Greens leader Bob Brown, and David Hicks, then a detainee at the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camp on Cuba.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/joining-the-dots-along-the-chain-of-war-20070714-gdqm89.html |title=Joining the dots along the chain of war |first=Steve |last=Burrell |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 July 2007 |access-date=13 March 2021}}
In 2014, Gulpilil again collaborated with De Heer, this time sharing on screenwriting credits for Charlie's Country. The film won several awards, including Best Actor in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival.
In 2015, Gulpilil appeared in the documentary Another Country, directed by Molly Reynolds. In this film, Gulpilil narrates the story of his life, from when he was a child living on country; the arrival of the first white men ("ghosts"), in the form of missionaries; through The Intervention, and the introduction of the BasicsCard. He often made serious criticisms hidden beneath his trademark humour.
Gulpilil worked again with Reynolds when she directed a documentary about his life, My Name Is Gulpilil, which premiered at the 2021 Adelaide Festival.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/movies/i-m-just-trying-to-stay-alive-as-the-end-approaches-david-gulpilil-is-feted-one-more-time-20210310-p579gx.html |title='I'm just trying to stay alive': as the end approaches, David Gulpilil is feted one more time |last=Maddox |first=Garry |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=12 March 2021 |access-date=13 March 2021}}
Gulpilil was renowned for portraying Aboriginal culture before it became threatened by the white civilisations. He became somewhat divorced from his own culture by his career in film. He felt that he was stretched somewhere between the two, with "one tiptoe in champage and caviar, and the other in the dirt of his Dreamtime".
=Stage=
In March 2004, he performed in the autobiographical stage production, Gulpilil at the Adelaide Festival of Arts, and received standing ovations.{{Cite web|title=2004 |author=Adelaide Festival|url=https://www.adelaidefestival.com.au/about/archive/2004/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=Adelaide Festival|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=31 March 2004|title=Adelaide Festival 2004: Gulpilil|url=https://www.realtime.org.au/adelaide-festival-2004-gulpilil/|access-date=29 November 2021|website=RealTime}} This work, co-written with Reg Cribb, and directed by Neil Armfield, was based on stories of his life assembled into a script. These included tales from the making of Walkabout, performing at Buckingham Palace, and inadvertently causing a bomb scare at Cannes. The show was later staged in Brisbane and Sydney.{{cite web | title=David Gulpilil | website=AusStage | url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/225474 | access-date=1 December 2021}}
He also performed on stage in The Cradle of Hercules at the Sydney Opera House in 1974; the Commonwealth Gala Performance in Brisbane in 1982 (in front of Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip;{{cite web | title=The Commonwealth Gala Performance | website=AusStage | url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/158464 | access-date=1 December 2021}}) and the Message Sticks Film Festival in Sydney in 2002.
=Dance=
Perhaps the most renowned traditional dancer in Australia, Gulpilil organised troupes of dancers and musicians and performed at festivals throughout the country. He won the prestigious Darwin Australia Day Eisteddfod dance competition four times.
In 1979, Gulpilil and another dancer, Dick Plummer, were accompanied by master didgeridu player David Blanasi and his musical partner, songman Djoli Laiwanga, on a tour to Europe, stopping at Hawaii en route. There, they performed at an Australia Day function on the lawn of the Australian Consular Residence in Honolulu on 29 January 1979. Part of their performance was filmed by CSIRO scientist Gavin Gillman, and is in the collection of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia.{{cite web | title=Rare footage of David Gulpilil dancing, 1979 |first= Beth |last=Taylor| website=National Film and Sound Archive of Australia | date=29 January 1978 | url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/asset/99908-rare-footage-david-gulpilil-dancing-1979 | access-date=16 March 2025| format=video + text| others= Filmed by Gavin Gillman| author2= Gillman, Gavin}}
In November 1997, Gulipilil's dance troupe performed at the second National Aboriginal Dance Conference in Adelaide (hosted by the National Aboriginal Dance Council Australia (NADCA).{{cite web | title=Arts Sponsorship – Regional Arts Fund – August 1999 Round | website=PAWA | date=20 January 2000| url=http://www.pawa.com.au/news/20000120_arts_reg.shtml | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020320014108/http://www.pawa.com.au/news/20000120_arts_reg.shtml | archive-date=20 March 2002 | url-status=dead }}) The conference included discussions of cultural and intellectual property rights and copyright issues for Australian Indigenous dancers. A free concert was given in Rymill Park / Murlawirrapurka.{{cite magazine | title= Deadly Dancing |page=8 |magazine=Tandanya Warra Yellakka, The Newsletter of the National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Inc | publisher=Tandanya | date=January 1998| url=http://www.tandanya.on.net/mag/page8.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010513112057/http://www.tandanya.on.net/mag/page8.htm | archive-date=13 May 2001 | url-status=dead }} The troupe was given a {{AUD|9,000}} grant from the Northern Territory Government to attend the third conference in Sydney in 1999.{{cite magazine| url=https://ausdance.org.au/?ACT=73&file=1382 |format=PDF | publisher= Ausdance|magazine=Asia Pacific Channels: The Newsletter of the World Dance Alliance: Asia Pacific Center|title=3rd National Aboriginal Dance Conference, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, NSW, Thursday – Sunday, 18–21 November 1999| pages=6, 7|date =June 1999| issn =1328-2115| quote=...funded by the Dance Fund of the Australia Council}}
=Writing and painting=
In addition to his career in dance, music, film and television, Gulpilil was an acclaimed storyteller. He wrote the text for two volumes of children's stories based on Yolngu beliefs. These books also feature photographs and drawings by Australian artists, and convey Gulpilil's reverence for the landscape, people and traditional culture of his homeland.{{sfn|Gulpilil|1979}}{{sfn|Gulpilil|1983}}
King brown snake with blue tongue lizard at Gulparil waterhole, painted by Gulpilil in 2013–14, is in the Art Gallery of South Australia's collection.{{cite web | title=King brown snake with blue tongue lizard at Gulparil waterhole | website=Art Gallery of South Australia| url=https://www.agsa.sa.gov.au/collection-publications/collection/works/king-brown-snake-with-blue-tonuge-lizard-at-gulparil-waterhole/65562/ | access-date=1 December 2021}}
Recognition and awards
Gulpilil was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1987,{{cite It's an Honour |ausawardid=870090 |date=8 June 1987 |recipient=Gulpilil, David |award=Member of the Order of Australia |postnominal=AM |access-date=30 November 2021 }} and the Centenary Medal in 2001.{{cite It's an Honour |ausawardid=1127208 |date=1 January 2001 |recipient=Gulpilil, David Gulparil |award=Centenary Medal |access-date=30 November 2021 }}
He twice received the AACTA/AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for The Tracker in 2002 and Charlie's Country in 2014. He was also nominated for this award in 1977 for Storm Boy. Gulpilil was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Rabbit-Proof Fence in 2002. In 2003, he was awarded the inaugural Don Dunstan Award at the Adelaide Film Festival.{{cite web |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/don-dunstan-award-recipient-announced/ |title=Don Dunstan Award Recipient Announced |date=30 August 2013 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |access-date=30 November 2021 |quote=}}
He was nominated for the Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Play in 2004 for the stage production Gulpilil.{{cite web |title=Past nominees and winners |website=Helpmann Awards |url=http://www.helpmannawards.com.au/2004/past-nominees-and-winners/theatre |access-date=8 July 2019}} A portrait of Gulpilil by Craig Ruddy won the 2004 Archibald Prize, Australia's best-known art prize.{{cite web |title=Archibald Prize Archibald 2004 finalist: David Gulpilil, two worlds by Craig Ruddy |url=https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/prizes/archibald/2004/27945/ |website=Art Gallery of NSW |access-date=8 July 2019}}
In 2013 Gulpilil was the recipient of the Red Ochre Award, which is awarded annually by the Australia Council for the Arts to an outstanding Indigenous Australian (Aboriginal Australian or Torres Strait Islander) artist for lifetime achievement.{{cite web |url=https://australiacouncil.gov.au/advocacy-and-research/events/first-nations-arts-awards/ |title=First Nations Arts Awards |website=Australia Council for the Arts |access-date=1 December 2021 }}
In May 2014, Gulpilil won a Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Rolf de Heer's film Charlie's Country. The award was in the Un Certain Regard section, a part of the festival that emphasises original, individual points of view and innovative film-making.{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/movies/australian-actor-david-gulpilil-wins-best-actor-award-at-cannes-film-festival-20140524-zrmxa.html |title=Australian actor David Gulpilil wins best actor award at Cannes Film Festival |last1=Bunbury |first1=Stephanie |date=24 May 2014 |website=The Age |publisher=Fairfax Media |access-date=24 May 2014}}{{cite web|url=https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/74-editions/retrospective/2014/actualites/articles/un-certain-regard-2014-awards |title=Un Certain Regard 2014 Awards |access-date=30 November 2021 |language=en |website=Festival de Cannes |date=23 May 2014 }}
In 2019, Gulpilil was honoured with the lifetime achievement award at the 2019 NAIDOC Awards,{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/renowned-actor-david-gulpilil-receives-top-national-naidoc-award-20190706-p524s8.html |title=Renowned actor David Gulpilil receives top national NAIDOC award |last=Muller| first=Sarah |date=6 July 2019 |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en |access-date=6 July 2019 }} and the Premier's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the South Australian Ruby Awards.{{cite web|url=https://www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/arts-and-culture/awards-and-events/ruby-awards|title=2019 Ruby Awards winners |date=2 December 2019|website=Department of the Premier and Cabinet (South Australia)|language=en-AU|access-date=4 December 2019}}
In June 2021, Ngarrindjeri-Arrernte artist Thomas Readett created a huge permanent mural on the eastern wall of the Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute in Adelaide. Featuring hand-painted black-and-white images representing Gulpilil's early career and later life, the mural was commissioned by ABCG Film, in partnership with Tandanya, Arts South Australia, Department of the Premier and Cabinet and Screen Australia.{{cite web | title=Screen Legend David Gulpilil is the subject of a new mural in Adelaide | website=Broadsheet|date = 11 June 2021| first= Emma|last= Joyce | url=https://www.broadsheet.com.au/adelaide/art-and-design/article/screen-legend-david-gulpilil-subject-new-mural-adelaide | access-date=1 December 2021}}{{YouTube|N1jN6mp-o5U|David Gulpilil Mural}} 11 June 2021
During the Vision Splendid Outback Film Festival at Winton, Queensland in June 2021, Gulpilil was honoured with a star on Winton's Walk of Fame.{{cite news |last=Booth|first=Kristen|date=30 June 2021|title=David Gulpilil has been given a star on Winton's Walk of Fame|url=https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/central-queensland/david-gulpilil-has-been-given-a-star-on-wintons-walk-of-fame/news-story/8fdfc53b04a7896b423f64ceab8eb07b |url-access=subscription|work=Central Queensland News|publisher=News Corp Australia|location= |access-date=2 July 2021}}
In August 2021, Tandanya mounted an exhibition entitled Djungi Gulpilil (Gulpilil family), featuring the work of many artists in his family, including his twin sister, one of his wives and his brother, as well as his own paintings. The exhibition was expressly created to honour and celebrate his life, and to bring him comfort as he is being treated a long way from home, yearning for "culture, language and kin".{{cite web | title=New David Gulpilil exhibition debuts at Tandanya | website=Glam Adelaide | date=9 August 2021 | url=https://glamadelaide.com.au/new-david-gulpilil-exhibition-debuts-at-tandanya/|first=Zara|last=Richards | access-date=1 December 2021}}{{cite web| url=https://www.facebook.com/Tandanya.com.au/posts/4344295295620948 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/facebook/155133834537136/4344295295620948 |archive-date=26 February 2022 |url-access=limited| publisher=Tandanya| via = Facebook| title=Djungi Gulpilil (Gulpilil family) August 7 – September 18| date= 6 August 2021}}{{cbignore}}
At the 11th AACTA Awards, to be held on 8 December 2021, Gulpilil will be officially awarded the Longford Lyell Award for his contribution to the Australian film industry; he had informally received the award at his home a month earlier. His face will be projected onto the Sydney Opera House in the evening of the award ceremony.
Later life and death
Gulpilil was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer in 2017, and retired from acting in 2019. His illness prevented him from attending the 2019 NAIDOC Awards, where he was recognised with the lifetime achievement award.{{cite news |last1=Kwan |first1=Biwa |title=Fans pay tribute to legendary actor David Gulpilil after he wins top NAIDOC award |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/fans-pay-tribute-to-legendary-actor-david-gulpilil-after-he-wins-top-naidoc-award |work=SBS News |publisher=Special Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=8 July 2019}}{{cite web | last1=Verass | first1=Sophie | last2=Nimmo | first2=Julie | title=NAIDOC 2019: David Gulpilil wins the Lifetime Achievement Award | website=NITV | date=5 July 2019 | url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2019/07/05/naidoc-2019-david-gulpilil-wins-lifetime-achievement-award | access-date=16 January 2022}}
Gulpilil died at his home in Murray Bridge, South Australia, on 29 November 2021.{{Cite news |title=Legendary SA actor, artist David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu dies |url=https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/entertainment/david-gulpilil-ridjimiraril-dalaithngu-dies/news-story/6bcc53a9b57ed3ed4955ebc43a3d8c38 |date=29 November 2021 |work=The Advertiser |url-access=subscription}}{{cite news | title=David Dalaithngu, a titanic force in Australian cinema, dies after lung cancer diagnosis | work=The Guardian | date=29 November 2021 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/nov/29/david-gulpilil-a-titanic-force-in-australian-cinema-dies-after-battle-with-lung-cancer | access-date=30 November 2021}} Following his death, his family requested that he be referred to as David Dalaithngu{{Cite news|last=Maddox|first=Garry|date=29 November 2021|title=David Dalaithngu was a mesmerising movie presence|url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/movies/david-gulpilil-was-a-mesmerising-movie-presence-20210325-p57dwd.html|access-date=29 November 2021|work=The Age|language=en}} for a period of time to avoid naming the dead, and many news articles about his death refrained from using the actor's professional name, while warning that the articles contained his name and image.{{cite web | last=Buckmaster | first=Luke | title=Vale David Dalaithngu: the inimitable actor who changed the movies, and changed us | website=The Guardian | date=30 November 2021 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/30/vale-david-dalaithngu-the-inimitable-actor-who-changed-the-movies-and-changed-us | access-date=1 December 2021| quote=...his name – which his family have requested not be used for the time being... }}{{cite web | last=Davey | first=Caitlyn | title=Pioneering Indigenous actor, dancer, singer, artist David Dalaithngu dies aged 68 | website=ABC News | date=29 November 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-29/david-dalaithngu-dies-aged-68/100660282 | access-date=1 December 2021| quote=Dalaithngu was better known by a different surname at the height of his stardom, but the ABC has been advised that for Indigenous cultural reasons that name can't be used.}}
Tributes were published in Australia by political leaders, including Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt, federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese, and South Australian premier Steven Marshall; actors, including Hugh Jackman; film critics; and community elders and relatives, including Witiyana Marika.{{cite web | title=Tributes pour in from across the world for Northern Territory actor David Dalaithngu | website=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=1 December 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-01/david-dalaithngu-tributes-witiyana-marika-ramingining/100662168 | access-date=1 December 2021}} Overseas news outlets also published lengthy tributes and obituaries.{{cite web | title=Veteran Australian actor David Gulpilil dies of lung cancer at 68 | website=India Today | date=30 November 2021 | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/hollywood/story/veteran-australian-actor-david-gulpilil-dies-of-lung-cancer-at-68-1882393-2021-11-30 | access-date=16 January 2022}}
On 2 December 2021, a statement was posted by Tandanya on Facebook on behalf of the Yolngu community and Gulpilil's kin:{{cite web | title= Statement regarding the late Yolŋu actor, dancer, painter, David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu| date= 2 December 2021| publisher= Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute| website=Facebook | url=https://www.facebook.com/login/?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2F155133834537136%2Fposts%2F4711498258900648%2F | access-date=5 December 2021}}{{blockquote|David was an inimitable talent who ‘walked between two worlds’, that of his Country and Culture, and that of the film world, placing him in a unique position regarding posthumous naming cultural practice.
David wanted people to know his name, remember his work, and know his immense legacy to Australian cinema and Australian culture. He was rightfully proud. He wanted his storytelling through film to be shared, to be on the record for the generations to come.
As were his wishes, the Community now give permission for all of his names to be used. He may be referred to as:
- David Gulpilil
- David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu
- David Gulpilil AM
- David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu AM
The permission remains to use his image in films and photographs.}}
The announcement was also reported in newspapers.{{cite web | last=Maddox | first=Garry | title=David Gulpilil to receive film's highest honour as his face lights up Opera House | website=The Age | date=3 December 2021 | url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/movies/david-gulpilil-to-receive-film-s-highest-honour-as-his-face-lights-up-opera-house-20211201-p59dpe.html | access-date=3 December 2021}}
Personal life and family
Gulpilil suffered from alcoholism, having been introduced to grog during filming of Walkabout.{{Cite news|last=Garrick|first=Matt|date=29 November 2021|title=Trailblazing and internationally acclaimed, David Dalaithngu walked tall in two cultures|language=en-AU|work=ABC News|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-30/aboriginal-actor-yolngu-david-dalaithngu-crocodile-dundee-dies/8468524|access-date=30 November 2021}} In later life, it led to several clashes with the law. In 2006, Gulpilil was charged with carrying an offensive weapon after an altercation at the house of a friend in Darwin, when Gulpilil had allegedly armed himself with a machete after he and his wife had been asked to leave the home by the homeowners, who had allegedly armed themselves with a totem pole and a garden hoe.{{cite news |date=8 January 2007 |title=Gulpilil had right to carry machete, court told |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-01-08/gulpilil-had-right-to-carry-machete-court-told/2168308 |work=ABC News (Australia) |agency= |location= |access-date=30 November 2021}}{{cite news |date=9 January 2007 |title=I grabbed machete in fear: Gulpilil |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/i-grabbed-machete-in-fear/2007/01/08/1168104923423.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |access-date=30 November 2021}} However, he was found not guilty after the judge accepted that the machete was used for cultural purposes, including carving didgeridoos, and had not been intended for use as a weapon.{{cite news |date=10 January 2007 |title=Gulpilil machete accepted to be for 'cultural use' |url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21037973-2,00.html |url-status=dead |work=News.com.au |agency=Australian Associated Press |location= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211064954/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21037973-2,00.html |archive-date=11 December 2008 |access-date=1 April 2007 }}
On 30 March 2007, a Darwin magistrate imposed a 12-month domestic violence order on Gulpilil over an incident which had involved his wife, Miriam Ashley, on 28 December 2006; Gulpilil was ordered to stay away from her while drinking.{{cite news |date=31 March 2007 |title=Domestic violence order on Gulpilil |url=https://www.theage.com.au/news/national/domestic-violence-order-on-gulpilil/2007/03/30/1174761728072.html |work=The Age}} In December 2010, Gulpilil was charged with aggravated assault against Ashley, with the court hearing that he had thrown a broom at her, fracturing her arm. In September 2011, he was found guilty and sentenced to twelve months{{cite news |date=22 September 2011 |title=Gulpilil jailed for breaking wife's arm |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-22/gulpilil-sentenced-to-12-months-jail/2911604 |work=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation}} in Berrimah Prison in Darwin. After this stint in prison, he finally got sober.
Gulpilil's other wives or partners included Airlie Thomas and Robyn Djunginy. Two of his daughters are Phoebe Marson and Makia McLaughlin.{{cite news |last1=Dunlop |first1=Greg |date=9 July 2019 |title='Never forget me': NAIDOC gives David Gulpilil lifetime achievement award |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2019/07/06/naidoc-indigenous-actor-david-gulpilil |work=NITV |publisher=Special Broadcasting Service |access-date=8 July 2019}} Seven children survived him: Jida (a musician and actor),{{cite web | title=Jida Gulpilil | website=AusStage| url=https://www.ausstage.edu.au/pages/contributor/254889 | access-date=1 December 2021}} Milan, Makia, Andrew, Jamie, Phoebe and Malakai. Witiyana Marika, Yolngu elder, musician and band member of Yothu Yindi, is his son by lore.{{cite web | last=Garrick | first=Matt | title=Sydney Opera House illuminates life and career of late NT actor David Gulpilil | website=ABC News| publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=7 December 2021 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-07/david-gulpilil-sydney-opera-house-aacta-tribute/100680796 | access-date=16 January 2022}}
Several members of his family are artists, including his twin sister (yapa), Mary Dhalapany, a leading weaver; his brother, Peter Minygululu, known for his story-telling and detailed artworks; and former wife Robyn Djunginy, who was known for her bottle paintings.{{cite web | title=Robyn Djunginy | website=IDAIA| url=http://www.idaia.com.au/en/artists/robyn-djunginy/ | access-date=1 December 2021}} His nephew (waku), Bobby Bununggurr, is a singer, dancer, law man and reconciliation advocate. During the 1970s and 1980s, the two men travelled widely together, performing, dancing, and singing.
Filmography
= Film =
= Television =
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! ! Notes |
|---|
| 1972
|Black Boy / Balinga / Dancer / Tonto / David Ooldea |5 episodes |
| 1973
|Spinifex Breed | |episode: "Pilot" |
| 1974
|Gary Willis |episode: "Slow Fuse" |
| rowspan="3" |1976
|Rush |Satchel |episode: "The Kadaitcha Man" |
| Luke's Kingdom
|Aborigine Boy |episode: "The Dam and the Damned" |
| Taggart's Treasure
| |telemovie |
| 1977
|Billy Potter |episode: "Sophie's Mob" |
| rowspan="3" |1979
|Koiranah |episode: "Koiranah" |
| The Dreamtime
|Narrator | |
| This is Your Life
|Himself |1 episode |
| rowspan="2" |1980
|Bennelong | |
| Young Ramsay
|Aborigine |episode: "Dreamtime" |
| 1989
|Activity | |
| 1995
|Manulpuy |episode: "The Savage Land" |
| rowspan="2" |2000
|Shaman |episode: "Valhalla" |
| Der Paradiesvogel (The Bird of Paradise)
| | |
| 2017
|Christopher Sunday |2 episodes |{{Cite web|last=Kachka|first=Boris|title=Scott Glenn on His Bonkers Episode of The Leftovers|url=https://www.vulture.com/2017/04/the-leftovers-scott-glenn-on-his-bonkers-episode.html|access-date=1 December 2021|website=Vulture|date=30 April 2017 |language=en-us}}{{Cite web|date=27 May 2017|title=How The Leftovers Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb|url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/the-leftovers/the-leftovers-review-the-most-powerful-man-in-the/|access-date=1 December 2021|website=Paste|language=en}} |
Books
- {{cite book |author=Gulpilil |date=1979 |title=Gulpilil's stories of the dreamtime |others=Compiled by Hugh Rule and Stuart Goodman; illustrated by Allan Hondow; photography by Stuart Goodman |location=Sydney |publisher=Collins |isbn=978-0-00-184383-7}}
- {{cite book |author=Gulpilil |date=1983 |title=The Birirrk, our ancestors of the dreaming |others=Photographs by Neil McLeod |location=Cheltenham, Australia |publisher=L & S Publishing |isbn= 978-0-86898-061-4 }}
Explanatory notes
{{notelist-lr}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website}}
- {{IMDb name|name=David Gulpilil}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
- {{discogs artist}}
{{AACTA Award Best Actor in a Leading Role 2000–2019}}
{{Longford Lyell Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gulpilil, David}}
Category:Australian male dancers
Category:Australian male film actors
Category:Australian people convicted of assault
Category:Best Actor AACTA Award winners
Category:Deaths from cancer in South Australia
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Australia
Category:Indigenous Australian dancers
Category:Indigenous Australian male actors
Category:Members of the Order of Australia