Ken Wayne

Wayne made his film debut in Sons of Matthew (1949) and appeared in a number of movies including Dust in the Sun (1958). Wayne had a featured role as a submarine officer using an American accent in 1959's On the Beach filmed in Melbourne.

He also worked in radio, and was best known for his role as private eye Larry Kent in the series I Hate Crime.Richard Lane, The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama, Melbourne University Press, 1994 p266{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article235984581 |title=ON THE AIR |newspaper=Smith's Weekly |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=10 June 1950 |access-date=19 April 2020 |page=30 |via=Trove }} Wayne auditioned for the part of Larry Kent, after the first choice for the lead felt through. He played him for all three seasons.{{cite web|url= https://www.greatdetectives.net/detectives/i-hate-crime/ |title= I Hate Crime |publisher= www.greatdetectives.net}} According to colleague and friend Charles Tingwell, being so identified with Larry Kent hurt Wayne from being cast in other roles.{{cite book|page=284|first=Peter|last=Phil|publisher=Eureka Media|title=Drama in Silent Rooms: A History of Radio Drama in Australia from the 1920s to the 1970s}}

Wayne relocated to Britain in the early 1960s where he worked in London for 13 years, appearing in series such as The Saint, No Hiding Place, Dixon of Dock Green and Coronation Street.

He returned to Australia in 1972 to become a regular guest artist on television movies and series,'Larry Kent Comes Home', The Sydney Morning Herald, Thursday, 28 December 1972 p4 including the miniseries Serpent in the Rainbow (1973) and Power Without Glory (1976), police procedural series Homicide and Matlock Police, sitcom Doctor Down Under and soap operas Punishment, A Country Practice and E Street, continuing to act until the early 1990s. He also had a minor role as a bartender in the 1989 American film The Punisher, which was filmed in Australia.

On stage in Australia, Wayne appeared in productions of These Positions Vacant (1945), Get a Load of This (1945), Ah, Wilderness! (1948), The Big Knife (1957), Curly on the Rack (1958) and That Championship Season (1974). His stage credits in the UK included Happy as a King (1953), Licence to Murder (1963), Twelve Angry Men (1963–1964) and The Odd Couple (1966–1967).

{{reflist}}

• [http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=no;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F44103-1%22;querytype=;resCount=10 Ken Wayne] at National Film and Sound Archive
• {{IMDb name|0915594}}
• [http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/645519?lookfor=subject:%22Wayne,%20Ken%22&offset=1&max=1 Cuttings on Ken Wayne] at National Library of Australia
• [http://www.ausstage.edu.au/indexdrilldown.jsp?xcid=59&f_contrib_id=226685&f_event_id=67584 Australian theatre credits] at AusStage

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Category:1925 births

Category:1993 deaths

Category:Male actors from Sydney

Category:20th-century Australian male actors

Category:Australian male film actors

Category:Australian male radio actors