Alan John Hopgood AM, known as Alan Hopwood, was an Australian actor, producer, and writer.
16 Facts About Alan Hopgood
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Alan Hopgood wrote the screenplay for the 1972 film Alvin Purple and made appearances in television shows such as Bellbird, Prisoner and Neighbours.
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Alan Hopgood acted in several dramatic roles in his childhood.
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Alan Hopgood attended school in Melbourne and then studied at the University of Melbourne, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Education.
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Alan Hopgood left teaching to write full-time and start his acting career.
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Alan Hopgood has written a number of film and television screenplays, including the comedy film Alvin Purple, which was the most commercially successful Australian film of the early 1970s.
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Alan Hopgood was an actor with the Melbourne Theatre Company for ten years and was an early 'soap' star in Bellbird, in which for six years he played the town doctor.
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Alan Hopgood has performed in the later soaps, Prisoner and Neighbours as Jack Lassiter.
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Alan Hopgood worked with a large number of actors including Frank Thring, Meryl Streep, Brooke Shields, Sam Neill and Judy Davis.
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In late 2021, Alan Hopgood appeared in an exclusive interview for the official YouTube channel Talking Prisoner, in which he discussed his life and career.
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Alan Hopgood won AWGIE awards for The Cheerful Cuckold and The Bush Bunch and writing several feature films including Alvin Purple and the documentaries The Prophecies of Nostradamus and The Fountain of Youth.
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Alan Hopgood was awarded the AM in 2005 for his services to the performing arts as an actor, playwright and producer, and to the community through raising awareness of men's health issues.
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Alan Hopgood resided in Melbourne with his wife Gay, with whom he had two children, and four grandchildren.
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Alan Hopgood developed prostate cancer and published a book on the experience titled Surviving Prostate Cancer: One Man's Journey, which was widely praised.
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Alan Hopgood often toured giving humorous lectures on men's health issues.
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Alan Hopgood died from prostate cancer at the age of 87 on 19 March 2022 at a hospital in Melbourne.