Ernest Ashley Dingo AM was born on 31 July 1956 and is an Indigenous Australian actor, television presenter and comedian, originating from the Yamatji people of the Murchison region of Western Australia.
26 Facts About Ernie Dingo
2.
Ernie Dingo grew up in Mullewa, Western Australia with his family.
3.
Ernie Dingo attended both Prospect Primary School and Geraldton High School in his hometown in Western Australia.
4.
Ernie Dingo got his first big break in acting after moving to Perth and meeting Richard Walley, with whom he played basketball in a local team.
5.
Ernie Dingo then went on to play state league first division for the East Perth Hawks.
6.
Ernie Dingo rose to fame when he controversially collaborated with Richard Walley to create the first public performance of the "Welcome to Country" ceremony in Perth in 1976, after dancers from the Pacific islands would not perform without one.
7.
Ernie Dingo starred in the title role in the 1987 docu-drama biopic Tudawali and appeared in Bruce Beresford's 1987 drama The Fringe Dwellers.
8.
Ernie Dingo had a major supporting role in the international comedy blockbuster Crocodile Dundee II in 1988.
9.
Ernie Dingo appeared as himself in the 1989 comedy Capuccino and had a major role in the 1991 Wim Wenders film Until the End of the World.
10.
Ernie Dingo appeared in the TV mini-series The Cowra Breakout, A Waltz Through the Hills, and Kings in Grass Castles, as well as co-starring with Cate Blanchett in the Australian television drama series Heartland.
11.
Ernie Dingo hosted the television program The Great Outdoors for 16 years from its beginning in 1993 to its end in 2009.
12.
Ernie Dingo narrated the Indigenous segment of the 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony in Sydney, New South Wales.
13.
In May 2007, Ernie Dingo appeared as one of the celebrity performers on the celebrity singing competition reality show It Takes Two.
14.
Ernie Dingo hosted the first series of No Leave, No Life, on Channel Seven.
15.
Ernie Dingo appears in an episode of Serangoon Road, an Australian-Singaporean television drama series which premiered on 22 September 2013 on the ABC and HBO Asia.
16.
Also in 2013, Ernie Dingo plays a Vietnam veteran, a retired Army drill sergeant facing his demons in episode six of the second series of Redfern Now, Dogs of War.
17.
Ernie Dingo's eldest daughter, Carrleen, was born when he was 18; through her, he has two grandchildren.
18.
Ernie Dingo married Sally Butler, then a sales representative for 2Day FM, in 1989.
19.
Ernie Dingo discovered in 2004 that he had a daughter, named Zoe, from a brief relationship before his marriage.
20.
Ernie Dingo is a prominent supporter of Australian rules football, and in particular the Australian Football League's West Coast Eagles.
21.
In 2020, Ernie Dingo toured regional Western Australia to speak to Indigenous groups, which had the lowest vaccination rates in WA.
22.
Ernie Dingo is a fan of basketball and played at state level in 1973 for the Perth Wildcats.
23.
Ernie Dingo will join the masters games to play the game for Australia in 2022.
24.
Ernie Dingo was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1990, in recognition of his service to the performing arts.
25.
Ernie Dingo received the AFI Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Tele feature for A Waltz Through the Hills in 1988, after being nominated the previous year for Tudawali.
26.
In December 2009, Ernie Dingo made controversial comments hitting out at "hypocritical white people who lecture Aborigines about alcohol consumption".