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29 Facts About Lionel Long

1.

Lionel Joaquin Paul Long OAM was an Australian country and folk singer, songwriter, guitarist, actor and artist.

2.

Lionel Long was well known for his acting appearances on television programs such as Homicide.

3.

Lionel Long grew up in Bondi with his mother Aileen and father Ernest who was an accomplished violinist.

4.

Lionel Long went to Christian Brothers School where he was an A-grade student and won many scholarships to continue his education.

5.

On completion of his high school years, Lionel Long decided to go and work as a jackaroo in the Hunter Valley and then into the expansive outback of Queensland where he honed his skills in singing and playing guitar.

6.

Lionel Long returned with his family to Sydney, where he attended Hawkesbury Agricultural College, studying commercial art and marine biology.

7.

Lionel Long learned to play the guitar with his long-time friend Gary Shearston.

8.

Many of Lionel Long's albums featured accompaniment by other musicians, including Dave Guard of the Kingston Trio, guitarist and teacher Don Andrews and jazz legend Don Burrows.

9.

Lionel Long re-signed with EMI in 1980 and released his final album, High, Wild and Handsome, which featured guitarist Tommy Emmanuel, a version of "Let It Be" by the Beatles and the well-known Kermit the Frog song "Rainbow Connection".

10.

Lionel Long displayed visual artistic talents, producing illustrations for several books and guides.

11.

Lionel Long performed his music well into the 1980s, appearing at the Sydney Opera House in 1987 and travelling to Nashville, Tennessee, to work with the LeGarde Twins on various recording deals.

12.

In 1964, Lionel Long released another LP, this time not entirely Australian folk songs, Songs of the Sea.

13.

Lionel Long was a keen sailor, having owned boats and spent much time sailing and fishing with friends, many of whom were famous recording artists in their own right.

14.

Lionel Long appeared on TV again on 1 August 1964, as one of the stars of This Is It, a show to inaugurate Channel 0, the for-running of Network 10, Melbourne's third commercial TV station.

15.

Lionel Long was an acting teacher in the early 1980s for children and teenagers, who worked from firstly a church hall in Bankstown, New South Wales, with actress Erica Watson as his assistant coach.

16.

Lionel Long moved his acting school to the inner city of Sydney in 1984, working with adults for the next few years in the Stanislavski Method of acting.

17.

Lionel Long's character was planned for only a few episodes, but Long's popularity was so great that he remained on the hit show all season and appeared in 49 episodes between 1968 and 1969.

18.

Lionel Long's character was eventually killed in a mine collapse.

19.

Lionel Long played the role of the father in the Australian 1976 Columbia feature film Barney, starring Spike Milligan and Sean Kramer and directed by David Waddington.

20.

Lionel Long chose to live in New York to complete his studies in the Stanislavski Method of Acting, at The Studio of Acting, with critically acclaimed teacher Stella Adler, alongside greats such as Melanie Griffith and Tom Waits.

21.

Lionel Long taught the Stanislavski method at his own Actors Studios, within his various campuses based around Sydney.

22.

Lionel Long arranged for his students to travel to Los Angeles once a year to practice and learn more about the actor's craft with a range of selected teachers.

23.

Lionel Long organised for up and coming screenwriters to spend time with well-known Hollywood screenwriters to discuss intricate screenwriting techniques, editing and scriptwriting for screen.

24.

Lionel Long spent part of his time in Los Angeles, teaching the Stanislavski Method by invitation from the AFTRA in Los Angeles, for students in the US, who further wanted to develop their understanding and application of the method.

25.

Lionel Long was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in the 1993 Australia Day Honours, with the citation, "for service to the performing and visual arts".

26.

Batten maintained a collection of Lionel Long memorabilia, including a distinctive country-style chair which was hand-painted by Lionel Long in a folk art style and was donated by his daughter, Amberwren, at the homestead property when Batten purchased it.

27.

Lionel Long married Carole Sue Newgrosh in 1964 in Chatswood, New South Wales.

28.

Lionel Long died on 1 January 1998, age 69, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Darlinghurst, Sydney.

29.

Lionel Long was cremated after a small service at the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park in Matraville, Sydney.