Max Gillies


Maxwell Irvine Gillies AM is an Australian actor and a founding member of the 1970s experimental theatre company, the Australian Performing Group.

Early life and education

Gillies studied art teaching at Frankston Teachers College and featured in the theatre productions School for Scandal and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll with Kerry Dwyer in 1964. He graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966. He then studied secondary teaching at the Melbourne Teachers' College, now part of the University of Melbourne.

Career

In 1984–85, Gillies hosted The Gillies Report on ABC Television. This was followed in 1986 by Gillies Republic and in 1992 by Gillies and Company. He was known for his ability to dress up and parody a wide range of political figures, both on television and in live solo theatrical performances. In July 2008 he resurrected his caricatures of Australia's former prime ministers in a live production of No Country for Old PMs: An Evening with Max Gillies at the Noosa Long Weekend festival.
Gillies stated in an interview with The Courier-Mail that he and co-writer Guy Rundle were watching the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, for a possible new caricature in a new production being developed. "I'm watching him closely" he said.

Personal life

He is married to publisher Louise Adler, and they have two adult children.

Honours

Gillies became a member of the Order of Australia on New Year's Day 1990 for his services to the performing arts. In 1997, he was recognised with a Distinguished Alumni Award from Monash University and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 2015.

Caricatures

Gillies, through his television programs or theatre performances, has caricatured the following people: