Bruce Allpress
As Aldor at Helm's Deep, 2000
Born
Bruce Robert Allpress

(1930-08-25)25 August 1930
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died23 April 2020(2020-04-23) (aged 89)
Auckland, New Zealand
OccupationActor

Bruce Robert Allpress (25 August 1930 – 23 April 2020) was a New Zealand actor.

Biography

Allpress grew up in Dunedin, the second son of William and Gladys Allpress.[1][2] He began performing in the 1960s in a vaudeville minstrel show called the Cheeseman Singer Series.[1] He began working in television drama with a role in the series Hunter's Gold, then spent several years as a regular character on the late 1970s soap opera Close to Home.[3]

He appeared in many television dramas and also presented on television and radio productions. In the mid-1980s, he was a regular on The Billy T. James Show,[1] as well as featuring alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the pirate adventure film Nate and Hayes.[4] He also played the role of a blind piano tuner in The Piano (1993) directed by Jane Campion.[5] His most known role is Aldor, archer of Rohan that accidentally shot the first Uruk-hai from their army in the 2002 film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.[3]

Allpress died on 23 April 2020, aged 89, six months after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[6]

Awards

In 1981 and 1983, Allpress was awarded the Feltex Television Award for Best Actor in the series Jocko.[3]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Beyond Reasonable Doubt Detective Sam Keith
1981 Bad Blood Inspector Calwell
1982 The Scarecrow Uncle Athol
1983 Nate and Hayes Mr. Blake
1985 Came a Hot Friday Don's Dad
1985 Should I Be Good? Neville Oswald
1990 The Shrimp on the Barbie Mr. Ridley
1993 The Piano Blind Piano Tuner
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Aldor
2006 Ozzie Charlie Foster
2007 The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Jock McGowan
2008 Power Rangers Jungle Fury Master Phant
2011 Rest for the Wicked Mr. Maxwell

References

  1. ^ a b c "Bruce Allpress". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Bruce Allpress death notice". New Zealand Herald. 27 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Kiwi actor Bruce Allpress who starred in Close to Home dies aged 89". NZ Herald. 25 April 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Savage Islands". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Lord of the Rings actor Bruce Allpress, who played a pivotal role in The Two Towers, has died aged 89". The Independent. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ "'Icon' Kiwi actor Bruce Allpress who 'fought to the end' dies aged 89". Stuff. Retrieved 25 April 2020.

External links


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