Gordon McDougall

Gordon McDougall as Les Whittaker in Number 96

Gordon Sholto McDougall (born c.1916, Glasgow, Scotland - 18th May, 1991, Sydney, Australia) was a British Australian actor and stage director, trained at the Glasgow Athenaeum (now known as The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), he was best known for his role as amateur inventor, Les Whittaker on soap opera Number 96.

Training and Theatre

McDougall started acting professionally in 1936 working in various facets of the entertainment industry. He emigrated to Australia and over a long career on the stage appeared in more than 50 theatre productions. These included Death of a Salesman, Cat Among the Pigeons, Habeas Corpus, 1776 and Promises, Promises. He played in Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing for the Nimrod Theatre.^[1]

Television

In the late 1960s and the early 1970s McDougall appeared in many television productions in Australia, including Homicide and Division 4, as well as in comedic roles. He subsequently found his widest audiences through his portrayal of amateur inventor Les Whittaker, husband to brassy barmaid Norma (Sheila Kennelly), in the phenomenally successful sex-comedy television soap opera Number 96. Les and Norma were added to the series early in its 1972–1977 run and became enormously popular, with the characters providing comedic entertainment, in between more serious storylines. Along with the majority of the show's regular cast, McDougall reprised his role in the 1974 film version of the series

After a fall in ratings in 1975 Les was killed off as part of a dramatic revamp of the series, in the famous bomb blast storyline. It was at the time decided that Les's constant crazy inventions were becoming too silly and his death would open up the character of Norma to engage in new romances and other storylines. The producers of the series soon realised that killing Les was a mistake, and McDougall later returned to the series in late 1976 playing Les's long-lost brother Lord Andrew McCradenow. The new character did not work however and six months later, during another drastic revamp, both Andrew and Norma were written out of the series.

Later years and death

After Number 96 McDougall continued acting in Australian films and television dramas, until the late 80's including guest appearances in series including Chopper Squad, Prisoner and A Country Practice and sitcom Mother and Son. He was married to Margaret Mackie and died in Sydney, Australia on the 18th May, 1991, aged around 75.

External links

• Gordon McDougall at the Internet Movie Database

Notes