**By Lucy Chesterton and Jacqui Lang
The Aussie acting legend departed this life as he lived it… in a blaze of warmth, humour and love.**
Leaving a well thumbed script by his bedside, beloved actor Charles “Bud” Tingwell ended his final day the same way he did so many before — with his lines fully learned.
“I’ll be acting until I die; I’ve got no intention of stopping!” he told Woman’s Day in an interview before succumbing to prostate cancer aged 86.
But last week, the affable Aussie bloke took his final bow as he was laid to rest at a state funeral in Melbourne. Among the hundreds of mourners who packed St Paul’s Cathedral were his children Christopher and Virginia, as well as Bert, Patti and Matthew Newton, Michael Caton, Jack Thompson, Rachel Griffiths, Jimeoin, Kerry Armstrong, Rob Sitch, Jane Kennedy, Victoria’s Premier John Brumby and federal MPs Peter Garrett and Julie Bishop.
“Bud was a gentleman, an actor of the highest calibre, a courageous World War II pilot, a devoted family man and invaluable mentor to many, including me,” actor Sam Neill told Woman’s Day.
“I loved him, along with so many others, and I feel lucky indeed to have known and worked with him.”
With an illustrious career spanning more than 60 years and 140 appearances on the stage and screen, Bud never hesitated to help the younger generation of actors.
Colleague Bert Newton remembers Bud as being “the full deal”, while Bud’s passion for encouraging young talent saw him also befriend Bert’s actor son Matthew, whom he eventually worked with on the film Three Blind Mice.
“There was no outer skin that you had to get through to find Bud; if he walked into a room people would be drawn to him,” Bert remembers. Matt adds, “His legacy wasn’t only about his great work, but how he helped people.”
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