Beaver (Beverley Morrison)
Beaver - real name Beverley Morrison - toured New Zealand as part of seminal 70s touring group Blerta. Later she sang on the title track of 80s television hit Gloss, and acted in 1985 thriller Should I Be Good? She passed away in May 2010.
Ian Watkin
Ian Watkin's long acting career saw him playing mad doctors, priests, axe-wielding stepfathers, and American presidents. Part of the legendary Blerta troupe which toured Australasia in the 1970s, Watkin went on to appearances in everything from Beyond Reasonable Doubt and an iconic Crunchie bar commercial, to presenting Miss Universe New Zealand. He passed away in May 2016.
Geoff Murphy
Geoff Murphy was a leading figure in the new wave of Kiwi filmmakers that emerged in the 1970s. His movie Goodbye Pork Pie became the first blockbuster of the local film renaissance. He completed an unsurpassed triple punch with Utu and sci-fi classic The Quiet Earth. Noted for his skill at action, knockabout comedy, and melding genres, Murphy spent a decade in Hollywood before returning home.
Tony Barry
Tony Barry's gravel voice won Kiwi fame when he starred in 1981 hit Goodbye Pork Pie. By then he already had 30 plus screen credits — including cult 70s sitcom Buck House, and the anarchic Blerta TV series. Barry's busy acting career continues both in his native Australia, and New Zealand. In 2010 he won a Qantas Best Actor Award for his starring role in Gaylene Preston's war tale Home by Christmas.
Fane Flaws
Renaissance man Fane Flaws has done it all. Since boarding the legendary magic bus of travelling band Blerta in the early 1970s, he has been a musician, graphic designer and artist — not to forget directing a long run of award-winning music videos and commercials, and launching bestselling multimedia project The Underwater Melon Man.
Pat Robins
Pat Robins has been active in the screen industry since the 1960s, across varied behind the scenes roles. In the early 70s Robins, her then husband Geoff Murphy and their children took to the road with musical collective Blerta. After production managing on classics like Goodbye Pork Pie, Utu, and Ngāti, she first stepped out on her own as a director in 1985, with her first short Instincts.
Bruno Lawrence
Bruno Lawrence was a widely popular and prolific actor, musician and counter-cultural hero. His inimitable and charismatic screen presence was central to Kiwi legends Smash Palace, The Quiet Earth and Utu. Lawrence was also known for his influential and anarchic travelling theatre troupe, Blerta.
Dick Reade
Sound recordist Dick Reade's list of awards includes gongs for his work on The Navigator, Mt Zion, After the Waterfall and When Love Comes — and an Emmy nomination for TV’s Buggin’ with Ruud. In 2007 he was named SPADA/Onfilm industry champion. After more than a decade with state television, Reade went freelance in the early 80s. These days he runs his own studio in West Auckland.
Phillip Gordon
Phillip Gordon began his screen career with 70s soap Close to Home, then won fame in the mid 80s with two different roles: playing conman Cyril Kidman in hit period comedy Came a Hot Friday, and starring in Wellington-set TV series Inside Straight. He went on to act on both sides of the Tasman.
Martyn Sanderson
From The Governor to The Lord of the Rings, Martyn Sanderson's distinctive voice and sideburns were part of New Zealand's screen landscape for three decades. His work ranged from the experimental to the mainstream, including directing feature films (Flying Fox in a Freedom Tree) and personal documentaries.