Gus Mercurio, American-born Australian boxer and actor.died he was , 82

 Augustino Eugenio "Gus" Mercurio was an American-born Australian character actor who appeared on both film and television died he was , 82.

(10 August 1928 – 7 December 2010) Early life

Mercurio, the eldest child of Vincent A. Mercurio and Cecilia W. "Mickey" Miller, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He had two sisters, Gerie and Connie, and a brother, Tony.^[1] His parents were divorced when he was seven.
He visited Australia during 1956 Melbourne Olympics and decided to stay.^[2]

Boxer

His father had boxed professionally under the name of Vince McGurk, and one of his uncles had boxed professionally under the name of Ray Miller. He was a professional boxer, had served in the United States Marine Corps and was a qualified chiropractor.^[3]
He was also an international boxing judge. He refereed a world title fight. He was also a well-known boxing promoter, who later became the president of the Australian Boxing Hall of Fame.

Radio, TV and film

Having successfully auditioned for consideration to be included in the cast of an ABC radio play, and selected at his first audition, his raspy voice, energetic personality and natural talents quickly came to the attention of Australian television production houses such as Crawford Productions.^[3]
He also worked as a commentator for Channel 7's World of Sport, as well as acting as the movie host for Channel 10's Saturday Night with Gus Mercurio.^[4]
Mercurio appeared in several Australian TV series, including Cash and Company (1975), its follow-up Tandarra (1976) and the miniseries Power Without Glory (1976). Additionally, he played many guest roles in Australian TV police series, including Homicide (1964), Division 4 (1969) and Matlock Police (1971). His film appearances include The Blue Lagoon (1980), The Man from Snowy River (1982), Turkey Shoot (1982), "Crocodile" Dundee II (1988), Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991) and Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997).

Family

Mercurio was the father of dancer and actor Paul Mercurio, the star of the film Strictly Ballroom (1992).

Death

He died on 7 December 2010 during surgery for a chest aneurism.^[5]

Selected filmography

• Alvin Purple Rides Again (1974)
• Cash and Company TV series (1975)^[6]
• Eliza Fraser (1976)
• The Sullivans TV series (1976–1983)
• Power Without Glory TV series (1976)
• Tandarra TV series (1976)^[6]
• The Blue Lagoon (1980)
• Harlequin (1980)
• Turkey Shoot (1982)
• The Man from Snowy River (1982)
• Five Mile Creek TV series (1983)
• All the Rivers Run TV series (1983)
• The Return of Captain Invincible (1983)
• The Challenge TV series (1986)
• "Crocodile" Dundee II (1988)
• The Great Air Race (1990) (TV)
• Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991)
• Lightning Jack (1994)
• Flipper TV series (1996)
• Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997)

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