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Ray Meagher Alf Stewart Aug 2022

Ray as Alf (2022)

Raymond Francis Meagher OAM, OAM (born in 4th July, 1944, Roma, Queensland, Australia) [1] is an iconic Australian Gold Logie award winning actor. He is best known for playing Alf Stewart since the very first episode of Home and Away.

Pre Home And Away career[]

Ray Meagher (pronounced Marr) is of Irish heritage. He was born on a sheep and cattle station near Roma, Queensland. Roma is an outback town and became the inspiration for Ray's trademark Alfisms. In the 1960s Ray was a talented rugby union player who played first five-eighth for Brisbane club Wests. He represented Queensland a handful of times – most memorably against a touring French side – and even came close to being selected for the 1969 Wallabies tour to South Africa.

In the 1970s Ray began working as an actor and appeared in numerous Australian plays, TV shows and films over the next two decades. These included Matlock Police, Number 96, The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Newsfront, My Brilliant Career, The Shiralee, True Believers, The True Story of Spit MacPhee, A Country Practice and Prisoner. Ray clocked up 28 appearances in Prisoner playing 3 separate characters. [2]

Home And Away 1988-present[]

Alf 1988

Ray as Alf (1988)

In 1987 Ray auditioned for the role of Tom Fletcher but as we know, that part went to Roger Oakley. Instead, he was cast as the curmudgeonly Alf Stewart. Ray filmed his first scenes for the pilot in July of that year. When a series was commissioned, Ray picked up where he'd left off. The rest, as they say, is history.

Initially Ray was given a 2 year contract, but thinking it was too long, settled with the producers on 6 months. Ironically, he is now the only original cast member still on Home and Away. In 2002 he attained the Guinness World Record as the longest-serving actor in an Australian serial. He is also one of the highest paid actors on Australian TV.

Despite his long-running role as Alf on Home and Away, Ray has continued to act on stage. Over the years, Alf has taken long trips away from Summer Bay and this is usually the reason for it. As well as appearing in at least 16 pantomimes in the UK[3], he has toured with several productions of Priscilla Queen of the Dessert. These included two stints in London's West End [4].

In 2019 Ray underwent a triple heart bypass and in 2020 had a stent fitted[5]

In October 2022 Ray was the subject of an episode of This Is Your Life on 7 [6]

Trivia[]

A wax statue of Ray can be seen in Madame Tussaud's Sydney[7]

Ray was awarded an Order of Australia in 2017 for his services to the arts[8]

Refs[]

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