Gus Mercurio

Early life

Mercurio, the eldest child of Vincent A. Mercurio and Cecilia W. "Mickey" Miller, was born in West Bend, Wisconsin near Milwaukee. He had two sisters, Gerie and Connie, and a brother, Tony. His parents were divorced when he was seven.

He visited Australia during the 1956 Melbourne Olympics and decided to stay.

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. Mercurio himself was a professional boxer, had served in the United States Marine Corps and was a qualified chiropractor.

Mercurio was also an international boxing judge (refereeing a world title fight) and was also a well-known boxing promoter. He later became the inaugural president of the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame – into which he was inducted in 2008.

Radio, TV and film

He was successful at his first audition for an ABC radio play. His raspy voice, energetic personality and natural talents quickly came to the attention of Australian television production houses such as Crawford Productions.

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.

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 married twice and fathered seven children, including dancer/actor Paul Mercurio, the star of the film Strictly Ballroom (1992).

Death

He died on 7 December 2010 from complications during surgery for a chest aneurism. He was 82 years old.

Works