PASSINGS

Charles Tingwell

Australian television, film actor

Charles “Bud” Tingwell, 86, an actor who starred in more than 100 films and television programs in his native Australia and in Britain, died Friday at a Melbourne hospital.

A statement on his website said he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and took ill two weeks ago.

In a career that lasted more than 60 years, he probably was best known for his roles in the television shows “Emergency Ward 10” in Britain and “Homicide” and “Neighbours” in Australia.

He also appeared in the Australian films “Breaker Morant,” “The Castle” and “The Dish,” as well as the Miss Marple “Murder” movies in Britain with Dame Margaret Rutherford.

Born in the Sydney suburb of Coogee in 1923, Tingwell entered the film industry after serving as a pilot with the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II.

In 1952, he played Lt. Carstairs in “The Desert Rats” with Richard Burton, James Mason and Chips Rafferty, but he declined a contract to stay in the United States and returned to work in Australia and Britain.

-- times staff and wire reports news.obits@latimes.com