Bernard (Ben) Gannon AO (born 1952, died January 4, 2007) was a prominent Australian film, television and stage producer. Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, wearing on her left shoulder the Order of Australias Sovereign Badge. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up producer in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Gannon graduated from the production course of the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1970. He then worked at the Queensland Theatre Company before stage-managing the original Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar for Harry M. Miller Attractions. This was followed by eight years in London where Gannon was Company Manager of Hair in the West End, and worked as a Theatrical Agent at the American Talent Agency, ICM, before forming his own Talent Agency representing actors, writers, directors and designers. The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. ... Queensland Theatre Company was originally called the Royal Queensland Theatre Company (RQTC). ... Eric Kunze as Jesus in the recent U.S. touring version of Jesus Christ Superstar Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. ... Harry M. Miller is an Australian promoter and publicist, considered by some the countrys or even the worlds best. ... The original poster for the show. ... // West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre in London, or sometimes more specifically for shows staged in the large theatres of Londons Theatreland . Along with New Yorks Broadway Theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of theatre in the... This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ...

Gannon returned to Australia in 1980 and was appointed General Manager of Associated R & R Films, the Robert Stigwood/Rupert Murdoch joint venture which produced the acclaimed film Gallipoli, of which he was Associate Producer. After forming his own production company, View Films, he produced two mini-series Shout! The Story of Johnny O'Keefe (starring Terry Serio) and Shadow Of The Cobra (starring Rachel Ward and Art Malik). Robert Stigwood (born April 16, 1934 in Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian-born entertainment entrepreneur. ... Rupert Keith Murdoch AC, KCSG, (born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 11 March 1931) is an Australian-American global media executive and is the top shareholder, chairman and managing director of News Corporation, based in New York City. ... Gallipoli is a 1981 film, directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson, about several young men from rural Western Australia who enlist in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War. ... Rachel Ward Rachel Claire Ward (born at Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, September 12, 1957), granddaughter of the 3rd Earl of Dudley, is an English actress (and more recently, a director) who has made most of her career in Australia. ...

He produced the award-winning films Travelling North (starring Leo McKern), Sweet Talker (starring Bryan Brown and Karen Allen), The Girl Who Came Late - also known as Daydream Believer - (starring Miranda Otto and Martin Kemp), Hammers Over The Anvil (starring Charlotte Rampling and Russell Crowe), and The Man Who Sued God (starring Billy Connolly and Judy Davis). Image:Number Two. ... Bryan Brown (born June 23, 1947 in Sydney) is an Australian actor. ... Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born December 16, 1967 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia) is an Australian actress who has worked mainly in film. ... Rampling modeling on a Mickey Spillane book cover, 1972. ... Russell Ira Crowe (born April 7, 1964) is an Oscar-winning New Zealand-born, Australian film actor. ... DVD cover The Man Who Sued God is a 2001 movie in which Billy Connolly plays Steve Myers, an ex-lawyer who sues God because his boat is struck by lightning. ... William Billy Connolly, CBE, (born 24 November 1942) is a comedian, musician, presenter, and actor. ... Judy Davis (born April 23, 1955) is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress. ...

His film The Heartbreak Kid was the catalyst for his 210-hour television series Heartbreak High. This proved to be one of Australia's most successful television exports ever, being sold to 80 countries[1]. The Heartbreak Kid is a 1993 Australian film starring Claudia Karvan and Alex Dimitriades, which was based on a play of the same name by Richard Barrett and first performed by Griffin Theatre Company. ... Heartbreak High is an Australian television series, dealing with the students of Hartley High, a tough high school in a multi-racial area of Sydney, and proved to be a more gritty and fast-paced show than many of its contemporaries. ...

For ABC Television he produced the documentary Peter Allen: The Boy From Oz. In 1998 he co-produced with London producer, Robert Fox, Australia's highest-grossing theatre production[2] The Boy from Oz, which later was successfully presented on Broadway, receiving a 2004 Tony Award nomination for Best Musical. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation or ABC (formerly the Australian Broadcasting Commission) is Australias national non-profit public broadcaster. ... Robert Fox producer (born 23 March 1952) is a successful English theatre and film producer, whose work includes the 2002 film, The Hours. ... The Boy From Oz is a musical featuring the life of singer/songwriter Peter Allen. ... Broadway theatre[1] is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ...

He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2006[3], with his citation reading:

For service to the performing arts as a producer contributing to the development of film, television and theatre in Australia, and in promoting Australian productions and talented actors overseas, and to the community

He died in January 2007, after a long battle with cancer.

External links

• IMDB Bio
• Friends of NIDA Bio
• ABC News death notice