Sutherland Starred

Sad news: my old mate the actor Donald Sutherland passed away on Thursday, aged 88. We haven’t been in touch in recent decades, but I fondly remember our time together in Hollywood in 1982 working on a short film. 

As Qantas advertising manager for Australia, I supervised our ad agency to produce a TV campaign promoting new flight services to Vancouver, with support from the Canada Tourism authority. The idea of asking Donald, a proud Canadian, to take a lead ‘talking head’ role in the ads was devised, and patriotically he agreed to help out free of charge. The simple objective was to sell Canada as a destination for Australian holiday travellers, flying Qantas naturally, using the appeal of a famous actor.

Donald was at the height of his career with The Dirty Dozen, MASH, Kelly’s Heroes, Klute, Animal House, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Ordinary People all behind him. He was a star.

So, the ad agency crew and I headed off to LA, where Donald was working, and we filmed the short spot in a morning in a local studio. The consummate professional, he quickly studied the short script and then spoke it to the camera without prompts. We didn’t have a big media budget, so the ad had to be short and punchy. I recall him doing another take before wrapping for the day.

Afterwards he invited us to a favourite restaurant on Rodeo Drive for lunch, where there were plenty of heads turning. I remember him as a charismatic, easy-going and entertaining guy. We all had a fun and productive day together. Later on the Vancouver flights went ok too.

Vale Donald!

(POH third from right)