RIP Bill Hunter

ABC Austrailia reports on some sad news from down under today: Bill Hunter, one of Australia's most beloved actors, has died at the age of 71 after a battle with cancer.

His manager Mark Morrissey said the actor was surrounded by family and friends at a hospice in the Melbourne suburb of Kew when he died just after 8pm on Saturday night. Hunter was admitted to the hospice earlier this week after refusing to go into hospital. The acting legend had inoperable cancer.

Mr. Morrissey described Hunter as a fine actor, a true storyteller and a great friend, saying he will be sorely missed.

"During the course of his long and esteemed career, Bill touched the lives of many people," Mr. Morrissey said. "He was much loved, a gentleman, an inspiration to fellow actors, a journeyman, and a rogue."

In a storied career which spanned 50 years, Hunter's list of work reads like a history of Australian film and television. He worked alongside Mel Gibson in Peter Weir's Gallipoli (1981), played the meddling ballroom federation president Barry Fife in Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom (1992) and starred as then-newcomer Toni Collette's father in Muriel's Wedding (1994).

At the same time as filming Muriel's Wedding, he worked on PJ Hogan's The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert (1994), starring alongside Terence Stamp, Guy Pearce and Hugo Weaving.

More recently, Hunter worked on Finding Nemo, Crackerjack and Luhrmann's Australia.