Leigh Spence, director of TV dramas including Prisoner, A Country Practice and Home And Away, has died at the age of 75.
Soap opera historian Andrew Mercado has written a tribute to Spence, published by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Spence’s career started at the ABC in the late 1950s, starting as a studio hand before working his way up to producer/director. He later worked outside the industry and overseas before returning to ABC to work on various productions including GTK, Sounds Like Us, Adventure Island, Mr Squiggle and Farnham And Byrne.
He later became a director for the Grundy Organisation, working on The Restless Years and then the long-running Prisoner.
Later credits included A Country Practice, Kings, Rafferty’s Rules, Hey Dad!, My Two Wives, E Street, Over the Hill, Paradise Beach, Pacific Drive, Breakers and Home And Away.
At the time of his retirement, the cast of Home And Away presented him with their own special “Logie” for “Australia’s Best Loved Drama Director”.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
