Moomba, King, Portrait, Frank Thring, Bob Van der Toorren, 1982
Summary
Portrait of Frank Thring in crown and robe, both made specifically for Thring by the Melbourne Theatre Company.
Frank Thring Jr. (1926–94) was crowned Moomba King in 1982. He had already enjoyed a considerable career in the limelight through his work on stage and in film and television, having got his start in radio, 3XY. He was particularly noted for playing Pontius Pilot in Ben Hur (1959) and King Herod in King of Kings (1961); he performed in large and small screen Australian classics, such as Ned Kelly (1970), Alvin Purple Rides Again (1974), Bodyline (1984) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). Thring had perfected the art of character acting, and he demonstrated his ease in the royal role as he rode in the parade on a theatrical float built by the Melbourne Theatre Company; he had refused to travel in the parade in a convertible! Thring apparently insisted on wearing a black shirt and gold medallion beneath the robe, introducing his own oblique tone to the role of Moomba King.
Thring was raised in an entertainment family, his father, Frank W. Thring, the head of Eftee Studios during the 1920s, a noted film producer, a partner in Hoyts, and also the inventor of the clapboard. Although the flamboyant Thring Jr was gay, he was briefly married to actress Joan Cunliffe during the 1950s, before this ended in divorce. In 1994, Thring died from cancer aged 68. He was cremated and his ashes scattered off the coast of Queenscliff, Victoria. A celebration of his life was held at the Victorian Arts Centre, Melbourne, in 1995.
