Vale Pat Lovell

Pioneering film producer Patrica Lovell has died at the age of 83.

Pat began a show business career on radio and as Miss Pat in the children's TV show Mr Squiggle . She was also part of the original beauties on the panel show Beauty and The Beast as well as acting in several of the Skippy The Bush Kangaroo episodes.


Lovell formed a film production company with fledgling actor Mel Gibson and produced some of Australia's most acclaimed films including Picnic At Hanging Rock and Gallipoli. She spoke warmly about working with Gibson in a 2004 documentary about the religious actor : Mel Gibson, God's Lethal Weapon.

Pat Lovell retired from the industry in 2003 when she was head of producing at the Australian Film, Television School. She died yesterday surrounded by family members.

Vale Mr Squiggle

Norman Hetherington the creator of the famous Mr Squiggle character on ABC TV has died in Brisbane at age 89.  Mr Squiggle was a pencil nosed marionette who lives on the moon, as one does. 

He squiggled drawings sent in by viewers with his nose. He first appeared on television in 1959 and the show ran until 1999 making it the longest ever local TV show.
Long before Jim Henson, Hetherington created a series of puppets -the first Mr Squiggle being operated from below like Henson's puppets later were.

Norman Hetherington began life as a cartoonist and illustrator appearing in The Bulletin alongside artists like Norman Lindsay. Not every kid loved Mr Squiggle-some were terrified of him, especially when he roared off in his rocket ship back to the moon !