Trailblazing Australian filmmaker who worked with Kate Ritchie and Deborra-Lee Furness dies at age 82

By JIMMY BRIGGS FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 01:08 BST, 1 April 2025 | Updated: 01:13 BST, 1 April 2025

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Veteran Australian film director Donald Crombie has died aged 82.

Crombie, who was one of Australia’s most renowned filmmakers and worked on many acclaimed productions, died on March 25.

His heartbreaking death came after several years of failing health and time in palliative care.

His many credits include directing episodes of McLeod’s Daughters, Flipper and working with a seven-year-old Kate Ritchie on the 1986 miniseries Cyclone Tracy.

He also worked with Deborra-Lee Furness on the 1995 short lived drama series Fire. 

The Brisbane-born filmmaker’s death was confirmed in an obituary piece by fellow Australian director Justin Kurzel for The Sydney Morning Herald.

Veteran Australian film director Donald Crombie has died aged 82

‘Crombie was a giant of the industry, and his cinema should continue to inspire the future filmmakers,’ Kurzel wrote.

‘Film seemed so unattainable, something that happened in a place far away. He brought it closer to me, shared a path, and, for that, I am eternally grateful.’

A close friend told Daily Mail Australia that Crombie, who began his film career in the late ’60s, was an industry trailblazer.

‘He was a lovely man, modest to a fault. There was no feature film industry here before 1971,’ they said. 

‘It was all so new and everyone who was making pics in that early period were just so happy to have the chance and be a part of it.’

Heartbroken fans took to social media to pay tribute to the legendary filmmaker.

‘Vale. What an incredible body of work. Wonderful to hear how lovely he was as well,’ one person wrote. 

‘A great one in a fertile era of Australian storytelling,’ a second added. 

Crombie, who was one of Australia’s most renowned filmmakers and worked on many acclaimed productions, died on March 25. Pictured with film director Phillip Noyce (left)

His heartbreaking death came after several years of failing health and time in palliative care

His other credits included directing Jack Thompson in the 1976 classic Caddie, Robbery Under Arms and Playing Beatie Bow.

He received several awards throughout his celebrated career.

In 1975, he won the Best Short Fiction Film category at the Australian Film Institute Award’s, for his movie Who Killed Jenny Langby?

In 1979, he was nominated at the same ceremony for Best Director for his movie Cathy’s Child. 

Crombie’s daughter Fiona, 52, followed him into the industry and is a celebrated production designer who has worked on the Hollywood films Cruella, Mickey 17 and Beau is Afraid.

She was nominated for an Oscar in 2019 for Best Achievement in Production Design for her work on the Emma Stone movie The Favourite.

Crombie is survived by his wife Judith and their four children, Fiona, David, Alistair and Peter. 

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Trailblazing Australian filmmaker who worked with Kate Ritchie and Deborra-Lee Furness dies at age 82

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk