Overview
- Jason and Paul Donovan announced on Instagram that their father died peacefully in Melbourne on Saturday 18 July and asked for privacy while thanking Cabrini Hospital staff.
- Donovan was 90 and best known for playing Doug Willis on Neighbours in more than 550 appearances with a final reprise in 2022.
- His screen work spanned stage, television and film with credits including Division 4, Cop Shop, Home and Away, Breaker Morant and The Man from Snowy River.
- In the early 1970s Donovan joined the 'T.V. Make It Australian' campaign that helped secure local content obligations for commercial broadcasters and contributed to the creation of institutions such as the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.
- Colleagues and public figures have posted tributes across media outlets while no cause of death or funeral arrangements have been released and the family says it will provide further information when ready.