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A few years ago at Auckland’s Basement Theater, Mick Innes told the crowd that when the Grim Reaper came knocking, you would see claw marks on the ground.
The actor had already lived, according to those who knew him, many lives within his then 63 years. In his show, Zen Dog, reflected on his history which included, among other things, drug addiction, some marriages, rehab and a psychiatric ward.
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Mick Innes has three children, Julian Innes, Mimi Toya Cole, and Sarah-Jane Burchett.
The first series of Zen Dog, an impromptu production in which Innes told stories from her own life, came to an end when she suffered a heart attack and stroke on stage. But that didn’t keep him out of the spotlight for long. He returned to the theater a few years later with an update Zen Dog and continued working in the cinema until illness made it impossible.
Innes died at her family’s home in Christchurch early Saturday morning. He was 67 years old.
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In addition to his stage work, he was also a well-known television actor, appearing in Home and away, Super cityand Hounds.
His friend and colleague, Roberto Nascimento, said he had died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a long-lasting disease that damaged his lungs.
Nascimento had worked as a producer for Zen Dog and I started working on a documentary about Innes at that time. He said the film follows Innes’s complicated life, a life dedicated to the theater, fraught with difficulties and inspired by her grandchildren.
At the beginning of the year, Innes left her home in Gray Lynn, Auckland, to return to Christchurch, where her family lives. His lung disease had worsened and he moved in with his 88-year-old mother Dulcie.
Dulcie told Nascimento that her son, since he was a child, had always lived an extraordinary life.
He was the only one in his family involved in the arts. He traveled the world, working in a factory in Germany in the 1970s, and hopped around Australia, where he married, had children and became involved in Aboriginal theater. He had close brush with death.
Hugh Collins / Stuff
Mick Innes lived in Gray Lynn for many years, performing in Auckland theaters and on television.
At the age of six he was hit by a bus. Dulcie recalled that terrifying beginning of life, telling Nascimento that she thought she would lose him and that her life from then on was a gift.
Nascimento said: “I think he always fought to the end. In Zen Dog He said he wanted to be around as long as he could. He had a history of alcoholism, but was sober for the past 16 years. He was proud to be sober as he watched his grandchildren grow up. He was working to make amends with the people he felt he had to. He was a complicated man, but very interesting and adorable ”.
He said that Innes had died at home, as she had not wanted to be in the hospital. Although his condition was terminal, his death was still a surprise, as he had always “recovered” in the past.
“The doctor realized that he was getting tired, he was having trouble breathing and he didn’t want to end up in the hospital. When he passed away, he was surrounded by family members, he was in his mother’s arms. She was there until the end and she is a very resilient woman. “
Sarah Argyle / Stuff
Veteran actor Mick Innes was well known in the New Zealand and Australian theater, film and television communities.
Telephone calls have been received from all over the world. Innes had strong connections and family in Australia. Nascimento said that he had requested that some of his ashes be sent to Perth and Darwin, with the intention of being returned to earth and in accordance with Aboriginal custom. He wanted to be with his late wife, Jedda Cole, who was an Aboriginal actress.
More recently, Innes had starred in Golden Boy. His acting career began in the 1980s, while living in Australia. In New Zealand, he often appeared on comedy shows, including Marty the Bourbon-loving Greyhound Racer on Houndsand roles in Super city and Sunny skies. But his acting career saw him play a wide range of roles, from a children’s television villain to The amazing extraordinary friends, to a comedian.
The documentary about his life, titled Butterfly, was scheduled for release next year.
He had three children, Julian Innes, Mimi Toya Cole, and Sarah-Jane Burchett.
