Vale: Richard Neville

Writer and social commentator Richard Neville, best known as the founder of 60’s magazine Oz, has died aged 74.

He died on Sunday, at his home in northern NSW, after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Neville co-founded magazine Oz, which was known for its use of satire and pop art alongside serious journalism, in the 1960s in Australia and the UK. A partnership with artist Martin Sharp and editor Richard Walsh, specialised in dissent and challenged Australia’s censorship laws, abortion laws and the White Australia policy. It spawned a 1991 television drama The Trials of Oz in which Neville was played by Hugh Grant.

There were other literary works too including a biography of Charles Sobhraj, co-authored by wife Julia Clarke, becoming a global best-seller. It inspired several TV drama documentaries, including 1989 telemovie Shadow of the Cobra with Rachel Ward.

In the 1980s, he joined the Nine’s Midday show, where he reported on popular culture, innovative ideas, and sustainability. But his segments often aroused controversy, such as when he inhaled marijuana to test its affect on one’s ability to drive. These segments evolved into TEN’s series Extra Dimensions, looking at sustainability and human potential.

His memoir Hippie Hippie Shake, was adapted as an unreleased 2010 film by Working Title. with Neville portrayed by Cillian Murphy. Germaine Greer reportedly took offence at excerpts from the book -she appears tonight on Q&A.

Martin Walsh today told ABC, “Richard was charming in the right sense of the word. He just loved people of all kinds — males, females, good looking, bad looking.”

Source: ABC, Wikipedia, IMDb