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Syd Heylen (25 May 1922 – 4 December 1996), also credited as Sid Heylen, was a veteran Australian character actor, comedian, and variety performer who often performed in a traditional vaudeville style and also played banjo. He went into vaudeville after the war and in 1956 starred in the variety show "The Show of Stars" with Hal Lashwood and John Ewart. Heylen became well known during the 1960s on television as a regular performer on the HSV 7 variety show ''Sunnyside Up'' in Melbourne for 10 years, appearing as ''"Sydney from Sydney"''. He teamed up with other comics, such as ''Honest John'' Gilbert, presenting comedy sketches in between the musical items. ==Biography == Heylen was born in Renmark, South Australia as Harold Charles Sydney Heylen, the only son of a carpenter. He joined the army at 16 and served on the Kokoda Trail in the 39th infantry, later going on to join the army entertainment troupe. In 1961 he married Patti Brittain (his second wife) and they had two children (both in the entertainment industry) - a daughter, Julie Heylen, and a son, Syd Heylen Junior, who is a well known entertainer in variety and cabaret. Heylen remains best known for his role as Vernon "Cookie" Locke, a chef and barman in the Australian television series ''A Country Practice'', a role he played from 1982 until 1992. He was cast as Cookie on ''A Country Practice'' after the series creator James Davern saw him in the TV series ''Arcade''. Heylen was written out of the series in 1992 alongside another older cast member Gordon Piper (who played Cookie's mate Bob Hatfield) as the producers wanted to concentrate on a younger cast and an updated formula. James Davern would later regret dropping Cookie and Bob, as they were two of the show's central characters who provided many of the comedy scenes between the more dramatic storylines. Previously he acted in the soap opera ''The Box'' playing a fast-talking television sportscaster. Heylen played a minor role in ''Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior'' as Curmudgeon.〔(Mad Max 2 (1981) – Full cast and crew )〕 In the 1980s he released a number of albums containing songs such as "Who's Sorry Now?" (to which the D-Generation quipped "anyone who bought the album".) After he left " A Country Practice" in 1992, he and his wife Patti retired to their Gold Coast home, he would occasionally do public appearances and performances. He died in Queensland on December 4, 1996, from a stroke.〔http://www.acountrypractice.com/Cast/Bios/sheylen.html〕 Syd Heylen was a patron and performer for the Variety Club Australia, where he was awarded as The First National Treasure. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Syd Heylen」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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