David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu was one of Australia’s most famous indigenous stars, his career spanning five decades. Now the actor, dancer and painter has died.
David Dalaithngu, better known in Europe as David Gulpilil, died at the age of 68. “He was a man who loved his country and its culture, and he was a man who shared it with the world,” wrote Steven Marshall, Prime Minister of South Australia, when announcing the death of the popular indigenous actor. Dalaithngu had suffered from lung cancer for years and was cared for by a friend in South Australia until his death. His breakthrough came with “Walkabout”, an Australian film from 1971, in which he played an Aboriginal boy who rescues two children stranded in the outback and brings them to safety through the desert.
When David Dalaithngu landed in Europe for the first time at the age of just 17 to promote the film, the young, handsome Aboriginal, who spoke hardly any English, was the focus of the fans. On his European tour, the young star met Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Bruce Lee and traveled to the Cannes Film Festival.
Years later he became world famous with the “Crocodile Dundee” films, which he himself referred to as “crap” in his later life. In it he played the best buddy of lead actor Mike Dundee, who played Paul Hogan. But his roles in “Long Walk Home”, “Storm Boy”, “10 Canoes, 150 Spears and 3 Women” or “Charlie’s Country” also attracted international attention.
In 2008 he played in Baz Luhrmann’s romantic epic “Australia”, where he played an Aboriginal elder named King George. His role in “Walkabout” was not only a breakthrough for himself. She is also credited with the fact that indigenous actors and actresses finally found a stage in film and television. Before that, white actors often played indigenous characters.
Dalaithngu’s talent manifested early: even as a teenager, people admired his talent as a traditional dancer in the Arnhem Land community of Maningrida. His dance skills also helped him to play a key role in the avant-garde outback film “Walkabout”. “I thought I was going to be a cowboy in a movie – much like John Wayne,” Dalaithngu told filmmaker Darlene Johnson in 2002 when she interviewed him for the documentary One Red Blood.
Before he was “discovered”, Dalaithngu loved to roam the bush and hunt a lot in his youth. The culture of white Australia was alien to him for a long time. “When I first saw white people, I didn’t know where they came from. I thought they were a ghost painted all over with white paint, ”Dalaithngu said in the documentary.
Overall, the actor’s career spanned five decades. During this time, Dalaithngu, who was known for his dry humor, made a name for himself “in two cultures”, as the Australian broadcaster “ABC” wrote in its obituary. The actor, who spoke several indigenous languages, always stayed true to the culture of the Australian aborigines.
When he wasn’t on a shoot or visiting premiere galas or awards shows, he always spent his time with his family in the Northern Territory. She lived in the remote community of Ramingining, a good 500 kilometers from Darwin. He shared the sometimes high sums of money he earned with his top-class film roles with his family. He himself was therefore now and then penniless and lived temporarily in a corrugated iron hut.
David Dalaithngu’s life was “not without its problems,” as Steven Marshall wrote. “He faced racism and discrimination and lived with the gap between his traditional lifestyle and his public appearance”. The actor struggled all his life with alcoholism, a demon that ultimately caused the low points of his life, including a stay in prison for domestic violence.
When lung cancer was diagnosed in 2017, doctors only gave it a few months. Hardly anyone had any hope that they would see the premiere of their last film “My Name is Gulpilil”, which tells its own story. But then he was the center of attention on the opening evening in March of this year and received his last standing ovation.
