- Born
- Birth nameVincent Martin Ball
- Height6′ (1.83 m)
- With the outbreak of war Vincent left his job with the Australian General Electric Company and became a pilot with the Australian Air Force in England. He returned to Australia and his old job in 1945 but couldn't settle. He tried amateur dramatics but his dialect was a mixture of Australian, Cockney, due to his stay in London, and Canadian with having mixed with Canadian forces. To correct his accent he had elocution lessons which resulted in him marrying his teacher, Doreen, and them having a daughter, Catherine. With his diction corrected he wrote letters asking for auditions. One of these was to the Rank Organisation who replied asking him to call and see them if he was in the neighbourhood. He got a job as a stoker on a cargo ship but the journey took six months instead of the expected six weeks. Undaunted tough he presented himself at Ranks offices where impressed with his enthusiasm they gave him a job as stand in for Donald Houston in an underwater fight with an octopus in the film The Blue Lagoon. He then won a scholarship to RADA from where he went into rep working his way up to juvenile lead in Rain Before Seven, Barnett's Folly and Nitro. He got a few bit parts in films before moving into slightly larger parts in such as A Town Like Alice, Robbery Under Arms,and Danger Within. He moved back to Australia in the 70's appearing in various TV series and films such as Breaker Morant, Phar Lap and Muriel's Wedding- IMDb mini biography by: tonyman 5
- Born in Waa Waa, new South Wales, Australia where his father was a telegraph linesman in the Australian Bush. and an ancestor was a convict, He joined the Royal Australian Air Force as an air gunner which brought him to the UK in 1949. Returning to Australia he took elocution lessons from a girl who he later married, Because of his accent he was advised, to be a farmer instead of an actor, He returned to England which took 6 months as he got the wrong boat and ended up as a deck hand bound for Sweden, He eventually got into RADA on a scholarship after which he worked in various reps before returning to Australia where he was in the films A Town Like Alice and Robbery Under Arms then he spent 2 and a 1/2 years in the tv soap Compact and 13 weeks with Bernard Miles in Treasure Island, He married Doreen and had 4 children Catherine, Ann, Christian and Jonathan- IMDb mini biography by: Tonyman 5
- SpouseDoreen Harrop(1949 - ?) (3 children)
- His first film job was as a "swimming double" in the 1948 British version of "The Blue Lagoon". The leading man of the film, Donald Houston, couldn't swim, so Ball doubled for him, in scenes entirely shot in the studio tank. He later said that his chief memory of the film was being constantly reminded by the director to keep his face turned away from the camera.
- Has a brother who was an acrobat.
- Prior to turning to acting he sailed 2 and a half times round the world working as a ships deck hand.
- Prior to his training at RADA he was working as a brick layers apprentice.
- Has a son and daughter.
- Carry on Cruising (1962) - £400
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