TV Week
19th December 1981
BILL STALKER’S final Cop Shop scene was filmed just one day before his death on November 28.
Ironically, it was a scene with a happy ending as Riverside boss Peter Fanelli (Stalker) took a bride (Annette Andre).
It was part of a storyline to tie up Bill’s departure from the series.
The script called for Fanelli to forge a new life for himself in Darwin.
Bill had just one more week of studio filming to complete and it is unclear what problems his death will cause the show’s producers.
The day the wedding sequence was shot, Bill worked closely with Annette, John McTernan (who, as Tom Shannon, was Fanelli’s best man) and Paul Newman, who played the bride’s son, Gary.
Then, Bill told TV WEEK that he was happy to be quitting Fanelli.
“I think it’s time to be moving on,” he said.
When shooting on that day was wrapped up, the cast and crew were looking forward to the weekend and to farewelling Bill in his last week as Fanelli.
Tragically, that was never to be.
Story Jill Fraser. Pix: Greg Noakes.
Original content copyright TV Week.
Thanks to TV Week Appreciation Page.