Arthur Dignam

Arthur Dignam (9 September 1939 – 9 May 2020) was an Australian stage and screen actor.

Dignam was born on Lord Howe Island. He attended Newington College in Sydney as a boarder in 1955 and 1956 and then the University of Sydney.

He was best known for one of his early roles, that of Brother Francine in Fred Schepisi's The Devil's Playground (1976). While he worked mainly in film and television, he also worked in theatre, including musical theatre. He played Pontius Pilate in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1972–73, and appears on the original Australian cast recording.

During 1980, Dignam was part of A Shakespeare Company, funded by a one-off grant from the Australia Council, and worked with actors Ruth Cracknell, Ron Haddrick and others on two texts for six months and then presented them at the Seymour Centre.

His son together with Bobbie Gledhill – actor Nicholas Gledhill was born in Sydney in 1975.

Dignam died of a heart attack on 9 May 2020, in Sydney at the age of 80.