John Banas, an Australian and New Zealand stage and film actor, screenwriter and director, has died.
In a social media post yesterday, Mikala Banas said, “The child in me wants the world to stop and know how amazing he was,” after announcing that she was “completely heartbroken and in complete shock” after her father passed away “suddenly.”
John Banas began his career as an actor, writer and director in New Zealand theater in the 1970s, and since the 1980s has increasingly focused on dramatic writing for television.
He is best known as the co-creator of the crime drama City Homicide, and has also written for Blue Heelers, Water Rats, All Saints, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and E Street. He also appeared in episodes of “E Street,” “Blue Heelers,” “City Homicide,” “Rafferty’s Rules,” and “Home and Away.”
More recently, Banas has spent time with Screen Time New Zealand, contributing to projects such as Bombshell and the award-winning TV films Siege and How to Murder Your Wife.
He has been a member of the Australian Writers Guild for over 20 years, twice won the AWGIE Award, and in 2003 was awarded the Australian Centenary Medal for his contribution to the arts in Australia.
In a statement, AWG said it was “saddened” by Banas’ death and expressed its condolences to his “friends, colleagues, loved ones and his daughter Mikala.”
