Hearing the news in the past hour of the death of Bud Tingwell from prostate cancer at the age of 86 is a bit like feeling that part of Australia's heart and soul has just passed away. A great, lovely, Australian.

How to pay tribute? Others will be doing it more eloquently and more knowledgably, so in the tradition of my Jack Palance and Charlton Heston obits and my Barbara Stanwyck centennial, here are my Top 10 Bud Tingwell performances (in chronological order), with the help of IMDb for jogging my memory:

1. The Margaret Rutherford/Miss Marple murder mysteries (1961-64);
2. Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons (1967-68) where he played the voice of Captain Brown with a wooden puppet as his body double;
3. Homicide (1974-77), Inspector Lawson at a time when Australia's greatest cop drama was at its greatest;
4. "All The Rivers Run" (1985);
5. "Charlie The Wonder Dog" (1992-94) where he unforgettably played the pivotal role of Gramps;
6. "The Castle" (1997);
7. "Innocence" (2000) - I'm cheating here. I haven't seen this but know that I should.
8. "Changi" (2001)
9. "Menzies and Churchill At War" (2008)... he was Churchill.
10. innumerable voiceovers for pensioners' insurance and the like.