William Roderick (Bill) Collins OAM (born 4 December 1934) is an Australian film critic and television presenter.
Bill Collins was born in Sutherland, Sydney and was educated at Canterbury Boys' High School and the University of Sydney. Originally a school teacher, Collins' appreciation of cinema led him to write reviews in the early 1960s and resulted in him working as a film presenter for the Australian Broadcasting Commission. He moved from the ABC to the commercial station TCN Channel 9 working there between 1967-74; later moving on to ATN Channel 7 Sydney and working there from 1975 to 1979. In 1980 he moved to Network Ten to present movies nationally. He is currently presenting movies on the Foxtel movie network.
Widely recognised in Australia for his passionate enthusiasm for films, his profile allowed him to meet and become acquainted with a range of film makers from the "Golden Age of Hollywood". His presentations usually consist of a brief review of the film and its actors, specific discussion of filming techniques as well as personal recollections and quotes from the film makers he had interviewed. Since 23 October 1995 he has presented films for the Foxtel cable television network FOX Classics.
His celebrity status has allowed him to take cameo roles in film and television, notably Prisoner (1985) and Howling III (1987).
Collins resides in Berry, New South Wales with his wife, Joan. In addition to his television work, he lectures at the University of Sydney on film and related subjects. In 1987, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to film and television. Also in 1987, his book of film reviews and essays, Bill Collins Presents "The Golden Years of Hollywood", was published.
In 2009, Collins was inducted into the Logies Hall of Fame.
Famous quotes containing the words bill and/or collins:
“Meantime the education of the general mind never stops. The reveries of the true and simple are prophetic. What the tender poetic youth dreams, and prays, and paints today, but shuns the ridicule of saying aloud, shall presently be the resolutions of public bodies, then shall be carried as grievance and bill of rights through conflict and war, and then shall be triumphant law and establishment for a hundred years, until it gives place, in turn, to new prayers and pictures.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“All up and down the whole creation,
Sadly I roam,
Still longing for the old plantation,
And for the old folks at home.”
—Stephen Collins Foster (1826–1864)