Ray Kolle, an Australian scriptwriter best known for shows like Neighbours and Home and Away has died at the age of 85.
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Kolle died suddenly following an illness, TV Tonight reported.
He began writing for Australian television back in 1967 when he started writing for the variety show In Melbourne Tonight, according to his website. After watching the show Bellbird, Kolle submitted a script he had written and was hired on the show.
Over the next 10 years, he worked on approximately 1,634 episodes of the show. He progressed from writer to script editor and eventually to story editor over seven years.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Kolle worked on shows like The Sullivans, Sons and Daughters, Prisoner Cell Block H, and more. But his biggest credit came when he was hired to become the story editor for Neighbours in 1986.
After being given complete control of the script department, Kolle went on to make the show incredibly successful. And he attributed it to the positive working relationship between the writers and the show’s creators.
He was able to build on the foundation laid by creator Reg Watson.
“Reg gave us Scott, we gave him Charlene. Reg gave us Madge, we gave her Harold Bishop. Then came Mrs Mangel and Jane, Dorothy Burke, and a host of other lovable characters,” he explained.
Although he left his supervisor role on the show in 1997, he kept writing for the show until 2007. Throughout his time on Neighbours, he wrote 194 scripts.
In 1998, he joined the script team of Home and Away, and in his two years there, helped to make the show an enduring success.
Over the span of his 46-year career, he wrote for 30 television shows. He also wrote for stage, film, and authored books based on Neighbours.
“Ray, my dear friend, it’s time to close the computer. Time to write Finis. I’m glad you are out of that unbearable pain but like many, many others, I’m going to miss you so much,” fellow television writer Judith Colquhoun said in a tribute.