Bouncer (Neighbours)
| Bouncer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
|||
| Neighbours character | |||
| Portrayed by | Bouncer | ||
| Duration | 1987–1993 | ||
| First appearance | 4 February 1987 | ||
| Last appearance | 12 February 1993 | ||
| Introduced by | Reg Watson | ||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||
| Profile | |||
| Species | Dog | ||
| Breed | Labrador Retriever | ||
|
|||
| Owner(s) |
Lucy Robinson Mike Young Nell Mangel Joe Mangel Toby Mangel Dorothy Burke |
|---|
Bouncer is a fictional Labrador Retriever from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 4 February 1987 and he exited the series on 12 February 1993 after six years. He was played by Bouncer throughout his duration on the show and he was trained by Luke Hura.
When Neighbours needed a golden Labrador puppy, they turned to animal trainer Luke Hura and his canine actors agency, who provided them with Bouncer. Bouncer was paid more than the human actors and Hura revealed that he was worth between $100,000 and $200,000.
During Bouncer's time on Neighbours he lived at three addresses, survived road accidents, being lost, a house fire and being poisoned by some mushrooms. Bouncer's fan cards became the most popular out of any cast member.
One of Bouncer's most famous storylines had him dreaming that he was getting married to Rosie, Clarrie McLachlan's Border Collie, who lived next door. During an interview, Anne Charleston (who played Madge Bishop) said "The whole cast was mortified about that! It reduced it to a three-year-old's programme. It was very strange."
Thirteen weeks after finishing his final scenes on Neighbours, Bouncer died of cancer aged seven. Following his death, Bouncer was sent more tributes from fans around the world than any of the human cast.
When Mike Young (Guy Pearce) failed to save Lucy Robinson (Kylie Flinker)'s pet Terrier, Basil, from drowning, he went to the local shelter and brought home Bouncer for her. Lucy was hurt and angry that Mike was trying to replace Basil and was initially reluctant to have anything to do with the new puppy. However, Bouncer soon won her over and she grew to love him as much as Basil. When Lucy left Ramsay Street for a trip around Europe, she left Bouncer with Mike, who became fond of the dog. Mike and the rest of the Clarke household grew to love Bouncer so much, that when Lucy returned (now played by Sasha Close) she let Bouncer stay at No.28. However, Bouncer had found new company in the form of lonely Mrs Mangel (Vivean Gray). Bouncer began to spend a lot of time in Mrs Mangel's house and she grew fond of him too. When Mike found out, he and Mrs Mangel fought over who Bouncer should live with and they decided to let Bouncer choose for himself. He ran to Mrs Mangel instead of Mike and Mike let Bouncer live at No.32 with her. After Mrs Mangel got married and moved to England with her new husband, Bouncer was left with her son Joe (Mark Little). Bouncer missed Mrs Mangel at first, but he soon found a new loving owner in Joe's son, Toby (Finn Greentree-Keane) and the two became inseparable. Bouncer became a hero of Ramsay Street when he saved Madge (Anne Charleston) and Sky Bishop (Miranda Fryer) from a fire at the Mangel house by barking for help.
...
Wikipedia