Editing Robert Helpmann (section)

{{Short description|Australian dancer, actor, theatre director and choreographer (1909–1986)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| name         = Robert Helpmann
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CBE}}
| image        = Robert Helpmann.jpg
| caption      = Helpmann, {{circa|1945}}
| birth_name = Robert Murray Helpman
| birth_date   = {{birth date|1909|04|09|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Mount Gambier, South Australia]], Australia
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1986|09|28|1909|04|09|df=y}}
| death_place  = Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| occupation   = {{hlist|Ballet dancer|actor|theatre director|choreographer}}
| years active = 1927−1986
}}
'''Sir Robert Murray Helpmann''' (né '''Helpman''') (9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the [[Vic-Wells Ballet]] (now The Royal Ballet) under its creator, [[Ninette de Valois]]. He became one of the company's leading men, partnering [[Alicia Markova]] and later [[Margot Fonteyn]]. When [[Frederick Ashton]], the company's chief choreographer, was called up for military service in the [[Second World War]], Helpmann took over from him while continuing as a principal dancer.

Helpmann, from the outset of his career was an actor as well as a dancer, and in the 1940s he turned increasingly to acting in plays, at [[the Old Vic]] and in the [[West End theatre|West End]]. Most of his roles were in [[Shakespeare]] plays but he also appeared in works by [[George Bernard Shaw|Shaw]], [[Noël Coward|Coward]], [[Sartre]] and others. As a director his range was wide, from Shakespeare to opera, musicals and pantomime.

Helpmann became co-director of the [[Australian Ballet]], in 1965, for whom he created several new ballets. He became sole director in 1975 but disagreements with the company's board led to his dismissal a year later. He directed for [[Australian Opera]] and acted in stage plays into the 1980s. Although primarily a stage artist, he appeared in fifteen films between 1942 (''[[One of Our Aircraft is Missing]]'') and 1984 (''[[Second Time Lucky]]''), including ''[[The Red Shoes (1948 film)|The Red Shoes]]'', ''[[The Tales of Hoffmann (film)|The Tales of Hoffmann]]'', as [[the Devil]] in [[The Soldier's Tale (film)|a film version]] of [[Igor Stravinsky]]'s ballet-drama ''[[The Soldier's Tale]]'' (''L'Histoire du soldat'') and as the [[Child Catcher]] in ''[[Chitty Chitty Bang Bang]]''.

Helpmann died in Sydney and was given a state funeral in [[St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney|St Andrew's Cathedral]]. The Prime Minister, [[Bob Hawke]], gave a tribute in the [[Parliament of Australia]], and a motion of condolence was passed – a rare tribute for a non-politician. Helpmann is commemorated in the [[Helpmann Awards]] for Australian performing arts, established in his honour in 2001.