Roy Rene and Mo were stage names of the comic Henry van der Sluys (Sluice) (1892-1954). With Nat Phillips, he formed a vaudeville duo known as 'Stiffy and Mo', adopting a distinctive white face and painted black beard and lisping catchphrases such as 'strike me lucky'. Strike Me Lucky (1934) was his only film. During the 1940s he starred in a popular radio series, McCackie Mansions. This work was made to advertise the Steve Spears play Young Mo at Sydney's Nimrod Theatre. The play, directed by Richard Wherrett, starred Garry McDonald AO (b. 1948), then at the height of his Norman Gunston success. Sharp intended the portrait to combine the features of Mo and McDonald in an image resembling a Japanese Kabuki print. As a poster, it became the signature image of the Nimrod company.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Richard Wherrett 1998
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program
© Martin Sharp/Copyright Agency, 2020
Accession number: 1998.6
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On one level The Companion talks about the most famous and frontline Australians, but on another it tells us about ourselves: who we read, who we watch, who we listen to, who we cheer for, who we aspire to be, and who we'll never forget. The Companion is available to buy online and in the Portrait Gallery Store.
Artists Garry Shead and Martin Sharp recount their friendship and the creation of Martin's portrait.
An interview with Australian artist and collector of quirky artefacts, Martin Sharp.
Martin Sharp fulfils the Pop art idiom of merging art and life.
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