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Bryce Courtenay
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Bryce Courtenay
Arthur Bryce Courtenay, AM (14 August 1933 – 22 November 2012) was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book The Power of One.
Arthur Bryce Courtenay was born in the Lebombo Mountains in what was then the Union of South Africa, the son of Maude Greer and Arthur Ryder. Ryder was married with six children, and lived with his family, but also maintained a relationship with Greer, with whom he already had a daughter, Rosemary. Maude Greer gave the surname Courtenay to both her children. Bryce Courtenay spent most of his early years in a small village in the Lebombo Mountains in the Northern Transvaal province (present-day Limpopo). He later attended King Edward VII School, Johannesburg.
In 1955, while studying journalism in London, Courtenay met Benita Solomon. They emigrated to Sydney in 1958, married in 1959 and had three sons – Brett, Adam and Damon.
Courtenay entered the advertising industry and, over a career spanning 34 years, was the Creative Director of McCann Erickson, J. Walter Thompson and George Patterson Advertising. His award-winning campaigns included the original Milkybar Kid commercial.
Along with Geoff Pike, Courtenay developed the concept behind the Cadbury Yowie, a chocolate that contained a children's toy, typically an Australian or New Zealand native animal.
On 1 April 1991, Courtenay's son Damon (who was born with haemophilia) died at age 24 from AIDS-related complications, contracted through a blood transfusion.
Courtenay divorced Benita in 2000 and acknowledged sexual relationships with other women during their 42-year marriage. Benita Courtenay died on 11 March 2007, at the age of 72, four months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. He later lived in Canberra with his second wife, Christine Gee.
Courtenay's novels are primarily set in South Africa, the country of his birth, or Australia, his adopted country. His first book, The Power of One, was published in 1989 and, despite Courtenay's fears that it would never sell, quickly became one of Australia's best-selling books by any living author. The story was made into a film, as well as being re-released in an edition for children.
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Bryce Courtenay
Arthur Bryce Courtenay, AM (14 August 1933 – 22 November 2012) was a South African-Australian advertising director and novelist. He is one of Australia's best-selling authors, notable for his book The Power of One.
Arthur Bryce Courtenay was born in the Lebombo Mountains in what was then the Union of South Africa, the son of Maude Greer and Arthur Ryder. Ryder was married with six children, and lived with his family, but also maintained a relationship with Greer, with whom he already had a daughter, Rosemary. Maude Greer gave the surname Courtenay to both her children. Bryce Courtenay spent most of his early years in a small village in the Lebombo Mountains in the Northern Transvaal province (present-day Limpopo). He later attended King Edward VII School, Johannesburg.
In 1955, while studying journalism in London, Courtenay met Benita Solomon. They emigrated to Sydney in 1958, married in 1959 and had three sons – Brett, Adam and Damon.
Courtenay entered the advertising industry and, over a career spanning 34 years, was the Creative Director of McCann Erickson, J. Walter Thompson and George Patterson Advertising. His award-winning campaigns included the original Milkybar Kid commercial.
Along with Geoff Pike, Courtenay developed the concept behind the Cadbury Yowie, a chocolate that contained a children's toy, typically an Australian or New Zealand native animal.
On 1 April 1991, Courtenay's son Damon (who was born with haemophilia) died at age 24 from AIDS-related complications, contracted through a blood transfusion.
Courtenay divorced Benita in 2000 and acknowledged sexual relationships with other women during their 42-year marriage. Benita Courtenay died on 11 March 2007, at the age of 72, four months after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia. He later lived in Canberra with his second wife, Christine Gee.
Courtenay's novels are primarily set in South Africa, the country of his birth, or Australia, his adopted country. His first book, The Power of One, was published in 1989 and, despite Courtenay's fears that it would never sell, quickly became one of Australia's best-selling books by any living author. The story was made into a film, as well as being re-released in an edition for children.
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