Dingo, Ernie (1956-…), is an Australian Aboriginal comedian, actor, writer, and television presenter. He became known internationally for his small role as Charlie, a young Aboriginal man in the Australian motion picture Crocodile Dundee II (1988), starring the popular Australian actor Paul Hogan. Dingo increased his international fame with a major role as an Australian detective in the science-fiction movie Until the End of the World (1991) by the German director Wim Wenders.
Ernest (Ernie) Ashley Dingo was born on July 31, 1956, at Bullardoo Station, a sheep farm near the Murchison River in Western Australia. He grew up near Mullewa, where he attended elementary school, and Geraldton, where he attended high school. He then moved to Perth. Dingo performed in the Middar Aboriginal Theatre, a dance and cultural performance group he co-founded, and then acted in plays by the Australian Aboriginal playwright Jack Davis.
Dingo’s first television role was in the Australian historical war drama miniseries The Cowra Breakout (1984). Cowra , a town in New South Wales, was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp during World War II (1939-1945). Dingo attracted national critical acclaim for his portrayal of Robert Tudawali, the first Australian Aboriginal film star, in the biographical TV movie Tudawali (1988). He gained national popularity on the Australian comedy-variety TV show “Fast Forward,” in which he performed in 1989. From 1994 to 2007, he appeared on the Australian travel and adventure television series “The Great Outdoors.” In 1995, Dingo acted in the Australian drama series “Heartbreak High,” in which he portrayed a teacher at a multicultural high school. Dingo also appeared in the television movie A Waltz Through the Hills (1988), the miniseries Heartland (1994) and Kings in Grass Castles (1998), and the series “Mystery Road,” begun in 2018.
Dingo made his motion-picture acting debut in the drama The Fringe Dwellers (1986), by the Australian director Bruce Beresford, about an Australian Aboriginal family that tries to move into a white community. Dingo’s other notable films include the comedy Cappuccino (1989), the drama Blackfellas (1993), the thriller Dead Heart (1996), and the Australian Aboriginal musical Bran Nue Dae (2009).
In 1990, Dingo was made a Member of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the performing arts. The Order of Australia is Australia’s highest award for service to the country or to humanity.
