A DORSET-BORN resident once called Ramsay Street, Erinsborough home.
Ernie Bourne, who was born in Shaftesbury, played Rob Lewis in poplar TV soap Neighbours between 1987 and 1989.
He appeared in the Aussie soap 90 times over two years.
Among his many highlights was having a run-in with legendary battle-axe Mrs Mangel about how to 'act on Ramsay Street' as well as a business partnership with Jim Robinson.
The character was eventually killed off in 1989 in a car crash.
Ernest was an English-Australian actor, entertainer, comedian and puppeteer, whose career spanned 50 years.
Having started his career in theatre in his native England, he later became known for his regular roles in theatre and television in Australia.
He was born on August 1, 1926, in Shaftesbury and was raised in Yeovil, where his mother ran a boarding house following the early death of his father.
Leaving school and home at the age of 14, Ernie worked in a cafe before joining the British Merchant Navy during the Second World War, where he became interested in acting after appearing in a pantomime. He would appear regularly in English pantomime and in many stage productions in Bristol, before migrating to Australia.
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He emigrated to Australia in 1952, initially settling in Geelong, joining the Geelong Musical Comedy Company. He appeared in numerous stage roles starting from 1955 and later moved to Melbourne.
In the 1960s, he was loved (and booed) as a series of pantomime-style villains on Australian television.
Throughout the early-to-mid 1970s he was a staple of Crawford Productions police dramas in a variety of character roles.
In the 1980s he played prison chef Mervin Pringle in Prisoner (having earlier played two other minor roles) and garage mechanic Rob Lewis in Neighbours.
He also appeared in a series of television commercials for a retail sports gear outlet.
Ernie was married to Claire Bourne (formerly Smith) and they have a daughter Sally Bourne who is also an actress and is best known for appearing in the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Ernie died on January 21, 2009, aged 82, at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.
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